- Please scroll down for:
- Details on SPARC’s upcoming 2024 BENEFIT CONCERT with Chelsea Chambers
- KEYNOTE SPEECH ON REPARATIONS by NYS Senator Jamie Sanders
- Video statement by SPARC’s White Caucus
SPARC is a coalition of parishioners, community activists, youth and concerned citizens. We come together in the spirit and wisdom of Dr. King, Malcolm X, Maya Angelou, Margaret Mead, Nelson Mandela, Audre Lorde, Gandhi, and Rosa Parks to end racism in our community. Together we can make a difference while staying in the struggle to end oppression in all its forms. Our vision is for a socially and racially just city.
We are committed to the intentional work of eliminating racism in all its forms, both in the church and society. Our work uses a collaborative framework based on mutual respect and truth telling, guided by a clear vision undergirded by spiritual principles. We engage our community in creating racially just structures, and becoming more aware of how our cultural stories shape our everyday life.
UPCOMING EVENTS IN 2024!
PREVIOUS ACTIVITIES!
WXXI’s “connections with evan dawson”
The Connections radio program recently featured a program about local anti-racism work and events commemorating Juneteenth.
In the first part of the program they talk to the team at E.R.A.S.E. (Eliminating Racism and Seeking Equity), and then go on to have a conversation with Rev. Myra Brown, founder of SPARC, Gloria Johnson-Hovey, founder of the Roc Juneteenth Run/Walk & retired Rochester City School District social worker, Robert Chalwell, Ph.D., executive director for family and student services, and inclusivity for the Webster Central School District, and Mary Heveron-Smith, writer, retired English teacher, and member of SPARC.
ANNUAL FLAG RAISING
(At left: photos from the 2022 flag raising ceremonies at the County of Monroe office building and at City Hall).
2023 marks SPARC’s fourth annual flag raising event with the City of Rochester. SPARC initiated this event before it became a national holiday! This acknowledgement of freedom of enslaved black people is significant, given all the contributions that Black people have brought and continue to bring, to our world, because of that freedom. ~Rev. Myra Brown
Monday, June 19th, 2023, 1 pm: ROC Juneteenth 5k run/walk
Please plan to join us for the annual ROC Juneteenth Run/Walk, starting at 1 pm at the Riverbend Shelter in Genesee Valley Park! You can run/walk in-person, or do it virtually at any place or any time you choose! Either way, please be sure to register HERE!
To participate in-person is $25; virtually is $10; “day of” at the Park is $30. All options come with a $3.50 fee.
All proceeds will go to the construction of the Minister Franklin D. Florence Civil Rights Heritage Site at Baden Park, an outdoor, interactive, educational park for students, families, and others to learn about Rochester’s rich Civil Rights history, and those involved in the struggle.
Monday, June 19th, 5:30-7:30 pm: Free jazz concert!
After the race, join us at the Round House Shelter in Genesee Valley Park to listen to the great sounds of Ryan Johnson & Friends, as well as Herb Smith, RPO trumpeter!
A brief history of juneteenth
by Elaine Erbland, SPARC member
We are also celebrating the 160th Anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, which went into effect on January 1st, 1863. Unfortunately, slaves were not set free in the Confederacy until the Union Army was able to go into those states and take over. It took more than 2 1/2 years for the Army to make their way across the South, finally coming to their last stop in Galveston, Texas.
It was in Galveston on June 19th, 1865 that Gen. Gordon Granger, backed by 2,000 Union troops, announced that more than 250,000 slaves were now free by Executive Order of the President. The first celebration of Juneteenth was held the following year.
Juneteenth is the oldest known holiday that celebrates the end of slavery in America. Juneteenth is to African Americans what the 4th of July is to white Americans. This special day celebrates freedom from slavery and independence from the denigrating life that had been lived since 1619.
This Juneteenth, we are also commemorating two beloved Rochester Civil Rights leaders:
- The late Minister Franklin D. Florence, Civil Rights Activist
- bobby johnson, a bebop poet and author who grew up in the Clarissa Street neighborhood and chronicled Rochester’s Jazz scene, centered around the legendary Pythod Jazz Club at Clarissa and Troup Streets.
