Kendall and Sheila Qualls talk with Corey Brooks, better known as the rooftop pastor, on this week’s episode of Fully Charged.
Brooks is joining Kendall and Sheila for an event in Minneapolis in October. The event is called Mavericks in Minnesota because Brooks and Qualls refute the popular narrative coming from the black community.
The event will coincide with TakeCharge’s annual gala “Law Enforcement in the Black Community.” This event will feature Officer Brandon Tatum as the keynote speaker and Michele Tafoya as emcee.
Brooks is the founder and pastor of New Beginnings Church of Chicago. Ten years ago, he camped out on top of a South Side Chicago building for 94 days to bring awareness to the violence and poverty in the city.
He later purchased that building and tore it down, hoping to eventually convert it into a community center. Brooks has been camping out in the vacant lot, located in what has been described as Chicago’s “most dangerous block,” since November 2021 in an effort to raise $35 million for the new center. He has raised $18.5 million so far.
He is spearheading a movement in Chicago, similar to TakeCharge’s movement in Minnesota, to encourage people to take charge of their lives, families, and communities through faith, family, and education.
“As it relates to faith, we believe people have left God out of the equation. They’ve taken God out of the prayer, the prayer out of the schools, God out of the family. If we’re going to get people on track, we have to teach them to put God first,” Brooks said.
Brooks said he believes the community must take responsibility for transforming itself, “not waiting for government to save the day.”
“We realize that’s not going to happen so we’re doing all these things so we can change the trajectory of an individual’s life,” Brooks said.
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