WASHINGTON (RNS)—Delegates to the annual meeting of the Progressive National Baptist Convention have called for protests of music lyrics demeaning to women and minorities.
“We are speaking out publicly against the denigration of women, minorities and the kind of self-hatred that is often perpetuated by bad language and bad music,” said DeWitt Smith Jr., president of the historically black denomination. “Our youth department, in particular, has asked us not to patronize the rappers that use language that denigrates our people and others.”
Otis Moss Jr., a Cleveland pastor and outgoing chair of the denomination's Civil Rights Commission, said the concern about “inhumane communication” is not new for the denomination, but “it has reached a special kind of crescendo in recent times with Don Imus.”
Imus lost his job as a radio talk show host in the spring after using slurs about the women's basketball team at Rutgers University.
The 2.5-million-member denomination also added its voice to other religious groups calling for a commitment to address climate change.
“The issue of global warming is a very serious one, and we know that we are to be good stewards of all of the Earth's resources,” said Smith, pastor of Trinity Baptist Church of Metro Atlanta.
“We were placed here by God to be caretakers, and therefore we are concerned about global warming and will do all that we can to help in the situation rather than to hurt.”
Delegates also passed resolutions addressing issues such as support of gun control, fighting poverty and the denomination's continued opposition to the Iraq war.