What the Black church can teach us about ‘Black on Black care’ and the election

A framework for Black Americans to defeat misinformation and support one another in the wake of a difficult election.

By Cassandra Gould

 (RNS) — In a recent sermon at Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church in Washington, Pastor William Lamar IV introduced the congregation to the concept of “Black on Black care.”

The concept, coined by the Rev. Nick Peterson, assistant director of the African American preaching and sacred rhetoric doctoral program at Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, has lessons for all Americans after an election marked by division, misinformation, and dog whistles.

In his sermon, Lamar reflected on his childhood in the South. He spoke vividly of how his grandparents, parents and other members of the close-knit Black community demonstrated their love, particularly their focus on caring for the children not only in their own families but of the Black community at large. The reminiscence, inadvertently or subversively, provided a postelection framework for Black Americans in our fraught time.

“They didn’t speak of, study or write about anti-Blackness and white supremacy,” said Lamar of his grandparents and their contemporaries. Their actions, along with care of and from the Black church, were the embodiment of Peterson’s “Black on Black care,” he said. 

This was an antidote to the death-dealing realities for Black people in America historically and now. It affirms Peterson’s suggestion that this kind of “transformative care exceeds the limitations of anti-Blackness.”

In the chaotic, confusing, and seemingly perpetual political season we live in, the 24/7 barrage of text messages and calls for donations are accompanied by the vile and unacceptable dehumanization of Black people and other people of color. The dangerous racist rhetoric included, famously, the lie that our Haitian siblings eat people’s pets. We’ve heard attacks on Vice President Kamala Harris’ intellect. Our Puerto Rican siblings have been compared to garbage.

We’ve heard speculation that Black men were not voting in numbers or were actually voting Republican because they couldn’t imagine a woman as president, even as massive nationwide efforts have been led by Black people of faith of both sexes, taking cues from Black faith traditions and leaders. 

Black faith means not allowing the negative to be the last word. Let’s state then that Haitian immigrants don’t eat dogs and cats. Let us also state that white Christian nationalists don’t get to define Christianity, and let’s put to rest the idea that Black men abetted a Republican victory. In the words of Michael Harriot, a columnist with The Grio, “Nearly a century has passed since a Republican presidential nominee even came close to winning a majority of the Black vote,” when Black voters backed Herbert Hoover in 1928. 

In this election, Faith in Action federations, under the leadership of the Rev. Nicole Barnes, civic engagement director, and other groups across the country used tried and true mobilization strategies, such as Souls to the Polls, which originated in the Black church. Pastor Rhonda Thomas, executive director of Faith in Florida, has for years led the most expansive Souls to the Polls program in the country. In the two weekends leading up to Election Day, she held 50 of these events in over 30 counties in Florida.

These events were as much cultural engagement as they were civic engagement. The FIA federation in Philadelphia — Power Interfaith, led by Pastor Gregory Edwards — filled buses and church vans with community members and multifaith congregations across Pennsylvania to celebrate Soul Food Sundays and get out the vote.

On Election Day, the Rev. Mark Tyler, a newly elected general officer in the AME Church and pastor of Mother Bethel AME Church, and his fraternity brothers caravanned on motorcycles through the neighborhoods of low-propensity voters in Philadelphia.

Many congregations, including historic Black Christian denominations and other Black faith-led organizations, have combined joy and civics. Black Church PAC, led by Bishop Leah Daughtry and Pastor Michael McBride, partnered with gospel artist Kirk Franklin to register, educate, and mobilize voters. With the Black Southern Women’s collaborative, a group of womanist theologians, including Irie Lynne Session and Kamilah Hall Sharp, co-founders of The Gathering, are holding virtual “soft space” meetings after Election Day for Black women organizers and clergywomen.

Such expressions of faith and political engagement are not limited to Christians. The Muslim Power Building Project, led by Rashida James-Saadiya, continues to lead through a lens of “Black on Black care.” These events, and many more like them, show us how Black faith traditions have taught us to care for each other.

The postelection season calls for the same kind of vigilance to keep the community together. There is a high probability of postelection violence. As we carry out the Black tradition of caring for the vulnerable, may we continue to be committed to each other regardless of political outcomes.

This time is an opportunity for Black people of faith to continue the embodiment of Peterson’s Black on Black care. Let us resist the urge to demonize people or hold segments of our communities, whether they are young people, Black men or women, responsible for any outcome. Let us not take the credit for the impact of whiteness and those who follow it.

We have inherited ancestral rituals of care for the mind, body, and soul. This kind of care ensures that all of the Creator’s children are safe at home. In the uncertainty of the days ahead, intentionally practice Black on Black care, not criticism, and find reasons to celebrate in community. The same tactics that have been used to reinforce anti-Blackness will continue in the aftermath of the election, but we can ensure it doesn’t have the last word.

(The Rev. Cassandra Gould is the managing director of power building at Faith in Action National Network and an ordained itinerant elder serving at Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church in Washington. The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of RNS.)

First published Nov. 6, 2024