The sacred and the political come together in Joe Biden’s campaign for another term in the United States

African American churches in the United States embody the union of the political and the sacred. Its importance is linked to the harsh reality of a country that was segregated for decades and in which these congregations were the only space in which the black community could debate freely.

Leaders such as the Reverend Martin Luther King turned to Baptist and Methodist churches to promote the civil rights movement, and now, US President Joe Biden is returning to them seeking the support needed to defeat Donald in the US election. November. favorite to be the Republican candidate.

In less than three weeks, Biden visited three African American churches in South Carolina, the state that will inaugurate the Democratic primary process on Saturday and where 60% of voters are expected to be African American.

The first temple he visited was Mother Emanuel in Charleston, the oldest African-American congregation in the southern United States and where on June 17, 2015 a white supremacist killed nine parishioners and injured five.

Among the victims was Pastor Clementa C. Pinckney. His successor, the Reverend Eric SC Manning, received the EFE in his office, filled with paintings, including the image of a white dove and a black one, united in a sign of reconciliation.

Before beginning the interview, he asked to read an excerpt from a sermon delivered a week ago from the pulpit: “Today, as we approach a crucial election, it is more important than ever that the African American Church is fervent and ready. your collective power and influence, you can determine the future of our nation and ensure that community voices are heard loud and clear.”

Democracy is at stake

The United States, in his opinion, will put both its democracy and its freedom at risk in November.

Manning fears that images like those of the 2021 assault on the Capitol will be repeated, in which Trump supporters broke into the parliamentary building to prevent Biden’s victory from being certified at the polls, causing the death of five people and subsequently four police committed suicide.

That crowd flew Confederate flags at Congress, symbol of racism and slavery in the Civil War. The perpetrator of Mother Emanuel’s murder resorted to that same symbol of the Confederacy, who photographed himself with that banner on numerous occasions and, before the crime, published a racist manifesto to justify his actions.

Two days after the attack, the victims’ loved ones publicly forgave the shooter, who was sentenced to life in prison.

Manning believes that all people “need grace, mercy and forgiveness,” but stresses the importance of there being a “time of repentance” and, so far, Trump has expressed no remorse for either the storming of the Capitol or for the other crimes of those accused.

Biden’s mourning

The reverend’s view of Biden is very different. The relationship between the current president and Mother Emanuel began in 2015, when the then president, Barack Obama (2009-2017), attended a religious service in memory of the victims of the shooting.

During that ceremony, Obama sang “Amazing Grace,” bringing the entire congregation to their feet to turn grief into music. Biden, present in the audience, was going through a particularly difficult time as she had just buried her son Beau, who died of a brain tumor.

“Biden was going through a period of grieving. His family came here at a time when they needed comfort. And he himself said he came trying to provide comfort and yet he ended up receiving it. This is what he created a connection to this church,” Manning explained.

President, Catholic and goes to mass every week, he praised the role that African American churches have historically had in politics and asked them for help in facing the “very dark” moment that the United States is experiencing.

“The truth is under attack in the United States. Even our freedoms, our democracy are under attack,” he said three weeks ago in his speech to Mother Emmanuel.

“And – he underlined – without light there is no truth. Without truth there is no path that allows us to escape from the darkness”.

Source: EFE

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02/02/13-20/24