In the sweltering heat of a summer day in Tar Heel, North Carolina, representatives of faith, labor, and community groups gathered outside the world’s largest hog slaughtering plant to bear witness to the pain suffered by workers who have been injured and abused in unsafe working conditions, necessitated by a bloody bottom line (Above: rally participants gather to hear from workers about conditions in the plant).

Rev. Nelson Johnson, co-founder of the Southern Faith, Labor, & Community Alliance and Word & World board member, and Rev. Dr. William Barber, President of the North Carolina NAACP, led a rally and prayer service in which both current and former workers at Smithfield Packing shared their stories of pain and abuse.

Elsa Garza (picture right) , a former worker and school participant present at the rally, was told by management that she had to choose between her job and her family when she had taken too many days off to care for a sick daughter. “I am here because I want justice,” she said, speaking through a translator. “Justice for myself and for my co-workers.”

The action at Smithfield Packing was part of the Economic Justice and Prophetic Witness School, a three day Christian Movement Building Institute that took place at Rockfish Retreat Center in Parkton, North Carolina. The School was organized by the Southern Faith, Labor, & Community Alliance and Word & World.

“It was our view that a creative, deeply anchored coalition of faith, labor and the community needed to be forged, especially in the south,” said Rev. Johnson. “In such a coalition, the rootedness, love and persistence of faith must be merged with the urgency, energy and practical needs of workers and labor.

“We needed an experience that would bring together faith and labor in a creative and positive way,” said Rev. Johnson.

The Economic Justice and Prophetic Witness School was just such an experience. Over eighty faith, labor and community leaders participated in the Economic Justice and Prophetic Witness School, which was anchored in worship, Bible study, courses focused on social analysis, movement history, and strategic action. The School incorporated a wide diversity of denominational traditions, backgrounds, work histories, ages, and ethnicities. (Left: John Mendez teaches out of Jeremiah in his Bible Study: Economic Justice and the Hebrew Prophets).

Barbara Zelter, former Economic Justice coordinator for the North Carolina Council of Churches said, “We pray: ‘thy kingdom come,’ and it did. Spirit ignited through dance and song, and through tears and sensitive ears. Lines blurred: worship felt like organizing, study circles felt like worship, and it all felt like a giant feast of real good food. This School will stick in my bones for a long, long time.”

To download a copy of the school report, click here.

Supporters of the
SFLCA / W&W Economic Justice and Prophetic Witness
Mini-School: