Activism

COMMENTARY: Racist ‘Replacement’ Rhetoric is Deadly and Republicans Must Stop Using It

There is a more honorable path for the Republican Party. I believe national Republicans should go to Buffalo. They should reflect on the killings that were motivated by racist ideas. They should reflect on the legacy of Frederick Douglass. And they should consider the life of a more recent Republican, the late Jack Kemp.

Published

2 years ago

June 4, 2022

Oakland Post

Ben Jealous serves as president of People for the American Way and professor of the Practice at the University of Pennsylvania. A New York Times best-selling author, his next book “Never Forget Our People Were Always Free" will be published by Harper Collins in December, 2022.

By Ben Jealous

The young man who murdered 10 people in Buffalo, New York on May 14, was out to kill Black people. He chose a grocery store because he wanted to leave the local Black community in fear of going about their daily lives.

These evil actions were motivated by a racist ideology known as the Great Replacement Theory. That should cause some serious reflection among Republicans who are trying to build power with their own versions of racist “replacement” rhetoric.

Replacement rhetoric is meant to tap into a very old fear: that the survival and dominance of white Americans is threatened by others — whether by the freedom and empowerment of Black people or immigration by people of color.

Frederick Douglass, one of the great Americans of all time, denounced that ideology shortly after the end of the Civil War.

Born into slavery, Douglass became a great anti-slavery speaker and organizer. He gave a series of important anti-slavery speeches in Buffalo, near where he lived in Rochester, and where a statue of him in his hometown has been repeatedly vandalized.

In 1869, this Black Republican gave a speech called “Our Composite Nation.”

He promoted a vision of a country that welcomed and was strengthened by diversity. And he denounced fears that were being stirred up against Chinese immigrants. He said that the idea that “the Caucasian race may not be able to hold their own” against immigrants “does not seem entitled to much respect.”

Truth.

Replacement ideology is still not worthy of respect. It is toxic. And it promotes violence.

The man arrested for the killings in Buffalo reportedly claimed that he picked up his anti-Semitic and racist beliefs from some of the unsavory corners of the internet. He decided to kill Black people in Buffalo. Others who have been twisted by the same racist ideas chose to kill Latinos in El Paso, Jews in Pittsburgh, Muslims in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Unfortunately, millions of Americans are hearing variations of the replacement rhetoric from irresponsible politicians and cable TV personalities. They falsely claim that Democrats want “open borders” so they can replace American voters with what Tucker Carlson called “more obedient voters from the Third World.”

Carlson has used that kind of rhetoric more than 400 times on his highly rated show. And this year at least half a dozen Republican Senate candidates have been running their reelection campaigns on the idea.

It seems that the Republican Party, the party of Abraham Lincoln, is acting more like the old Democratic Party did after the Civil War. It is becoming a party defined by its willingness to use the ideology of violent white supremacists to try to stir up voters and win elections.

This is playing with fire. And if it continues, we will all get burned, again and again.

Kemp had been a quarterback for the Buffalo Bills. Then he became a Republican congressman representing western New York. And he ran for president as both a Republican and a card-carrying member of the NAACP. “I can’t help but care about the rights of the people I used to shower with,” Kemp said.

We urgently need more of our national leaders to embrace Douglass’s broad vision of a strong and diverse America, and Jack Kemp’s recognition of our shared humanity. And we need more people, both politicians and regular folks, to have the courage to consistently call out bigotry when we hear it and to hold accountable those who spread it.

Ben Jealous serves as president of People for the American Way and professor of the Practice at the University of Pennsylvania. A New York Times best-selling author, his next book “Never Forget Our People Were Always Free” will be published by Harper Collins in December, 2022.

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Activism

WOMEN IMPACTING THE CHURCH AND COMMUNITY

Published

19 hours ago

April 17, 2024

Oakland Post

Juanita Matthews

Sister Juanita Matthews

55 Years with Oakland Public School District

The Teacher, Mother, Community Outreach Champion, And Child of God

Juanita Matthews, better known as “Sister Teacher,” is a walking Bible scholar. She moved to California from the great state of Arkansas in 1971. Sister Teacher has a passion for teaching. She has been a member of Bible Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church since 1971. She followed her passion for teaching, and in 1977 became the lead teacher for Adult Class #6. Her motto still today is “Once My Student, Always My Student”.

Beyond her remarkable love for the Lord, Sister Teacher has showcased her love for teaching by working for the Oakland Unified School District for 55 years, all but four of those years spent at Emerson Elementary and Child Development School. She truly cares about her students, making sure they have the tools/supplies needed to learn either at OUSD or Bible Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church.

She’s also had a “Clothes Closet Ministry” for 51 years, making sure her students have sufficient clothing for school. The Clothes Closet Ministry extends past her students, she has been clothing the community for over 50 years as well. She loves the Lord and is a servant on a mission. She is a loving mother to two beautiful children, Sandra and Andre. This is the impact this woman of God has on her church and the community.

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Activism

Oakland’s ‘Green the Church,’ Others, Host a Climate Revival

On April 20, Oakland’s Green The Church California (GTC) and the Center For Food, Faith and Justice will celebrate Earth Day and present a Climate Revival event titled “Growing Healthy Communities From Soil To The Soul” at McGee Avenue Baptist Church at 1640 Stuart St, Berkeley, CA. The day will include inspiring talks, interactive workshops, networking opportunities, and a special panel on Food Sovereignty and Global Food Resilience.

Published

22 hours ago

April 17, 2024

Oakland Post

The revival will take place at McGee Avenue Baptist Church in Berkeley on April 20. Courtesy image.

Growing Healthy Communities from Soil to the Soul in Berkeley

By Y’Anad Burrell

The day will include inspiring talks, interactive workshops, networking opportunities, and a special panel on Food Sovereignty and Global Food Resilience.

The keynote speaker is Rev. Danté R. Quick, PhD, senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens in Somerset, N.J. Quick is well known in the Bay Area, having served for more than 10 years as pastor of Friendship Missionary Baptist Church in Vallejo, CA.

Green The Church, founded in 2010 by Rev. Dr. Ambrose Carroll, Sr., and headquartered in Oakland, helps galvanize Black churches and their local communities and leaders to address issues critical to populations historically disengaged from conversations around pollution and health, climate change, and sustainability and energy efficiency.

The organization collaborates with major environmental, sustainability, food security, faith, and community-based non-profit organizations, and is committed to “creation justice”—care and justice for God’s people and the planet—and building the Beloved Community.

Environmental justice has long been a pressing concern for communities of color who bear the brunt of pollution and ecological degradation. Climate change exacerbates these issues, disproportionately impacting vulnerable communities. Recognizing this urgency, Black churches across the country are taking action.

With deep roots in the African American community and its commitment to social justice, the Black Church has become an essential advocate for sustainable practices and policies.

Over the past 14 years, in a powerful collaboration with significant environmental, sustainability, food security, faith, and community-based non-profit organizations, GTC has created a cadre of Black churches engaging in the environmental justice, climate, and sustainability movement.

GTC presently works with more than 1,000 pastors and congregations across the U.S., and groups in the Bahamas, Ghana, Nigeria, and the UK, showing that we can make a difference together.

The partnership between environmental justice advocates and the Black Church extends beyond individual congregations. Green The Church provides resources and support for faith communities seeking to address climate change and promote environmental justice.

Through collaboration, initiatives such as energy efficiency programs, solar installations, and environmental education have been implemented in Black churches nationwide. These efforts reduce the carbon footprint and save money on energy bills, benefiting the congregations and their communities.

The involvement of the Black Church in the fight against climate change is not just a participation, it’s a powerful message that galvanizes action across communities.

By integrating environmental justice into their ministry, Black churches are demonstrating that addressing climate change is not only a matter of science but also of social and moral responsibility, inspiring change at a grassroots level.

For more information, go to: www.greenthechurch.org.