An elaine erbland original!
Here are suggestions for how, when and with whom you can get your run, steps, laps or whatever you choose to do!
You can do it on your street
You can do it with a rhythm or a beat.
You can do it on a hike.
You can do it on a bike.
You can do it with your mate.
You can do it while you skate.
You can do it on the course.
You can do it without much force.
You can do it on the greens.
You can do it in your jeans.
You can do it at your school.
You can do it in the pool.
You can do it with your class.
You can do it before or after Mass.
You can do it at the Zoo.
You can do it with one or two.
You can do it with your dog.
You can do it while you jog.
You can do it playing tennis with Rev. Myra and show her you’re on fire.
You can do it on a stroll with Father Jim.
You can do it singing songs or a hymn.
You can do it walking with Rev. Celie.
You can do it independently and freely.
You can do it at the Park.
You can do it on a lark.
But most important, please do it for SPARC, and the Civil Rights Heritage Park!
Black Community Focus Fund
There are innumerable disparities between those who live in communities that are largely non-white and those who live in communities that are largely white. The Black Community Focus Fund is about “Getting to Zero” on disparities that, specifically because of historical racism, leave Black Rochesterians short of so many opportunities, ranging from employment, to education, to availability of neighborhood services.
MINISTER FRANKLIN D. FLORENCE Civil Rights HERITAGE PARK
At the Park, we are building a brick walkway to honor past and present leaders in the Black Freedom Struggle for Civil Rights. CLICK HERE to buy a brick in honor or memory of your loved one, a famous person or someone important to you. You can choose from one of the following levels:
- $500: “Freedom Fighter“
- $300: “Truth Teller“
- $200: “Voice for Justice“
We are also raising funds to hire renowned sculptor Vinnie Bagwell as the lead artist for the Civil Rights Park. Ms. Bagwell’s first public art piece, “First Lady of Jazz,” at the Yonkers Train Station, was the first public artwork of a contemporary African-American woman to be commissioned by a municipality in the United States.
Some of her stunning sculptures are shown below.
For more information about the Minister Franklin D. Florence Civil Rights Heritage Park, CLICK HERE.
Past EVENTs
saturday, february 25th, 1-3 pm: Dr. Starsky Wilson keynote speech
Rev. Dr. Starsky Wilson, president and CEO of the renowned Children’s Defense Fund and CDF Action Council, was the guest speaker at Spiritus Christi Church from 1 to 3 pm on Saturday, February 25.
Through Dr. Wilson’s talk, “Our Hope for Years to Come: Toward a Vision of Child Well-Being,” audience members learned more about the CDF, the nation’s strongest voice for children. CDF advocates for children, particularly the most vulnerable, and “envisions a nation where marginalized children flourish, leaders prioritize their well-being, and communities wield the power to ensure they thrive.”
Spiritus Anti-Racism Coalition (SPARC) sponsored the talk as a fundraiser for the Minister Franklin D. Florence Civil Rights Heritage Park. For more information, please contact SPARC members Mary Heveron-Smith, Elizabeth Osta, or Rev. Myra Brown.
Redistricting: a Success story!
When asked what her biggest challenge was in 2022, Rev. Myra said it was “Fighting for Black voting rights to free the Black vote from six incarcerated majority/minority forced coalition voting districts. We overcame the challenge and won 6 Black Majority Voting Districts in Monroe County’s redistricting battle to free the Black vote.” CLICK HERE for a Q&A on Redistricting.
CLICK HERE to listen to Rev. Myra Brown on the Evan Dawson WXXI radio show, speaking on sensitivity training
CLICK HERE to listen to “Black Women on the Freedom Trail,” presented by Reenah Golden.
CLICK HERE to access “A Soulful Night of Gospel” and “Racist Policy and Resistance in Rochester”
CLICK HERE to watch the musical concert “Love & Justice: A Family Affair”
For more information about SPARC, contact Myra Brown via email at mbrown@spirituschristi.org and via telephone at 585-325-1180 ext 117