The election of Donald J. Trump as the 45th president of the United States has caused anxiety among many Blacks. On Dec. 10, at the Faith Leaders Breakfast, key religious leader told a group of faith leaders in the D.C. that there is nothing to fear.
The Rev. Dr. Barry S. Black, chaplain of the U.S. Senate, delivered a keynote address during the monthly breakfast at Union Temple Baptist Church in Southeast. Barry spoke to 80 people in the audience, many of them pastors of churches, saying, “This is a momentous time in which we are living.
The Rev. Dr. Barry S. Black, chaplain of the U.S. Senate, delivered the keynote address at a meeting with faith leaders in Washington, D.C. (Courtesy Photo)
“After the election I got a call from Christianity Today, from a reporter who asked me how I felt about Donald Trump being the president. I surprised her when I told her I felt positive.”
Black said he quoted Biblical verses regarding gratitude from Thessalonians, optimism (Romans 8:20) and satisfaction (Philippians 4:11-12). “I have learned that whatever state I am in to experience contentment,” he said.
The Rev. Willie Wilson, senior pastor at Union Temple, told the AFRO his parishioners are uneasy about a Trump presidency. “People have come up to me seeking counsel quite a lot since the election,” Wilson said. “They are anxious about what is going to happen considering the rhetoric and ideas that Trump articulated during the campaign. There is no pluralism in his message. He was using code words to inspire racist groups and people want to know what is going to happen next.”
Black, a rear admiral in the Navy before becoming the Senate’s first military, Seventh Day Adventist, and Black chaplain, told the breakfast meeting that people should look at the brighter side of things. “We need to refrain from the negative,” he said, “and infuse a spirit of believing the impossible.”
While Black’s message wasn’t specifically on Trump, it may have ended up that way because of the informal discussions taking place in the room. Many people were lamenting the state of America’s race relations. They are also anticipating potential suffering once Trump takes office on Jan. 20, 2017. People expect budget cuts to social services and education, and a U.S. Department of Justice that will be indifferent to police brutality, racial profiling, job and housing discrimination, and voter suppression.
Black said it is time for faith leaders to “wake up.”
“This should be a reality check for people of faith,” he said. “For eight years, during the Obama administration, people have been parading around like they were dressed in Joseph’s cloth.”
Black encouraged the faith leaders saying, “We need leaders not seeking the neon lights. Faith leaders need to take judicious risks and not just be satisfied to be part of a social club. Jesus was saying in Luke 5:1-11 to go out to deeper waters and faith leaders need to step out on faith.”
The Rev. Donald Isaac Sr., pastor of Southeast Tabernacle Baptist Church and chair of the faith committee of the Anacostia Coordinating Council, an organization that partially sponsors the breakfast meetings, said his church focuses on serving the community and not on politics.
Nevertheless, he agrees with Black that faith leaders must push forward in spite of the political climate. “This is a prayer breakfast but also a call to action,” he said. “The faith community needs to mobilize.”