There is a strife in Birmingham, Alabama US, comprising the mayor, a black church, gentrification and a white mega-church. A pastor of colour is being accused of reverse racism after displaying a sign in front of his church that urges black folks to spurn white churches.
On one side of the New Era Baptist Church sign states that “Black folks need to stay out of white churches,” and the other side says, “White folks refused to be our neighbours.”
The minister, Pastor Michael Jordan, claims that the Church of the Highlands, which has been recognised as one of the largest mega-churches in the country, isn’t being truthful about why they want to open a campus in the area.
“The real reason the Church of the Highlands want to put a white church in a black neighbourhood is they have too many black folks at their main campus and they want them to leave and come to a church in the inner city,”
Pastor Jordan told VTWM.
The Church of the Highlands has said its intentions in launching a satellite campus are to help curb lawlessness.
“If you don’t want to live next door to us, you can’t fight crime in a city where you don’t live,” Pastor Jordan said.
“It’s a slave-master church,” Jordan told AL.com. “I call it plantation religion, slave-master religion. The white rich folks start a church and put a black pastor in charge of it.”
New Era Baptist Church is located in the West End section of Birmingham, one of the blackest areas in one of the blackest cities in America. Pastored by Rev. Michael R. Jordan, the church leader is known for his activism, which some people say borders on trolling.
Birmingham’s mayor, Randall Woodfin, called on the church pastor to take down the sign.
“There is a spirit of racism and division that is over this city. It must be brought down. We have to change the conversation to what we need it to evolve into,” Woodfin tweeted with a picture of the sign.
There is a spirit of racism and division that is over this city. It must be brought down. We have to change the conversation to what we need it to evolve into. “Darkness can not drive out darkness. Only light can do that. Hate can not drive out hate; only love can do that.” pic.twitter.com/QuNGjqYrjS
— Randall Woodfin (@WoodfinForBham) 15 May 2018
“I’ve been called a bigot. This is divisive, but you have to just tell the truth,” Jordan said. “The main campus has gotten fed up with blacks joining their church, so they decided, ‘Let’s put you a church over there.’
Source: The Root & additional reporting by VVTM
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