Black faith leaders must lead the resistance and seize this historic moment

We must move, and we must move now.

By Bishop Reginald T. Jackson

Sixty years ago this week, a procession of peaceful activists—led by some of the most courageous African American faith leaders of their time—set out on a 54-mile march from Selma to Montgomery. Their purpose was clear: to resist the relentless tide of hatred, voter suppression, and the brutal murder of activists, including Jimmie Lee Jackson. They attempted to walk not just for themselves but for a future where justice was more than a distant dream. For daring to bear witness, they were met with clubs and the unflinching cruelty of those who saw their very presence as an affront.

But even when met with hate and violence, resistance was not so easily vanquished. Days later, and now under the federal government's protection, they marched again. This time, they completed their journey, and in doing so, they cracked open the doors of democracy, paving the way for the voting rights.

This is the legacy of the Black church in America, and this leadership is written into the fabric of our struggle. From the founding of multi-denominational Black churches to the establishment of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), from organizations like the NAACP, the United Negro College Fund, and the Urban League to the thunderous voices that led the Civil Rights Movement—Martin Luther King Jr., Andrew Young, Ralph Abernathy, John Lewis, Hosea Williams—our faith leaders have stood at the vanguard of Black progress. It was their moral vision that pushed us all out of the bonds of slavery, created institutions of change, and ultimately led the United States to a more perfect union by helping to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the Equal Opportunity Act, the Fair Housing Act, and a litany of other hard-fought legislative victories.

But history does not move only forward. Now, much of the progress made over the past 249 years is being undone or threatened by Donald Trump. After only a month in the White House, Trump is pressing to see how far he can go. Even Congress and the courts are yielding their constitutional authority. As Blacks and Americans, we are facing a historic moment, and it is a moment that African American faith leaders must again seize. Today, the rights for which our ancestors bled are being undone, piece by piece, by the hands of one man and those who follow him.

How, then, does the Black church lead the resistance against this administration's efforts to turn back time?

First, all Black church leaders must take a stand, share their voices, and firmly and publicly speak out. There must be no mistake or question on where we stand as black faith leaders. It is our moral obligation in serving God not to remain silent and to understand the role we play in our communities. We each must make consistent denominational statements, pastoral announcements, and other pronouncements declaring our support and determination for diversity, equity, and inclusion. In our local communities, we must follow the path of so many faith leaders before us and resist. We must hold press conferences, create town hall events, and meet regularly with our elected and community leaders from both parties. This includes engaging directly with the same Republican extremist leaders who are blindly following Trump's commands of hate. We must encourage all forms of discourse and not allow others the opportunity to say "Black faith leaders didn't seek to meet with us." Everybody ought to know where the Black church stands. Most of all, each of us must take a deep look at ourselves. If we do not have the tools, knowledge, or energy to lead proactively and aggressively, we must develop those skills.

Second, we must educate with facts, expose the full weight of what is at stake, and make known the risks and the results of Trump's plan for African Americans. In 2016, when Trump first ran for the presidency, he asked the African-American community, "What do you have to lose?" Well, now we all know. Opportunities for Black professionals have stalled. Federal job openings for people of color have vanished. Corporate training programs designed to uplift our communities have been scrapped. The Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department has ceased enforcing protections. Funding for diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives has been gutted. And history itself—the raw, unvarnished truth of slavery, of Jim Crow, of the long and ongoing struggle for freedom—is under attack. Our children are being deliberately cut off from the knowledge of their own past and, in turn, their right to claim their future. This is now the America we live in under Trump and, specifically, what we, as Black Americans, have now lost in only one month. These are the facts. As faith leaders, it is our job to shine a strong light on the truth.

Third, we must mobilize and galvanize our people. Black faith leaders must use their voices and leadership to motivate and encourage Black people, other people of color, and other Americans to be involved and organized to fight against this administration's efforts to turn back time. This moment is not a time for waiting. This is not a time for hoping that, somehow, decency will prevail on its own. We must shake loose the dangerous complacency that tells us things will "work themselves out." They will not. We must move, and we must move now. Black faith leaders must wield their pulpits as instruments of urgency, calling on their congregations not only to pray but to act. As faith leaders, we must remind our sisters and brothers that resistance is a sacred duty. As leaders within our neighborhoods and communities, we must register voters, engage in civic education, and build coalitions. The intention behind this administration's actions is clear: to return us to an era when people of color "knew their place." That cannot be allowed to happen. As our forebears did before us, we must proclaim, "Ain't nobody gonna turn us around."

Resistance is not rebellion. Resistance is obedience to justice, to truth, and to God. During the American Revolution, two of our country's forefathers, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, were inspired by the words sometimes credited to Scottish faith leader John Knox, who stated, "Resistance to tyranny is obedience to God," meaning that fighting against unjust and oppressive rule is considered morally right and even a duty to God, as it aligns with divine principles of justice and freedom. We are living in a moment when a president is attempting tyrannical rule. He is a leader who governs not with wisdom but with cruelty, who does not seek to unite but to divide.

We must not shy away. As history has shown, resistance is not optional. It is our moral obligation. John 8:32 reminds us "The truth will set you free." We know the truth, and now we must act. As faith leaders, we are called upon God to serve, and during this historic moment, to paraphrase James 4:7, we must resist the devil, and, if we do, he will flee. This is our historic moment. The question for all of us as faith leaders is to decide today to be on the right side of history and seize this moment.

Reginald T. Jackson is bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church’s Second Episcopal District, which includes churches in North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia.

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