On the Sunday before Martin Luther King Day, Dr Calvin Butts
walked outside the prestigious Abbyssinian Baptist Church in
New York City, and endorsed Hillary Clinton. Just about the
same time, Atlanta’s Dr. Raphael Warnock featured Barack
Obama in the pulpit of the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church,
where Dr. King had served as pastor many years prior.
TWO PROMINENT PASTORS, TWO HISTORIC
CHURCHES, TWO VERY DIFFERENT DECISIONS. WHY?
Dr. Calvin Butts
For Hilary Clinton
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Dear Dr. Butts,
I write you this open letter to express the
disappointment and outrage of the African
American community you serve. Yesterday, on
the hallowed holiday commemorating the
memory of our prophetic leader, Rev. Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr., you chose to endorse
Senator Hillary Clinton for President of The
United States. Most people in the African
American community feel you have done a grave
disservice to everybody by cutting a deal and
selling out.
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All I could think of was "how could you do
such a callous and insensitive thing on such an
important day?" Even you would remember that
Dr. King himself sacrificed his life "to remind
America of the fierce urgency of NOW!" For
more than forty years African Americans have
had to fight for their rightful place of
equality in society. So many people have
struggled so long for so little and yet in this
time of our history we have an amazing
possibility for hope. So at best, your
endorsement of Senator Clinton was
opportunistic and political. At worst, you used
your pulpit to further your own selfish
ambitions. The Abyssinian Baptist Church is
much more than backroom deals on the cheap -
especially by its pastor. It has a rich history
of two hundred years that has now become
blemished by you turning your back on your
members and on every African American who
dares to hope for change in this country.”
“I walked out of the church to endorse
Hillary Clinton,” said Butts, “because it is
first of all, not a church endorsement. I was
endorsing Hillary Clinton as a private
citizen. The Abyssinian Baptist Church
cannot, should not, and will not give
endorsements to any political candidates.
So that’s why I walked outside of the
church to do it, to make sure there was a
clear separation between what I, as an
individual was doing, and the church.”
An angry letter from a viewer who saw
the news clip of Butts’ endorsement railed
against the act, denouncing it as “evil,
callous, insensitive and selfish.”
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“We have the unusual circumstance this
year of actually having a field of
Democratic candidates, none of which
you actually have to be against. You
really do not have to be against Clinton,
Edwards, or Obama.
I just think that among the pack,
Obama, for this moment, is the best that
America has to offer.
I am a supporter of Barack Obama,
and I intend to formally announce that
endorsement at the appropriate time.
Dr. Butts is my father in the ministry,
he is my pastor. I was his assistant for
10 years. We didn’t always agree then,
and we don’t always agree now.
Dr. Butts is my father in the ministry,
he is my pastor. I was his assistant for
10 years. We didn’t always agree then,
and we don’t always agree now.
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Dr. Raphael Warnock
For Barack Obama
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I’m not swayed by Obama’s ethnicity.
Clarence Thomas is an African American
and I was opposed to him from the
moment he was nominated to the
Supreme Court. I never understood why
the black community was split regarding
his nomination. When you look at
Thomas’ record it was very clear that he would
not operate in our interest, and he
has proven this to be the case. I
think it’s important for black
people to vote their interest. I am
supporting Obama, because I
think he represents the best
interest of not only of black
people, but of the American
people.”
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