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June 6-12, 2002

city beat

Onward Christian St. Soldiers

The Y fights on for independence.

by Daryl Gale

If the corporate board of the YMCA of Philadelphia and Vicinity was looking to keep the lid on a growing controversy when they fired Blondell Parsons on April 15, they miscalculated. Parsons, who was executive director of the Christian Street YMCA (CSY) branch in South Philly, was unceremoniously terminated after City Paper ran a cover story on the Christian Street branch and its quest for independence from “Corporate,” as the governing body is often referred to (“Let My People Go,” Daryl Gale, April 11). The firing of Parsons only served to galvanize the branch’s members and South Philly neighbors and to spur the Christian Street board of managers to intensify their efforts toward an independent Christian Street YMCA.

The Christian Street Y, founded by abolitionists a century ago, is the second oldest African-American YMCA in the country.

Last Wednesday, about 30 neighbors, board members and concerned citizens met at the American Legion Post at 20th and Federal to plan their next move and to reaffirm their resolve that the YMCA on Christian Street free itself from corporate management and demand that control of the branch be given over to the neighborhood. The meeting was chaired by CSY board member and state Rep. Harold James, who was still boiling mad about Parsons' firing six weeks later.

"The whole idea of independence was borne of questions concerning funding and the inequitable treatment of the Christian Street branch by Corporate," James said. "The fact that they terminated a dedicated and vital neighborhood resource like Blondell in such a racist, cruel manner is further evidence of their lack of concern about our neighborhood."

Parsons, along with most of CSY's board and members, is African-American. The Corporate board is overwhelmingly white.

Corporate, which will not comment on the branch's desire for independence, maintains that Parsons was fired because it no longer believed in her leadership ability.

Referring to Parsons as a hero, James said the tactic corporate is using is the old divide-and-conquer, seeking to satisfy a few disgruntled members in hopes of silencing the masses.

"This is the way institutionalized racism works in the 21st century," James told the gathering over spaghetti and meatballs. "It's just a new twist on a very old strategy. But we're not going to let them get away with it. We're going to keep the pressure on, and we're not going away."

CSY board member Bob Isard was in attendance, and he offered his take on the controversy.

"Corporate is not willing to recognize the Christian Street Y as a viable community entity," Isard said. "When we raised money, we were essentially Œtaxed' by corporate on those monies. Corporate used CSY for fundraising, but turned their backs when the time came to share the wealth. The Christian Street YMCA belongs to the community, not to the corporate board," Isard said to enthusiastic applause.

Those assembled at the meeting passed resolutions to create a nonprofit organization called Friends of the Christian Street YMCA, to engage in their own fundraising efforts, to hire attorneys to deal with the issues of separation and to act as liaison between CSY and corporate, and to develop a long-term plan of action.

Part of that plan will be to hold a summer block party on Christian Street to raise awareness of the branch's importance to the neighborhood, to mount a massive petition drive with the signatures of thousands of community residents demanding CSY's independence, and to hold a tribute banquet in support of Blondell Parsons. The newly formed Friends of the Christian Street YMCA also vows to organize protests and pickets at the branch and at Corporate headquarters in Center City until their demands for independence are met.

A spokesman for the National YMCA in Chicago says independence is a local matter and that it doesn't get involved.

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