Hours before thousands took part in a major march for immigration reform in San Francisco Wednesday, the leaders of some of Oakland’s most prominent African-American congregations gathered at the Federal Building and passionately proclaimed their support for humane immigration reform.

“We are African-American clergy who, in order to form a more perfect union in which all may pursue life, liberty and happiness, come together to speak, organize, march and move on behalf of comprehensive, just immigration reform,” said Servant Brian K. Woodson, pastor of Oakland’s Bay Area Christian Connection, in his opening remarks.

“We understand that immigration is an issue that some will use to divide one worker against another worker, but we are here to stand together as working people,” Woodson continued.

Reform is key to economic recovery: when unscrupulous employers exploit immigrants, that drives down everyone’s wages. Reform would strengthen all workers’ bargaining power and “help all God’s children rise to shared prosperity.

The East Bay Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice (a project of EBASE), the Black Alliance for a Just Immigration and the East Bay Housing Organizations co-sponsored the event.

If you have a moment, listen to these pastors’ powerful words.

A few highlights:

Rev. Dr. J. Alfred Smith Jr., Senior Pastor, Allen Temple Baptist Church: “Our sacred scriptures let us know we have a very serious obligation to the most vulnerable in our society … . All of us are interconnected in this great web of mutuality. When one hurts, we all hurt in this society.” Taking inspiration from the Declaration of Independence, Smith spoke powerfully of: “Liberty – meaning that no one should have to flee with government chasing after them for cards of authorization to be here.”

Father Jay Matthews, Pastor, St. Benedict Catholic Church: Matthews spoke for a “reform that will respect human life that will respect human dignity, and … the rights of all human beings in this country.”

Rev. Phil Lawson, EBHO, Retired Methodist Minister: “We must insist that immigrants have a pathway to citizenship – full citizenship, not second-class or third-class, because we know from our own journey that our ancestors were less than citizens when they were violently brought here as immigrants.”

Father Greg Chisolm, Pastor, St. Patrick Catholic Church: “I am the shepherd and servant to 400 families of color, half of them black and half of them immigrant Latino. There is only one flock.” Father Chisolm also shared this heart-wrenching story from his congregation:

In 2008, he baptized the son of a Latina and her African-American boyfriend. The joyous occasion was punctuated by mourning, as the baby’s grandparents were tragically being deported the next week. Among all parishioners: “There was instant identification with what it was to be targeted for who you are. There was instant identification with a family forced against its will to be separated, perhaps forever.”

Servant Brian K Woodson: “We understand there are forces, which seek to reduce human beings to commodities, but we will not be bought and sold.”

Rev. Clarence Johnson, Pastor, Mills Grove Christian Church: Closed with a prayer. “… may the love, the joy, the light and the peace of this great Creator keep your hearts and minds until immigration reform becomes a reality.”

The pastors all agreed that reform would help “make the promise of America a reality” for both immigrant and African-American communities.