Protestant Minister
From working as a janitor, pushing a broom and social justice at the same time, he became Pastor of a church, expanding his positive influence from his family to his neighborhood and to the broader community.
FAMILY BACKGROUND
RS was born the 14th of 16 children. He met his wife a few years after graduating from high school; they had two daughters and two sons.
CHILDHOOD THOUGHTS OF AN ADULT CAREER
RS’ interest in the ministry began when he was a child. He was only 8 when he began standing on a milk crate, preaching at home and on the sidewalk to neighbors, according to his family story.
EARLY EMPLOYMENT NEVER A BINDING COMMITMENT TO A CAREER
RS’ early adult jobs were working as a janitor, first for an insurance company and later for a pharmaceutical company. During his second employment, he engaged upper-level employees in conversation, which led to the company moving him from janitor duties to becoming an in-house advocate for equality and diversity for Black and other minority employees.
CARING FOR OTHERS EXPANDS FROM HIS NEIGHBORHOOD TO THE LARGER COMMUNITY
When his children were young, RS used to put on movies in the front yard for all the kids on the block. The movies were always wholesome, family movies.
When RS realized that his passion for improving the lives of others was respected by his employer and appreciated by his neighbors, he decided to become a minister to try to positively influence the broader community. So, he enrolled in a Bible Institute. Following graduation, he was soon named pastor of a new Baptist church, which he led for 14 years.
CAREER ENABLES WIDE AND POSITIVE INFLUENCE IN THE COMMUNITY
As the Pastor of a church, RS was automatically a member of the local Black Clergy Organization, soon serving as Chairman of its social action committee. In that role, he met with police officials and community leaders about police shootings of unarmed residents. He also met with Philadelphia School District officials and union leaders, on education and labor issues.
One specific, memorable action led by RS was to protest at a local store about its sale of a board game called ‘Ghettopoly’ a spoof of the classic Monopoly game. Instead of the traditional top hat and car (recognized symbols when the game was invented early in the 1900s), the spoof included images of marijuana and machine guns. “Playas” bought crack houses and properties. After several weeks of protests bringing negative publicity to the store, the store stopped selling those games.
CAREER SATISFACTION
In addition to leading a happy family life and encouraging his children and grandchildren to make a positive difference in the community, RS earned the respect of his fellow Pastors, neighbors, and many citizens of his city. Said one, “RS was truly a man of God who loved doing what God called him to do, and that was pastoring, teaching and working for social justice.”
