The Rev. Corey Brooks on Sunday likened his battle against urban violence to the battle of David slaying the giant, Goliath.
On Tuesday, Brooks will embark on his nearly 3,000-mile walk across America to call attention to the violence plaguing Chicago and to raise money to build a community center in the Woodlawn neighborhood.
“David has never had a fight like this before. It is the biggest fight of his life,” Brooks told worshippers at New Beginnings Church in Woodlawn. “This is the biggest challenge in the history of the church.”
He will set out from Times Square in New York, then head to Newark, N.J., and walk through Philadelphia. He plans to be in Chicago on July 15 for a walk on Lake Shore Drive, he said. He expects to arrive at the end of the walk in Los Angeles in about four months.
Brooks drew national attention and visits from politicians and dozens of Occupy Chicago protesters when he spent three months living on a rooftop atop a decrepit motel that was a haven for drugs and prostitution. In the end, a pledge of $100,000 from movie mogul Tyler Perry provided the final push for reaching the pastor’s goal of raising $450,000 to buy and demolish the abandoned building.
With this new campaign, Brooks hopes to raise $15 million to build a community center in the motel’s place.
Accompanying him across the country will be his two sons, Desmond Marshall, 22, and Cobe, 11.
Marshall said he’s excited and nervous about the daunting road ahead, though the cause is greater than his own feelings. “It will bring attention to this major epidemic,” Marshall said.
Brooks’ wife, Delilah, who in the winter spent three months without her husband at home, said seeing her husband taking on the entire country with their sons is “a little different.”
“At least he was accessible when he was on the roof,” she said, adding that her husband’s mission is “amazing” and “unbelievable.”
Members of the church said they will miss their pastor, but they will unite in their support of his trek.
“We’re going to be praying for him,” said Marlo Finner, 41, of Bronzeville.
“(The trek is) not going to be easy,” said Juanita Burton, 49, of South Chicago. But “someone needs to take a stand.”
As his sermon came to a close, Brooks told the emotional and excited crowd, “It’s time to fight!” As the service ended, hundreds of worshippers gathered around Brooks, lifted their hands toward him and prayed, ending the service with “Amen, Amen, Amen.”
