Rev. Al Sampson is an internationally recognized and respected leader in religious circles, regardless of the denomination. The Senior Pastor at Fernwood United Methodist Church of Chicago, IL is advocating a new and important cause, and he took his case to the floor of the National Action Network 13th Annual convention in New York last week. Sampson presented his case at a convention workshop entitled Social Engagement — Entrepreneurial Strategies that Lead to Success, a business seminar to discuss social networking and its entrepreneurial applications.
“I am the only preacher in the nation to have a Department of Agriculture in a church and for the last 30 years we have been bringing vegetables up from the south the last 30 year,” Sampson began adding that he is also the only preacher in the Southern Christian Leadership Council who was ordained by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King. Not shy or short on confidence, he continued to address the illustrious group of panelists, which included Alfred Edmond Jr. of Black Enterprise, Amanda Diva of AOL Black Voices and Detavio Samuels of GlobalHue.
“It’s been a simple marriage between the black farmer down south and the black consumer up south, So, I have access to farmers. But what we need in cities like New York, and Chicago and Atlanta are warehouses to house and distribute food product,” he said before being interrupted by a call to his cell phone, quipping that it was God calling.
“They’ve done studies in these urban centers and the problem is that the grocery stores are too far away, and the food that we eat is causing the diseases that we have. So rather than Africans in America becoming comfortable with all of the sickness around us we need to hurry and put together what I am calling a national census, where black folk ought to register their names and their talents.”
Sampson is the founder and president of George Washington Carver Farmers Agribusiness Resource Management Services (FARMS). His message of leadership and self development are the cornerstones of Buy Black campaigns and minority economic development strategies around the country. -roz edward
