LA Times op-ed piece rips black conservative ministers

"Selling Their Birthright to the GOP" screams the headline from the Los Angeles Times.

The venerable newspaper then allows two Southern California ministers rip into black conservative Christian ministers who would dare to support the Bush Administration in a hit piece that goes beyond the pale. And why? Because they don't toe the proverbial line that liberals insist that blacks toe.

Seventy pastors apparently turned out for Tuesday's meeting, which was supposedly organized by conservative black ministers who had backed George W. Bush in November and who are seeking to promote what they say is a new agenda for the black community.

Are they doing it with programs that bring jobs, education and opportunity? Nooooooooooooo. They are doing it with a campaign against gay marriage. They are unveiling a "black contract with America on moral values." That's right, Newt Gingrich is back and he's black!

That the ideological descendants of the architects of Jim Crow would be setting up shop in inner cities to structure a solution to the problems of being black in America is beyond ludicrous.

The saddest part is that these ministers, who have inherited a legacy of respect, leadership and authority, would squander their profound birthright for a bowl of faith-based porridge. The underbelly of this Republican initiative is the promise of funding for church programs. That's a true sellout.

The black church has always stood with the oppressed and never the oppressor. It has not been in the forefront of the "pro-life" movement because it recognized that prohibiting abortions leads to the maiming and death of thousands of poor, often black, women. It has not been in the forefront of the movement against gay marriage because it doesn't adhere to the biblical literalism of many fundamentalist churches and looks more to the compassion of Jesus than to conservative legalism.

The authors of the LA Times hit piece insist that anyone who would follow the evangelical teachings of the Bible are short-sighted and stupid, as opposed to being scholarly followers of the Word of God. And the Times, in giving this an audience continues to follow it's long-standing agenda of providing voices to those who would put down more conservative viewpoints, no matter what kind of racial hatred might be stirred up -- even if it is racial hatred within the black community.

The authors, in feeding into that sort of hatred, apparently agree that there should only be one school of thought in black America - one that begs for handouts, as opposed to providing a moral compass.

But let me ask: Isn't there truly room for multiple schools of thought in black America? Isn't there room for those who find that gay marriage is offensive to their sensibilities in addition to those who might otherwise support gay marriage? Many of us on the conservative side of the aisle think that out of a diversity of opinion can come strength in the community. Apparently, the authors of this hit piece feel otherwise. And that's a sad state of affairs, indeed.

Posted by: mhking at 06:48 AM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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