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July 17, 2006
Voices of Dissent
The Real Estate Observer
By Jonathan Liu
What's left to say about the rally that hasn't already been said? REO went to the rally and covered one of the strangest on-stage moments of the day.
The rally started promptly at 2 p.m. with a performance by the political-art troupe Reverend Billy and the Stop Shopping Gospel Choir. Billy, a wild-eyed blond, led his red-robed vocalists in a number that proclaimed, "This town ain't no supermall." A "flactivist" for the group later said that Billy had brought his anti-corporate, anti-globalization message as far as Zurich.
But many of the black leaders present did not want to sing along. Councilman Charles Barron, who followed Billy onstage, told the largely white crowd, "I have to say something about your mock reverend and all that. You can play jokes, that's fine. But don't mess with the black church."
Especially when two of the invited speakers are black ministers: the Rev. Dennis Dillon and the Rev. Clinton Miller.
Bob Law, a local luminary who marched with Martin Luther King Jr., was more blunt. "When you ask people to come here," he said at the beginning of his speech, "be careful what you say."
NoLandGrab: Take it from an Okie, with all respect to Charles Barron, Bob Law and reporter Jonathan Liu, Reverend Billy's act is a spoof of the Bible-Belt Holly-Roller televangelists, not African-American churches. Black churches aren't the only congregations that like to proclaim their faith in song.
No biggie; we suppose our local stations haven't televised a lot of inspirational programming on Sunday morning since Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker went bust.
Posted by lumi at July 17, 2006 8:56 PM