Thursday, October 15, 2015

A Collision of Religion, Economic Class, and Race in a Neighborhood in Oakland


Oakland Gospel Choir Draws Nuisance Complaint, Faces $500 A Day Fine
“Kind of hard to believe because we’ve been here about 65 years in the community and all of a sudden we get some concerns about the noise,” said Thomas A Harris III, the pastor at Pleasant Grove. Church pastors who met Wednesday said the real issue is gentrification. The church sits in a neighborhood full of old Victorians being snapped up by affluent tech workers.
No, it's not hard to believe at all, especially as I've observed the same prejudice from people who move next door to churches in quaint New England towns and then object to the fact that the churches have bells and ring them.