Freddy Haynes is a man on a new mission.
Known to many as an influential pastor, activist and author, he’s now taken on a new role as leader of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, which was founded by Civil Rights leader Jesse Jackson — in addition to his pastoral role.
He is as surprised as anyone that he’s following in the footsteps of Jesse Jackson.
“My initial response to the question is that I thought it was an April Fool’s joke. Gotcha,” he said. “The conversation started so many years ago. Rev. Jackson has always been so supportive of me. It finally came to a head in July 2019. I was speaking in Detroit for the NAACP convention and Rev. Jackson was there. So, after I finished speaking, he asked to speak with me. That’s when he made it known that he really wanted me to succeed him as president of Rainbow PUSH.
Frederick Haynes
“Again, I’m thinking this is a joke. There are so many others who are much more qualified than me. Rev. Jackson is an icon and one of the greatest leaders in the world. The fact that my name even crossed his mind is mind blowing. We talked for a very long time because again, you’re talking about 2019 and this is 2023.
“In April of this year, he called me and said, ‘OK, it’s time.’ By that time, because he had graciously and sagaciously walked me through what this would look like and how it could work, I felt a little more comfortable. It wasn’t an all-of-a-sudden kind of call, but again, to his credit, he walked me through the whole enormity of the organization. It’s been quite a journey.”
For Haynes, the journey started years ago as a college student at Bishop College in Dallas, where he met Jackson as a student. Since then, Haynes has been on his own journey as a civic leader and as pastor of Friendship-West Baptist Church for decades.
“Looking back at that moment and the mission that’s ahead of me leaves me knowing God is capable of doing more than what we ask him to.”
“Rev. Jackson blessed me when I was in college at Bishop College during our 100th anniversary centennial celebration,” Haynes recalled. “He was the convocation speaker. I’m wrestling with who I’m going to be and what I’m going to do with my life. I had been studying Martin Luther King Jr. in a voracious fashion, and then here comes Jesse Jackson who, of course, was a protege of Martin Luther King and now carrying the ball himself. And so that moment was eye-opening. Looking back at that moment and the mission that’s ahead of me leaves me knowing God is capable of doing more than what we ask him to.”
Haynes believes God has kept him for such a time as this.
“Without question, a sense of divine connection and calling, I feel strongly that God called me to ministry and staying connected with God, allowing God to order both steps and stops, has been, for me, a source of sanity and strength,” he said. “So, as far as I’m concerned, when I even reflect on that question it’s a God thing. Because God called me, God convinced me that God had called me, and God has been gracious and good enough to put the right people in my life at the right time, and to keep me on the path when I would have gone astray. So, I am grateful to the fact that God has called me and God has kept me.”
Haynes’ calling to ministry started when he was 16 years old as a pastor’s kid growing up in San Francisco.
Frederick Haynes speaking with William Barber listening in 2021.
“When I was 16 years old, my pastor at Third Baptist Church in San Francisco, Dr. Amos Brown, led our community in a one-day boycott of the San Francisco Unified School District because the school district was not being culturally responsive to Black students. And of course, when students don’t attend class, that means the state does not give the city money.
“I won’t forget this because my Afro-literature teacher had us walking through the autobiography of Malcolm X. There’s a scene in Malcolm X’s autobiography where his dad has been killed probably by the Klan. Malcolm’s family is going hungry because of the system. Malcolm is begging his mother to feed him. He is just a young kid. His mother finally says, ‘Yes, here’s some food, but why can’t you be like your little brother who is quiet and nice?’ Malcolm looks at his brother, who is quiet and nice but hungry, and Malcolm makes noise and gets what he wants.
“Malcolm discerned that in this life, if you’re going to get what you want, you’ve got to make noise. You cannot be quiet. I got that at 16. That night, here’s what got me. Dr. Brown called a mass meeting, and we gathered in this large church in San Francisco. He saw me walk in, called me down front and told me to go ahead and speak to the congregation about what happened today.
“I had just read that portion in the autobiography of Malcolm X. That was my illustration. And I basically said, at 16, if we’re going to get what we want, we have to make some noise. And man, I’m 16. So, the crowd is just like going crazy because this 16-year-old has said this.
“I’ve watched God order my steps, bring certain people into my life, expose me to the best in the Civil Rights and prophetic and justice tradition. As a consequence, I think all of that was getting me ready for what God was readying for me. God has a way of setting you up for what God has already set up for you.”
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