Arthur Brown is AJ the Plumber
'AJ the Plumber' wants to fix the plumbing business
Contributed By:The 411 News
His idea is a church-supported academy for the construction trades
Some say they would rather have a dentist bill than one from a plumber. And it perplexes Arthur Brown, aka AJ the Plumber, why it has been hard to get young people in Gary to join this lucrative trade.
A sign outside of Brown's business reads "Now Hiring Plumbing Techs Will Train." Brown said only two people called in the 1½ months the sign has been out there.
“That says to me the people in our community have a serious problem regarding the plumbing trade. I did some research and found only about 8 percent of the nation's plumbers are people of color and I mean people who look like me; that's a problem," Brown said.
What he sees is a system that’s broken and needs fixing.
Brown says he's going to ask Gary churches to join him. "People have forgotten the power of the church. Black churches are behind everything we have accomplished in this country.”
Brown points to his faith in God that propelled him to help found Allen Chapel CME, the church on 21st and Rhode Island, across the street from AJ Plumbing.
He believes churches can help deal with the costs of opening and operating the Northwest Indiana Mechanical Prep Academy, an apprenticeship program that can offer young adults access to skilled trades, not minimum wage jobs. “Every congregation ought to be able to sponsor an individual to an academy right here in the community, to prepare them for work in the construction trades.”
“My business is my ministry and I can use it to help build up what is around me,” Brown says. "I am drafting a letter that will go out to all the churches, with a request to identify an individual in their congregation who is mechanically inclined."
Look at all the universities created by churches, Brown said. “We can’t stop being creative now.”
One of his heroes is Booker T. Washington. "People remember the Tuskegee Airmen. But they forget Booker T. Washington, who created Tuskegee Institute, also trained construction trades people. He even asked the people he trained to be active in the church."
Construction trades training in Gary is a thorny issue that some have tried to address. Brown recalled the Gary Urban Enterprise Association's promise to create a construction trades training program for Gary residents. GUEA's promise ended in failure and scandal.
Brown said he was asked to join GUEA, but declined.
There's the on again, off again construction trades curriculum for high school students at the Gary Area Career Center. The current school administration has plans to change its program to help prepare students for a career.
Poor results in training have also led to few jobs for Gary residents on construction projects, fomenting claims of racial discrimination and protests by activists of unfair hiring at job sites.
Brown’s father is another of his heroes. “My dad raised 12 of us and when he laid down to die, he left something for all of them.”
Story Posted:08/05/2021
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