Honoring a Mentor

Compton’s first monument was unveiled Saturday in honor of Pastor W. Jerome Fisher, a minister who has acted as a mentor and spiritual leader to his congregation and the city’s residents.

The monument, a bronze globe on a gray marble base, is inscribed with the words: “Spreading Good News Throughout the World.” They symbolize Fisher’s efforts to unite people through his ministry.

Fisher, who was Compton’s first minister, is celebrating his 44th anniversary as pastor of Little Zion Missionary Baptist Church on Wilmington Avenue.

“Pastor Fisher has been like a mentor to me,” said Pastor Clarence Stewart, who traveled from Alabama for the event. He said Fisher instructed him as a young minister and encouraged him to lead his own church.

Stewart joined at least 200 community members, local politicians and congregants at the celebration.

In the early 1950s, Little Zion was a tiny church with a 13-member congregation. As membership grew, Fisher lobbied the City Council for permission to build a larger church.

When his request was denied, church leaders and members marched outside the mayor’s office in protest and in 1957 won approval for the larger building that houses Little Zion today. The church, with a membership of 6,000, is the city’s largest.

In 1985, Fisher was among a group of African American pastors selected to visit South Korea in an effort to ease tensions between blacks and Koreans in Los Angeles. He also visited Dominica on evangelical missions.

“I was thinking this morning,” Fisher said at the ceremony, “we don’t need to try to change different cultures; we need to appreciate and understand them.” He said the monument was a visible representation of the community’s invisible work for the past 40 years.

At the ceremony, Fisher, who turns 77 today, was told he would receive an honorary doctorate of theology degree from Yuin University in Compton for his contributions to the city.

Fisher’s is the first in a series of monuments to be dedicated throughout the year, said Compton Mayor Omar Bradley. The structures will add beauty to the area while honoring local and national historical figures, he said.

“We are building the character of the community, sending a message about its history,” he said.

A waterfall honoring Cesar Chavez and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in downtown Compton will be dedicated at the end of the month. The city also plans to open several new parks this year.