Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, Va., announced Sunday it will financially support the Legion of Black Collegians after the University of Missouri ended designated funding for several affinity organizations amid federal scrutiny of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
During the offering in Sunday morning worship service, in lieu of asking for financial support, Pastor Howard-John Wesley told congregants the historic Black Baptist church would step in to ensure the first and only Black student government at any American university could continue operating and programming.
“Blackness is under attack in the United States of America,” Wesley said during the service. “Our history, our heritage, our rights are all being pushed back under this administration.”
“Blackness is under attack in the United States of America.”
This announcement comes roughly one month after the University of Missouri announced it would remove annual designated funding for several student affinity organizations beginning in July. University officials said the changes were necessary to comply with federal restrictions tied to DEI initiatives.
“It just broke my heart as one who graduated from a predominantly white institution and knowing the value of a Black student union,” Wesley said. “We moved on it, and we helped them create a separate 501(c)(3), and now we are funding that Black student organization on the campus of that white college for the world to know.
Alongside the Legion of Black Collegians, the Association of Latin American Students, the Asian American Association, the Queer Liberation Front and FourFront all lost funding due to the anti-DEI cuts.
“It was determined that the university must change the way we have been providing funds for these five student organizations to comply with federal requirements and avoid jeopardizing crucial funding for student financial aid, research and other university programs,” Mizzou spokesperson Christopher Ave told the Columbia Missourian.
Wesley later connected the church’s decision to broader concerns about attacks on Black institutions and Black communal life.
“When the government operates in evil, the kingdom operates in righteousness,” he proclaimed.
Last year, the church donated more than $132,000 to eliminate student debt for graduating seniors at Saint Augustine’s University, a historically Black university in North Carolina. Earlier this year, the congregation contributed $1 million toward overdue rent payments for more than 300 families facing eviction.
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