The History of 4C Coalition

On October 6, 1999, several pastors, church representatives, educational persons, agencies and mentoring programs met at JRA Region 4 in Seattle, Washington to discuss how faith communities could devote more effort towards working together in mentoring youth.

It was discussed how churches, both large and small, should share resources to reach our youth and how mentoring programs could offer training or technical assistance to the churches.

Out of the meeting a campaign called “Operation Uplift” was initiated. In partnership with Hazel Cameron of JRA Mentor Program, Reverend Jimmy James of BBBS, Katie Bagby of the JOY Initiative and Council of Greater Seattle, Reverend Eugene Rivers, co-founder of the Ten-Point Coalition in Boston (who was featured in NEWSWEEK Magazine and on CNN) was invited to Seattle. Reverend Rivers is a former gang member who went on to Harvard University and who wrote the Ten-Point plan for a church mobilization to combat black-on-black violence, in addition to co-founding the internationally recognized Boston Ten-Point Coalition, a group of pastors that are successfully helping Boston’s most troubled youth.

On October 25, 1999, the First African Methodist Episcopal Church hosted a pastors’ luncheon to continue the discussion of church involvement with Seattle’s most troubled youth.

On the evening of October 25, Reverend Rivers gave a powerfully inspirational message on the importance of the need to mobilize to save our communities and our youth.

Tuesday, October 26, 1999, a roundtable meeting convened with Reverend Rivers, pastors from the Seattle Churches, agencies and mentoring programs to continue the discussions and work through the partnership. Out of these discussions, light was shed upon the enormity and magnitude of the crisis
in our community, that of disproportionality.

On November 16, 1999, Reverend John Wyatt of Ebenezer African Methodist Zion Church hosted local clergy, church representatives, agencies and mentoring programs to begin planning, developing missions, goals and strategies in identifying solutions.

It was the beginning of a shift in the way clergy, communities and agencies began working together. The objective of Operation Uplift was being met.
Out of Operation Uplift the 4 C Coalition was birthed.

For five years, clergy, community members and agencies met in churches across Seattle; together they became a 501 © 3, and wrote a strategic plan.