Florida Civil Rights Association President J. Willie David said Monday, the city of Orlando’s proposed plan to condemn an African American church to build a new soccer stadium is “morally and constitutionally wrong.”
According to David, the city’s plan to take Faith Deliverance Temple on West Church Street by “eminent domain” has undermined a pillar of American society, the sanctity of the church.
“The U.S. Constitution and every state constitution requires that private property only be taken for “public use,” such as a road or a public building, not for private economic gain for Orlando Major League Soccer and the city,” said David, in a statement. “The city use of eminent domain for the creation of tax revenue is the broadest and most dangerous expansion of eminent domain yet realized. The rights of all home and business owners are in jeopardy.”
The FCRA said, because the matter is of great public interest, particularly to African Americans, it will urge religious leaders and civil rights organizations to voice their opposition to Orlando’s attack on God’s church for financial gain and commercial use.
David charged that the city of Orlando has purchased property from African Americans for pennies on the dollar and that the church should have requested more than $35 million to make-up for the city’s gentrification class war.
The civil rights group has called on Orlando Council members to remove the eminent domain item from its meeting agenda and find another reasonable option to resolve the matter.
[…] the Florida Civil Right Association called the city’s plan to acquire the church by “eminent domain” to build a new […]