An Irony-laced Honor in Annapolis

April 1, 2009

By Heber Brown, III

Dr. Vernon Dobson Tribute Pic at Statehouse

There I was. Standing on the House Floor at the State Capital with Speaker Michael Busch…yes that Michael Busch. How did I get there?

Well, it all started with a call from Delegate Jill Carter inviting me to come and accept an award on behalf of one of the greatest clergy/activists that Baltimore has ever seen – Rev. Vernon Dobson.

On the last day of Black History Month, the Maryland House of Delegates, at the behest of Del. Jill Carter, produced a resolution in honor of Dobson. And it was truly my honor to stand and accept it on his behalf with one of the most dedicated delegates that Baltimore has ever seen standing on my immediate right. (Though she is actively being marginalized by the power structure in Annapolis and even by the other representatives of the 41st district like Del. Sandy Rosenberg, she is, in fact, one that the Baltimore community can really count on.) Standing to my left was the gentleman who had not long ago attempted to broadside Carter by stripping her of her subcommittee chairmanship (or chairwomanship?) which prompted a flurry of posts from this blogger. There I was standing in between the two. (You can’t tell me that God doesn’t have a sense of humor.)

However, I couldn’t turn down the opportunity to stand in Dobson’s shoes – even if for but a moment. It was the type of honor that challenged me to be better.

Dobson was one of the members of the vaunted “Goon Squad” of Baltimore – a grouping of clergy, lawyers, politicians, and activists who stirred much trouble for justice in Baltimore during the late 60′s while fighting segregation.

Dobson was not only an activist, but he is a scholar whose life was molded by the likes of Mordacai Johnson, Benjamin Mays, Howard Thurman, Ralph Bunche, Thurgood Marshall among others. While age and some health challenges have slowed Rev. Dobson down a bit, the work that he has done still speaks loudly for him. The Maryland Food Bank, Baltimoreans United In Leadership Development (B.U.I.L.D.), and the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance were either created or enhanced with Dobson’s hand in the mix.

For years now, I’ve been praying and working for the development of another Goon Squad here in Baltimore modeled after the squad of Dobson’s day. We desperately need a coagulation of dedicated community servants working together to engage the issues of our time. I tried to manufacture and force it a few years back with a group called Young Clergy for Social Change, but that group had a short-lived season. Now, however, I see the seedlings of something on the horizon that excites me. I see God orchestrating the lives of some pretty impressive local servants even as The Almighty continues to settle me in my new charge as a pastor. Some of my colleagues are being positioned to begin pastoring themselves. Others are contemplating running for political office. It’s not all together yet, but in the fullness of time, I do sense that God will bring what’s needed and use the willing to make a difference here.

It was great to stand in Dobson’s shoes for that moment and prayerfully, I’ll be granted the opportunity to follow the best of his legacy for many years to come.

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