One day after the San Diego City Council voted to appeal a judge's ruling to remove the cross atop Mount Soledad, African-American church leaders added their voices to the campaign to keep the towering touchstone of Christianity.
“This is bigger than just about a symbol because it's about Jesus,” said the Rev. Marshall Sharpe of Phillips Temple Christian Methodist Episcopal Church in Emerald Hills.
Sharpe was one of dozens of preachers and supporters at a news conference yesterday at Bayview Baptist Church in Encanto.
The National Clergy Council and the Christian Defense Coalition, both based in Washington, D.C., also entered the fray.
The two groups have launched a fundraising drive to help with legal costs.
The gospel radio station, KURS/AM 1040, also will push to keep the cross as is, said Larry “Preacherman” Thompson, a local radio personality.
On Tuesday, the City Council voted 5-3 to fight the judge's ruling that gave the city until Aug. 1 to remove the cross or pay $5,000 a day in fines.
Courts have ruled repeatedly that having the cross on city land is unconstitutional.
