A historically Black denomination has opened an advocacy center in the heart of Washington, D.C., to protect civil rights, champion religious freedom and to be a voice for the poor and marginalized.
The National Baptist Convention USA Inc., announced the launch of its Center for Social Justice to counter the extreme threats to democracy and freedom currently besetting the nation.
Boise Kimber
“We are positioning ourselves at the center of policy and discussions that affect African Americans and our faith communities,” NBCUSA President Boise Kimber said.
Located in the historic United Methodist Building near the U.S. Capitol and U.S. Supreme Court, the center also will counter the erosion of voting rights and “speak for those who cannot speak for themselves,” he said.
NBCUSA is the nation’s largest Black denomination with an estimated membership of between 5.2 million and 7.5 million, and it was the denominational home for Martin Luther King Jr. until he co-founded the Progressive National Baptist Convention in 1961.
Members of Congress, clergy and representatives of other denominations attended the opening ceremony of the center July 14, with several speaking on the urgent need for the project.
The center demonstrates a thorough dedication to advancing justice and civil rights and to ensuring communities are heard in the discussion of the nation’s future, said U.S. Rep. Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., chair of the Congressional Black Caucus.
Yvette Clarke
The location so near to the Supreme Court and U.S. Capitol serves as a powerful reminder that public service and advocacy are deeply intertwined, she said. “This center opens at a time when our nation is facing profound challenges and important choices. Communities across the country are looking for leadership that protects fundamental freedoms, expands opportunity and ensures that every person is treated with dignity and fairness under the law.”
The center continues the historic advocacy of the Black Church that was vital in the struggle for equal opportunity and justice and to ensuring every American was protected by the U.S. Constitution, Clarke added. “This center is uniquely positioned to elevate the voices of faith leaders and the communities they serve by helping to strengthen the dialogue between policymakers and the people whose lives are shaped by the decisions made here in Washington.”
“There are moments in history when the church cannot afford to merely be present in sanctuaries, it must also be present in the places where decisions are made.
The establishment of a permanent and intentional presence in the nation’s capital will provide NBCUSA and its allies an opportunity to share gospel values in the halls of power, said Willie Singletary, social pastor at Christian Compassion Baptist Church in Philadelphia.
“There are moments in history when the church cannot afford to merely be present in sanctuaries, it must also be present in the places where decisions are made. This is one of those moments.”
Communities are crying out for fairness and dignity as families face increasing economic challenges, attacks on voter rights and growing health care disparities, he said.
Willie Singletary
“We are not coming to Washington to advance a political party, we’re coming to advance biblical principles. We’re not here to seek power, we’re here to hold power accountable to righteousness. We’re here speak truth to power as the prophet Micah reminds us that the Lord requires us to do justice, to love mercy and to walk humbly with our God.”
The urgent need for the center was evidenced by the masked white supremacists who marched two or three blocks away during the nation’s 250th anniversary celebration, said Jonathan Jackson, D-Ill., and the son of civil rights activist Jesse Jackson, who died in February.
Yet more evidence came in the Trump administration’s efforts to erase Black history and the Trump administration’s $4 trillion tax cut to the rich while reducing Medicaid and the SNAP program.
“Our (National) Museum of African American History is celebrating its 10-year anniversary and this administration is trying to erase the truth of our history, so as we celebrate America’s 250th anniversary we also are going to make sure that we keep our African American history alive,” Jackson said.
The condition of American society can only be described as one of “moral and social brokenness,” said Rosalyn Oscar, social justice chair for NBCUSA’s Women’s Auxiliary and a Democratic state senator in Florida.
Rosalyn Oscar
“As laws are written and policies are debated, thousands of Black women are losing their jobs and Black representation is under attack,” Oscar said. Our theology demands the presence in D.C. as faith in action compels us to fight against all this harm and injustice and attacks on Black people that’s going on right now.”
U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-Conn., said the center will be carrying out Christ’s command to feed the hungry.
“Anybody who has eyes and ears and a heart knows that our legislative leaders, our policymakers, our members of Congress are failing us in this mission. But the thing is, this isn’t the first time we have been failed by policy and every time that has happened, the church has showed up.”
The Civil Rights Movement demonstrated the positive influence the church and the center will function as the movement’s eyes and ears, she said. “We’ve seen this before, and not only have we seen it, we have also overcome it.”
Related:
Why the Black Church needs a national advocacy office | Opinion by Lewis Brogdon