The History of MIFA continued The Smith-Dempsey Partnership Bob Dempsey recalls that it was Dr. John K. Johnson, Presbyterian minister at the University of Tennessee Interfaith Center, who “maneuvered Gid and me together.” Dempsey soon became involved in MIFA activities and on July 1, 1973, joined the MIFA staff as Co-Director. It is characteristic of both Smith and Dempsey that each gives credit to the other for the changes that now began to occur in MIFA. Julia Allen says, “Bob Dempsey was the turning point of moving from a church organization to the vehicle through which change occurs. Bob brought strategies of dealing with community leaders and government. He plows the ground a long time ahead.” The Reverend Dr. James Hatley of Second Baptist Church, a board member in the early 70's says: “Bob was a good grantsman, and Gid was good in meeting people and organizing structures. They were a good team.” Dempsey puts it this way: “When Gid and I began to work together as a team, the talking stage was over.” Smith and Dempsey were different in their approaches and complimented each other in ways that contributed creatively to what MIFA became. Smith describes himself as “a block builder who likes to proceed step by step,” while Dempsey, he describes as “a visionary with an all-encompassing view of the present and future.” In trying to develop ways to improve the community, Smith says: “Bob would ask, 'What is the world like?' I would ask, 'What can we accomplish?'” Both the general and the particular were thus considered but were always deeply concerned about the welfare of those in need in the community. According to Julia Allen's statement, “MIFA has always had heart, has always cared about people, has never been cold-blooded. Gid and Bob, each in his own way, contributed to that over-all point of view.” Jeanne Tacket, later MIFA's first Associate Executive Director, attributes MIFA's development to “an ongoing dialogue that took place between Smith and Dempsey. They had sharp debates, trying to understand the world they had to deal with and what it could become in the future. The result of their working together was an organizational structure and a process that shaped MIFA.” In the beginning, Smith and Dempsey shared the risk involved in embarking on any project, and both were willing to work any additional hours required to see it through. The Board of Directors “did not own the risk, because they came largely as representatives of their faiths,” says Smith. He remembers the first time he and Dempsey left town together to attend a housing convention. It seemed momentus to them to believe that the organization could continue to function without their physical presence on the scene, so intimately were they connected with it, and so strongly did they feel their responsibility. In June, 1973, through the auspices of Bishop Dozier, MIFA received a grant of $10,000 from the Raskob Foundation to create an Institute of Peace and Justice. The purpose of the grant was “to focus the attention of Memphis on its religious heritage and its resources for creating a better future.” To accomplish this, under the leadership of Dr. Jeff Gros of Christian Brothers College, three scholars, Drs. Frances Loring, Gerald Vander Haar, and David Thomasma wrote “A New Vision and A New Will for Memphis,” which became a contribution by MIFA to the religious community as a whole. In an effort to fulfill MIFA's mission of educating the public about social issues and religious responses to them, it included a description of Memphis, with both its problems and its assets. It also contained a strategy for changing attitudes to move people to action. MIFA began to categorize its programs either as delivery of service, or as systematic change. Areas of ministry were adopted by the board: religious affairs, education, transportation, health, housing, welfare, human rights, law and economics. Program development progressed from feasibility through planning, development, start-up, and operation. In each phase, provider, consumer, financial and legal ramifications were considered. This was “a business-like system,” says Dempsey, “the application of which provided a substantial basis for evaluating program possibilities.” Peter Takayama writes that while the principal focus of programs during MIFA's initial period was communication, beginning in 1973 the emphasis shifted to direct action. The early leaders, he states, “were attempting to put out fires. Now the urgent atmosphere had passed, giving way to careful, sustained efforts to solve urban problems.” While Smith and Dempsey were carving out a niche for MIFA in the community, they were at the same time building the spirit of cooperation among churches and board members. Olin Atkins, a board member when MIFA was in those formative stages, speaks of “the quality people who were on the board, all with good motivation.” Jeanne Dreifus, who was on the board as a representative of the Jewish Community Relations Council, an organization that includes all of the synagogues in Memphis in addition to other Jewish organizations and individuals, believes that the friendships formed during that time were important, and have endured to benefit the city ever since. She feels that “MIFA's most obvious characteristic it its creativity, a wonderful step in the right direction. Now, it is not strange for churches to work together, whereas then, it was. MIFA has inspired other groups to work together.” The 1973 MIFA Board had new members who represented broader and more diverse religious participation. Commenting on this, Mattie Sengstacke, Black civil rights activist, community leader, and early MIFA board member says she “liked MIFA's ecumenical basis, and felt something good had to come from so many diverse groups working together.” The sincere bi-racial nature of the MIFA board has been noted by several of its Black members. Inez Brooks, who represented Church Women United, reports that she had few chances for the kind of relationship she experienced with Whites on the MIFA board, who “reinforced the belief that we can all work together.” Addie Golden, appointed by the Reverend James Lawson to represent the United Methodist Church, had had interracial working experiences in New York City, but felt that Memphis, which was her home town, was totally segregated. She found, however, that “those men on that MIFA Board asked, 'What do we have in common?' not 'what do we have that is different?' MIFA was one of the best things that happened.” In addition to building a strong interfaith, diverse Board of Directors, and creating a system for project development, another early vital goal of Smith and Dempsey was to build a sound support structure for MIFA. Next: The VISTA Impact