Florida Pastors ‘Take Back the Mic’ From Politicians Spreading Hate
Diverse Group of Denominational Leaders, Florida Pastors ‘Take Back the Mic’ From Politicians Spreading Hate
In wake of racist killings, faith leaders from across state kick off 10-day season of repentance, demand politicians ‘cease and desist’ from sowing division
JACKSONVILLE – Diverse faith groups – including major religious leaders, heads of denominations, pastors, the Florida Council of Churches, and Repairers of the Breach – gathered at the St. Paul AME Church in Jacksonville Thursday to call on elected leaders in the state and nationwide to cease and desist from sowing division and hate following the racist murders of Angela Michelle Carr, Jerrald Gallion, and Anolt Joseph Laguerre Jr.
The gathering marked the launch of “Time for Truth and Love, to Take Back the Mic and Be Silent No More,” a 10-day period of repentance, confession, fasting, prayer and protest led by faith leaders across the state who are using their pulpits to denounce the hateful rhetoric of extremist politicians that has given license to acts of violence throughout Florida and the nation. The 10 days will culminate in the delivery of a letter to Gov. Ron DeSantis and leaders of the state legislature at the State Capitol on Sept 15, the 60th anniversary of the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, calling on them to cease and desist from sowing division and hate, followed by a march and mass meeting in Jacksonville on Sept. 16.
“While your hateful and divisive lies about Black people, trans people, immigrants and women have filled the airwaves, 9,539,000 poor and low-income people account for 44.5% of the population in your state– a country where poverty is the fourth leading cause of death,” the letter reads. “Instead of focusing on and addressing the real issues in your state, you spend time spewing hate and division…We as religious and moral leaders… are publicly calling you to cease and desist or resign from using public office, public space, and the public’s microphone to spew hate and divide the people. This is a form of public service malpractice and is dangerously irresponsible.”
The full letter is available here.
“We are rising up to take back the mic from those who have for far too long used the public mic to fill the airwaves with hateful and divisive lies about Black people, Black history, LGBTQ brothers and sisters, immigrants and women,” said Bishop William Barber II. “We are here to declare that this rhetoric is not only dangerous to those who it targets, it distracts and it can turn deadly. It’s not just who killed our three brothers and sisters, but what killed them.”
“The darkness works through our apathy and Lord we ask that you would give us strength and courage, that we would be able to take back this mic and take back our country” said The Very Rev. Kate Morehead Carroll, Dean of St. John’s Episcopal Cathedral.
Speakers called out Florida politicians for spewing lies and hate and passing laws against Black people, trans people, immigrants and others–contrary to our deepest religious values, which call us to love, and the values set forth in Florida’s Constitution, which in the preamble guarantees “equal civil and political rights to all”-- instead of focusing on and addressing issues like poverty, low wages and lack of health care coverage.
The governor spends every moment he can attacking, attacking, attacking, but never addresses the fact that there are 9.5 million poor and low-wealth people in Florida, accounting for 45% of the state’s population. More than 2.5 million Floridians do not have health insurance.
Faith leaders on Thursday detailed the long history in America of the tongue giving license to violence, including in Jacksonville, in 1960, when white men led the Ax Handle Riots as racist politicians in state government were spewing division and hate because of the Supreme Court’s decision against segregation in schools.
“These victims in Jacksonville, Angela Michelle Carr, Anolt Laguerre, Jerrald Gallion, as Dr. King would say, each of them three have something to say in their deaths,” said the Rev. Mark Thompson “They say to us that we must be concerned not merely about the ones who murdered them but about the system, the way of life, the philosophy that produced the murder.”
In addition to releasing the cease and desist letter, the pastors also made available a series of preaching resources for pastors around the state and country who want to join in the “Take Back the Mic” effort.
“We must not let religion divide us. We must not let racism and sexism and economic inequality divide us. Let’s walk together Jacksonville, let’s walk together Florida and declare and decree that business as usual is no longer necessary,” said Bishop Frank Madison Reid.
The faith leaders said the killing of Carr, Gallion and Leguerre is calling us to never be silent again, to challenge hate, and organize a mass movement of love and truth across Florida that will not only take back the mic from those who speak lies and hate, but also vote them out of office if they refuse to cease and desist from their harmful ways.
Gov. DeSantis "flies plane loads of migrants to Martha’s Vineyard...pushes forward a Don’t Say Gay law, demonizes drag shows, signs into Florida law discriminatory measures against LGBTQ people, attacks African American history, calls slavery good thing because ‘slaves developed skills that they were personally benefiting from,’" said Dr. James T. Morris. “Well let me tell you something, woke folk vote.”