Page 4 - Florida Sentinel 9-18-20

Feature
Local Ministers Respond To Trump Ad Racist Attack On Black Church
BY GWEN HAYES Sentinel Editor
A new Trump campaign ad is drawing a lot of criti- cism from Black church lead- ers who are now asking for an apology. The ad -- entitled “Meet Joe Biden’s Support- ers” — also depicts Black churchgoers as “thuggish rule-breakers.”
“The ad is a racist attack on the African American church, and because it was an attack on the Christian church, it should be offensive to every Christian and person of faith,” said the Rev. Sil- vester Beaman of Bethel AME Church, Wilmington, Delaware. He told the Reli- gion News Service that the ad is inciting “white terror- ism” because it links Black churches to violent protest-
ers.
The Sentinel reached out
to local church leaders to get their opinions on the ad.
Rev. Dr. Glenn B. Dames, Jr., Senior Pastor Allen Temple AME Church, Tampa, stated, “The AME Church deserves an apology. The ad released by Mr. Trump’s campaign was ab- horrent. The AME Church was born out of struggle when Bishop Richard Allen and others were
pulled off their knees in St. George’s Methodist Episco- pal Church in Philadelphia, PA.
“We pray for the United States, that the Lord will bring us peace to this nation at a time of such uncertainty, divisiveness and hate. We pray that God would raise up leaders who desire peace, justice, and love.
“Unfortunately, the bat- teries in Mr. Trump and his followers’ moral compass have stopped working. They have substituted Christianity with the idol of ‘white su- premacy.’ They have aban- doned the call for social justice throughout scripture for the same law and order rhetoric used to crucify Jesus.
We should demand more of this administration, yet I
am learning to expect less from the results we have seen thus far.
“His actions are reckless, lawless, and dangerous, and everyday I find myself saying wow more and more.”
Pastor Brett Snow- den, Senior Pastor of Greater Bethel M. B. Church stated, “As I read the article, I said to myself, “here we go again.” Any attempt to be productive easily becomes poisonous to the Trump- Pence team. Presidential candidate Joe Biden real- izes to be an effective leader that it is necessary to sit and listen to the voices of all America. To paint an ugly picture of religious leaders as “thuggish rule breakers” af- firms Mr. Trump’s nega- tive and racist position towards anyone or group of people who stand on the other side of the aisle.
“What is painful, absurd, and shameful is to depict re- ligious leaders as vile offend- ers to social and racial equity. However, it seems the con- duct to push people out of the way for you to stand in front of a church with the Bible upside down equates to non-thuggish behavior and quite simply blasphemy. The truth be told Mr. Trump just cannot help himself. He has no regard for God or any- one unless they are bowing before him.”
Pastor Moses Brown,
of Feed The Children, said, “Honestly, I am surprised that the Black Church is just now demanding an apology. We should have demanded an apology in 2016 when he
retweeted false statistics claiming that African Ameri- cans are responsible for most murders of white Americans.
“We should have de- manded an apology when Trump made comments fol- lowing a 2017 white su- premacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, that referred to our oppressors as our equals.
“We should have de- manded an apology in 2018, during an Oval Office meet- ing about immigration re- form, Trump referred to El Salvador, Haiti, and African countries as "Sh** holes"!
“We should have de- manded an apology in 2019 when Trump took hundreds of migrant children from their parents and left them in the most appalling condi- tions ever seen in America.
“We should have de- manded an apology in 2020 from this same President that has again tried to ignite panic, paranoia and pande- monium by false representa- tion of the Black Church that advocates peace, healing, and justice.
“Today, my heart goes out to all my brothers and sisters who’ve been hurt, but never can expect an apology.
“May justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream! Amos 5:24.”
Pastor
Roundtree, II, Pastor of New Mt. Zion M. B. Church stated. “I am dismayed by the over fear-mongering to which the President has de- volved in order to win reelec- tion.
“What is more concerning is the millions of professed fol- lowers of Christ who sub- scribe to these tactics, deepening the divide in the body of Christ. We as Chris- tians are not called to align ourselves with a political party or candidate; rather, we should rise above the fray and be the salt and light that Christ has called us to be.”
Larry L.
PAGE 4-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2020