On Nov. 15, Fort Wayne°®¶¹app™s Pilgrim Baptist Church served as host to a stirring, solemn religious celebration, to acclaim a most worthy celebrant. The occasion: the consecration of the Rev. Bill McGill as bishop in the Lord°®¶¹app™s Church.
His consecration constitutes the crowning achievement in his 50-year-long spiritual journey that included founding and ministering since 2004 as senior pastor at Imani Baptist Temple.
On a personal level, it commemorates his remarkable transformation from a troubled, offending young man into a nationally acclaimed advocate for nonviolence, reconciliation and restorative justice, especially through his leadership of Stop the Madness and One Church One Offender.
In the secular realm, his consecration lends credence to his stature as the moral conscience of our community, a mantle he long shared with Leonard Goldstein until the latter°®¶¹app™s passing in 2018.
Both were righteous giants who earned their distinction largely as prolific contributors of opinions to °®¶¹app. Both challenged us to put into action on a daily basis the principles of our respective faiths or our laic value systems.
McGill°®¶¹app™s op-eds °®¶¹app” like his sermons and public discourses °®¶¹app” are distinguished by their rich alliteration and rhyme. In substance, they are consistent in reflecting the teachings of Martin Luther King. They focus specifically on one cornerstone of human rights and social justice: racial unity and equality.
I understand and appreciate that singular focus in his op-eds. Why? Because I agree, as did King, that of all the social dilemmas that have confronted our American society the past 400°®¶¹app„years, it is racial bias °®¶¹app” white racial bigotry and oppression °®¶¹app” that represents the single most pervasive, most insidious, most destructive, most toxic social and political dynamic.
However, McGill has contributed to the cause of racial equality immeasurably beyond his influence through sermons and op-eds. He has brought to Fort Wayne:
°®¶¹app¢ South African anti-apartheid hero Archbishop Desmond Tutu to speak (2003);
°®¶¹app¢ Olympic legend Jackie Joyner-Kersee to lead a Unity March (2015);
°®¶¹app¢ Survivors of the Mother Emanuel AME Church massacre in Charleston, South Carolina, to lead another Unity March (2016);
°®¶¹app¢ The Rev. C.T. Vivian, close lifelong friend and confidant of King, to commemorate the anniversary of the March on Washington (2016):
°®¶¹app¢ Freedom Riders hero and civil rights icon Diane Nash along with Rev. Vivian to commemorate the anniversary of King°®¶¹app™s last sermon (2018);
°®¶¹app¢ Martin Luther King III to lay a wreath at the foot of the MLK Memorial Bridge (2019);
°®¶¹app¢ Bestselling author and human rights advocate Anthony Ray Hinton to speak at yet another Unity event (2022); and
°®¶¹app¢ King III to speak at the dedication of the Pillars of Hope public sculpture commemorating his father°®¶¹app™s only visit to Fort Wayne, on its anniversary (2023).
Collectively, these may comprise McGill°®¶¹app™s greatest gifts to Fort Wayne. Each provided a dignified occasion for those who cherish civil rights, human rights and racial unity to assemble, to stand up and be counted under his leadership in making King°®¶¹app™s dream reality.
If not for McGill°®¶¹app™s vision, connections and initiative, how would we in our city have been able to express our unified support for these fundamental, treasured principles?
Humble, devoted spiritual leader and servant to his Imani Temple congregation but also to the oppressed in the entire Fort Wayne community and beyond. Poetic, prophetic champion of social justice. Courageously outspoken patriot in the cause of racial unity and equality.
Well done, Bishop Bill McGill.
Larry Lee, president of Leepoxy since 1975, is a lifelong student of and proponent for civil rights, human rights and social justice.
