In Trump's Remarks, Black Churches See a Nation Backsliding
By SABRINA TAVERNISEJAN. 14, 2018
WASHINGTON — In the middle of a rousing rendition of “We Shall Overcome” on Sunday morning, the Rev. William H. Lamar IV of the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church made a sudden change to the lyrics.
“O.K., we are not afraid, but replace ‘someday’ with ‘today,’” he told the congregation.
The worshipers sang back: “We are not afraid today.”
On the day before Martin Luther King’s Birthday, African-American churchgoers gathered as they always do, to pray, give thanks and reflect on the state of race in America. But after a disheartening week and an even more disheartening year, black Americans interviewed on Sunday said they were struggling to comprehend what was happening in a country that so recently had an African-American president.
“I’ve been involved in the civil rights movement since my college days, and I’m not sure I’ve ever been more confused than I am right now,” said Sterling Tucker, 94, a civil rights leader in Washington. “There’s not a lot of honesty in the country now about who we are and where we are.”
In interviews at churches in Washington; Atlanta; Kansas City, Mo.; Miami; and Brockton, Mass., black Americans expressed frustration and disappointment about the direction of the country in Donald Trump’s first year in office.
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