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Editor, Asbury Park Sun,

Ninety six hours.

It has been four short days since the reality of the man behind the “Festival of Life” was revealed to our beloved City. In those ninety six hours, a protest was planned and has now metamorphosed into something much better.

Much more powerful.

And most importantly, as a beacon of hope, a sign that Asbury Park can stand head and shoulders above the hate preached by one man.

Why the change in direction? Our churches, our City, our political action groups, and our local businesses quickly realized that we were hoodwinked, and also that any group taking action alone could be misunderstood as standing in opposition to fellow groups of marginalized people. Representatives from all of these groups organized and met at Second Baptist Church on Wednesday evening, and after a few hours of conversation, a plan was devised.

Local churches have distanced themselves from the underlying message proffered by a visiting conservative evangelist who preaches animosity and intolerance. Sponsors, promoters, and local businesses have redirected their support away from the Festival of Life’s out of town organizers. The decision was made to not only welcome the festival itself with open arms, but to turn what was a protest against it into a much more loving and inclusive alternative. 

The exact location has yet to be determined, but it will likely be Atlantic Square Park, just one block west of Bradley Park, at 5 pm this Sunday. We won’t have a car or video games to give away. But we will have food to both enjoy there and to bring home if you are in need. We will be gladly accepting donations of food, and new or gently used clothing to further share with our neighbors, anything left over will be distributed locally. If you are there to find or reaffirm hope in religion, we will have local churches, mosques, and synagogues present with information on their congregations. Local houses of worship that are there to support you in your time of need, not some distant arena asking you for money in order to be “saved.”

Community groups from Black Lives Matter to Garden State Equality will have information on their organizations. There will be a voter registration table, and since this is Asbury Park, where would we be without some art and music to enjoy?

So please, go to the Festival of Life. Partake in the material goods that they have to offer while ignoring the underlying message of intolerance by one man. But please join us as well, before or after, and stand with your sisters and brothers to send a united message:

Mr. Shuttlesworth, your distorted and malicious use of the gospel is unwelcome here. Your bribery, deceit and offering of monetary gifts will not fool us. Your words of fear and hatred will not divide us. We are a community committed to celebrating and honoring our diversity, and we are working diligently to improve every day so that everyone in our City can stand on equal ground. We are families and neighbors. We are artists. Pastors. Students. Teachers. Civic leaders. Volunteers. Laborers. Business owners. We are Gay. Straight. Queer. Black. Brown. White. We are Christians. Muslims. Jews. Atheists. We are documented and undocumented. We are young and old. And we stand united in the name of love.

We are ASBURY PARK.

Allison Kolarik [AK Hanrahan], Community Activist

Jennifer Lewinski, Black Lives Matter Asbury Park

Christian Fuscarino, Garden State Equality

Giuseppe ‘Joe’ Grillo, Asbury Park Democratic Committee Chair

Isaac Friedel, Lead Pastor, Shore Christian Church

Jason Dermer, Asbury Park Business Owner & The Chapin Foundation Board Member

Jennifer Stine Schulman, Asbury Park Business Owner

Reverend Nicolle Harris, Black Lives Matter & African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church

Russell Lewis, Asbury Park Resident & Business Owner

Dr. Semaj Y. Vanzant Sr, Second Baptist Church Pastor & Teacher

[This letter represents the opinion of its writer and is not representative of any opinion of the Asbury Park Sun staff. All readers are welcome to submit Letters to the Editor to news@asburyparksun.com for our consideration. For guidelines on letter-writing and submission, click here.]

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