CommentsSAME WAY JESUS WOULD HAVE HANDLED IT--White conservative America sure had a lot to say about Rev. Jeremiah Wright—and by extension, the Black church—and his “God damn America” sermon
. White people across the nation got all in their star-spangled feelings when they got a glimpse of how pastors in Black churches can be too radical for their delicate sensibility. All I remember thinking was: “Shiiiet, I can only imagine the wild shit white pastors say in their sermons.”
According to reports by Raw Story and Baptist News, at least two white pastors in Texas have referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as a “Jezebel” because, apparently, whichever Jesus they praise is all about that holy misogynoir.
Let’s start with this Jan. 3 sermon by Pastor Steve Swofford of First Baptist of Rockwall in Dallas.
“What if something happens to [President Biden] and Jezebel has to take over?” Swofford asked. “Jezebel Harris, isn’t that her name?”
Listen: The Root is way too much of a Black AF publication for me to have to sit here and educate folk on why a white man calling a Black woman a “Jezebel” in any context is both racist and misogynistic—so I’m not going to do that work (and besides you can read all about it here). I’m just going to say to white Christian America: Try Jesus, not me, and check on your own religious institutions and leave the Black church TF alone. (Oh, and God damn America.)
The crazy thing is that Swofford also referred to Biden as a “cognitively dysfunctional president.” But to a racist and sexist—not to mention a hypocrite because people who keep saying these things about Biden act like Donald “Covfefe” Trump was a spry as a 20-year-old—even “cognitively dysfunctional” is preferable to a woman of color.
Anyway, Swofford was actually the second Texas pastor (that we know of) who referred to Harris with the epithet.
Two days after the inauguration that named Harris vice president, First Baptist Church of Lindale’s Tom Buck said on Twitter that he “can’t imagine any truly God-fearing Israelite who would’ve wanted their daughters to view Jezebel as an inspirational role model because she was a woman in power.”
Later, Buck defended his use of the slur.
So yeah: Next time white conservatives remind us of why there’s currently a moratorium on cookout invites by crying their salty white tears over what gets said about them and their leaders in the Black church or anywhere the hell else in the Black community, remind them of who they are. And whatever you say to them, don’t be shy about capping it off with a loud and proud “God damn America.”
(Zack Linly is a poet, performer, freelance writer, blogger and grown man lover of cartoons. This report was posted first at Root.com)
-cw