“If you’re lucky, you will hear parts of your life
played out on a golden harp.”
– Sharrif Simmons
Saturday, May 10, marks a year to the day since Sharrif Simmons was shot at point-blank range during an armed robbery on University Blvd. On the anniversary of the assault that nearly ended his life, the Birmingham-based spoken-word artist and songwriter performs at Bailey’s Irish Pub.
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Friday night more than 1,000 people gathered at Boutwell Auditorium for a prayer rally hosted by Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford.
At the arena entrance, ministers greeted visitors with sackcloths and ashes. The voice of James Earl Jones reading from Revelation boomed through the auditorium speakers. Above the crowd, two wide white banners hung from the ceiling. Each read, “A world without Jesus is a mess waiting to happen - Mayor Larry P. Langford.”
On either side of the stage, two projector screens displayed the Birmingham skyline with the message “A city not forsaken.” On those screens, the event began with an animated film of the last supper, crucifixion and resurrection.
Langford took the stage with a group from Indiana who had come to Birmingham to take part in the event. True to his word, Langford traded in his Gus Mayer suits for a burlap sack, although he did still wear a Rolex watch and designer shoes.
“The only reason he is here is because God put him here,” T. L. Lewis, pastor of Bethel Baptist Church, said of Mayor Langford at the end of a lengthy and raucous sermon. Lewis told the crowd not to tolerate “journalistic terrorism” and said that no one could harm Langford because God was protecting him.
Langford closed the event, drawing largely on his stock of political boilerplate.
“What in hell do you want?” Langford asked the crowd, a line he uses frequently. “There has got to be something in hell we want because we are fighting so hard to get there.”
Mayor Langford called the event because of rising crime in Birmingham. The city’s murder rate is out-pacing 2007 by more than 40 percent.
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On Tuesday Mayor Larry Langford told city councilors that he ordered 2,000 burlap sacks for community leaders to wear at the next Plan 10/30 summit. Donning harsh sackcloth is a recurring Bible motif that indicates the wearer’s humility, mourning, and repentance.
“When cities in the early part of … the world’s history, when they had gotten so far from God—
doing idol worship and all kinds of crazy stuff we’re even doing today—that community came to its senses,” said Langford “The Bible tells us that they put on sackcloth and ashes on their face and prayed, and God heard their prayer.”
“So I have ordered, this morning, 2000 burlap bags,” he said.
City Council meetings are rarely short on religious fervor. Local ministers come to request city funding for their faith-based initiatives, and they often use fiery language to garner support from the crowd.
Though the Council is occasionally dismissive of these funding requests, they sometimes invite religious leaders to praise their work. Last week Langford honored Bishop Calvin Woods. This week the Mayor and Council welcomed newly ordained Archbishop Joseph Marino. The Mayor honored the Birmingham native by presenting him with the first of the 2000 sack cloths.
A city official told Birmingham Weekly that the burlap sacks are being paid for with private funds, not taxpayer money
If anyone feels that Langford uses the council dais like a pulpit, the mayor doesn’t seem concerned.
“The Constitution of the United States calls for a separation of church and state—it never said anything about a separation of church from state,” Langford said during the council meeting. “You don’t wanna pray? Fine. Just get your evil self away from me.”
The date of the burlap sack summit is yet to be announced. It will be the fourth of a series of community initiatives collectively called Plan 10/30. The meetings are part of the Mayor’s plan to discourage crime and inspire local youths and community leaders to participate in Birmingham’s growth and revitalization.
“I got a call from someone saying I need to quit mentioning God’s name so much, and so I politely asked him what in hell did they want?” Langford said. “Because there must be something in hell we want because a lot of us are working so hard to get there.”
A few relevant Bible verses …
Jeremiah 6:26:
O my people, put on sackcloth
and roll in ashes;
mourn with bitter wailing
as for an only son,
for suddenly the destroyer
will come upon us.
Isaiah 15:3:
In the streets they wear sackcloth;
on the roofs and in the public squares
they all wail,
prostrate with weeping.
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