Walking with God: Faith leaders discuss the role of the church and social justice

The church has always been a pillar within the Black community and when issues arise they often stand in protest with the very people who fill their pews. Throughout time, whenever Black people have needed a place to gather, the Black church has answered the call.

During the Civil Rights Movement, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., was well recognized for his use of local congregations and his partnerships with fellow faith leaders in the fight for civil rights.

As the fight for social justice, racial equality and civil rights continues, so too does the Black church’s involvement in creating change for the masses. Serving as both spiritual havens and epicenters of social change, churches have been instrumental in advancing civil rights and addressing systemic injustices that continue to affect Black communities.

“Historically, churches have been involved in the Civil Rights Movement and served as meeting places, sources of funding and centers for us to come together to strategize,” said Rev. Dr. Tamara E. Wilson, pastor of Pleasant Hope Baptist Church in Baltimore. “The church is like a hub of our community and activism is an opportunity for us to come and connect our faith to what we’re dealing with in our everyday life.”

By fostering a sense of resilience and collective identity, Black churches
are catalysts for resistance against oppression. PHOTO: ADRIEN OLICHON/UNSPLASH

By fostering a sense of resilience and collective identity, Black churches are catalysts for resistance against oppression. The unique dynamic shared by churches and social change movements has been a vital part of progression in the Black community.

“The church and social justice movements must coexist if we’re going to have any civil society. In the Bible, Jesus literally turned over tables in the temple and beat people in the temple,” said Rev. Robert Turner, of Empowerment Temple in Baltimore. “Of course, Jesus also told us to turn the other cheek, so it is important to know the context and to know what the situation is. The intended goal determines the intended methods. If your goals are to transform the system, then your methods should be parallel to that.”

Turner has been involved in activism his entire life and his role as a faith leader has helped him better support his community during times of political tension and social injustice. “Arm them with the truth and arm them with means of voicing discontent,” he says.

Turner also believes one of the best ways he can serve his community is by accompanying his mustard seed faith with real life action. “Every month I walk from Baltimore to the White House for social justice, for reparations, for my people,” said Turner.

Although politics, civil rights and social justice are touchy subjects, they cannot be ignored, especially in the Black church, which once served as a news source for members of the community that lacked access to information.

“For a long time Black people didn’t have televisions and they really couldn’t afford newspapers, so they got their news from the church on Sunday mornings. The Civil Rights Movement and those types of things were able to be done because of the pulpit,” said Scottie Willis, pastor of Big Creek Missionary Baptist Church in Jackson, Miss. “It wasn’t just a place for the preacher — it was a place for politics.”

Willis noted that although there is room for politics to be discussed in the pulpit, he never takes that space to push his own political beliefs. Much like Turner he provides his congregation with the truth and allows them to make their own decisions about how to be involved in political and social justice movements.

“As a pastor I’ll never tell you who to vote for, but I will make sure that you are informed of both sides of the story. I can’t just have one side. It’s my job to make sure that the congregation knows this is what’s going on,” said Willis. “Even when we disagree, as the church it is our job to be like Jesus and so in that way — we gotta love everybody.”

All of the faith leaders who spoke with the AFRO noted that their involvement and support of social justice movements are a matter of their own personal feelings but also their responsibilities as a faith leader. Wilson shared that caring for the oppressed, feeding the hungry and speaking up for the voiceless are the kind of things the Bible encourages people to do; making these actions of advocacy a matter of faith — not politics.

“Our faith teaches us that we are to care for the oppressed, that we are to feed the hungry and speak up for those who are voiceless,” said Wilson. “I don’t see that as being political, per se. It’s about us living out the teachings of our faith. We can do those things in a bipartisan way.”

From the pews to the streets, Black churches continue to be a source of strength, resilience, and transformation. Their legacy as champions of civil rights and social justice is a testament to the power of faith and community in the ongoing fight for a more equitable society.

The article Walking with God: Faith leaders discuss the role of the church and social justice appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers.