From: Jean Walker
Subject: My Perspective on African American Preachers Who are Speaking Out Against President Obama
Jean Walker, President
BNA, Inc.
Chicago, IL 60619
The history of the Black experience in America, the primary need and role of Black ministers have been to champion the freedom of Black people and to deliver them from the inhumane circumstance of White racism and oppression. The philosophy, approach, and method of Black ministers have varied, and their objective have not remained constant, since the death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Few Black ministers in the Black community stand ready to risk their personal well-being to press for the liberty and uplift of Black people. The quality of Black ministers has been measured in terms of the degree of commitment the minister exhibit to promoting the best interests of the Black community as well as the the Black church. What we are seeing now is most disturbing, after all that Blacks have gone through at the hands of Whites and still going through, you have Black ministers willing to be politically cooperative with Whites in order to sway the Black vote. How can we forget that we have been robbed of our human dignity, brought to this country and commoditized into capital goods to promote the development and economic growth of America and Europe. The nature of our subjugation and treatment at he hands of Whites constituted a form of racism based on color that had never been practiced anywhere in the world. Our mothers, sisters, grandmothers, etc, were raped and otherwise forced into miscegenation with White men. Such violations resulted in the sale of mixed-race off-spring as chattel property.
We have suffered enough at the hands of the White man, must we suffer even more at the hands of the very people whom we once believed were committed to the welfare and best interest of the Black community. Why must our people continue to be exploited and sold-out by individuals who say they are men of God, because they have placed more emphasis on money and material well-being? Why havent the Black ministers utilized their influences to energize or to organize the masses of Blacks for an assault on continuing White oppression? I recently read a post on Yahoo that read "We we will target the ceremonial Negroes in order to beat Obama in November, after all they have become very good at covering their tracks in the Black community".
This comment reminded me of the establishment of President Bush's Faith-Based Initiative Program and its primary purpose. The motives for Bush's supporting Black Churches outreach initiatives, went well beyond any concerns about improving conditions in the Black communities. Rather, he had a political objective to reduce the influence of traditional civil rights organizations by wooing Black ministers into the Republican camp. These Black ministers, in turns are expected to convince a significant portion of their congregations and the individuals in the Black community to follow their lead and vote Republican. The Bush initiatives created a decline in denominationalism along with the rise of Black mega churches and the growing prominence of a "prosperity gospel." that placed greater emphasis on material well being in lieu of the traditional concern with Black spirituality and redemptive salvation. Many African Americans have noticed that there is an observable shift in the political activities of Black ministers. In addition, they have also noticed that the majority of Black ministers speaking out against the "Gay Marriage" issue have remained silent on the issues of unemployment, racism, education, poverty, the murder of Blacks at the hands of White racists and the violence plaguing our communities on a daily basis.
Viewed from this perspective the sudden interest in "Gay Marriages" demonstrated by some Black ministers towards the up-coming elections is both questionable and alarming.
Thank you,
Jean Walker
