Rosa Gibson eulogized as fearless
Citizen activist remembered for hounding politicians, working hard to help the needy
Published: July 10, 2009, 12:30 am
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If Rosa Ann Gibson had seen all the prominent public officials who showed up at her memorial service, she probably would have pointed an angry finger and told them to get back to work.
Gibson’s willingness to push and prod government leaders to do more for the poor was highlighted many times during an emotional “Home Going Service” Thursday afternoon at True Bethel Baptist Church on East Ferry Street.
Gibson, a vocal citizen activist on Buffalo’s East Side for decades, died July 3 after a long fight with breast cancer. At age 78, she was still working hard two weeks before her death, hounding politicians and delivering food to shut-ins and needy families.
She was remembered as a deeply committed, outspoken and fearless community leader by the church pastor, Rev. Darius G. Pridgen, who delivered a loud and fiery eulogy.
“When I was a young pastor, she said to me, ‘Y’all preachers need to get out of those pulpits and into this community,’ ” Pridgen recalled with a smile. “She meant what she said . . . She did not hold her tongue.”
Pridgen called Gibson a mentor who spent countless hours planting gardens in downtrodden neighborhoods, and a “hell raiser” who never hesitated to “go into City Hall and say, ‘Enough is enough!’ ”
And the speakers at Thursday’s service also included some of the same politicians she criticized publicly.
“A lot of us here have been fussed out by [Gibson] in one way or another,” said Assemblywoman Crystal D. Peoples, D-Buffalo. “And we’re all better people for the fussing out she gave us.”
Mayor Byron W. Brown, a frequent target of Gibson’s barbs in recent years, stood up and confessed that he, too, had been “fussed out” by Gibson.
“But I also had the opportunity to see the warm side . . . the loving side,” said Brown, who declared Thursday Rosa Gibson Day in the city. “She was a special lady, and we’ll miss her.”
The mayor also announced that the National Night Out event on Aug. 4 will be held in Gibson’s honor. The event, which includes block parties, neighborhood walks, safety fairs and other activities, was started by Gibson in 1984.
Other city, state and county office holders also attended the memorial service, in addition to several judges. Many family members and longtime friends also were in the audience, which numbered about 200.
They heard how Gibson was born in Greenville, Ala., and how she moved to Buffalo in the late 1950s, working as a nurse for many years.
They heard of her work with the Community Action Information Center, which included running a food pantry, making food deliveries, cleaning up junk-filled lots and planting lush gardens in them.
Many were surprised to learn that Gibson was told by doctors nearly 20 years ago that she had breast cancer and about six months to live.
Pridgen said he hopes that someone else will pick up the mantle and become the same kind of fighter that Gibson was for the East Side.
“She cared more about what was going on in her city than she cared about herself,” Pridgen said. “Thank God for Rosa Gibson!”
dherbeck@buffnews.com
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