Black Conservative Clergy Question Why BLM Edited Its 'About' Page
Black Lives Matter, the American non-profit organization at the forefront of the national conflict over racial inequality, erased a page from their official website that included statements about disrupting the nuclear family.
A now-deleted page on the official Black Lives Matter website titled “What We Believe” formerly served as a public statement of policy and beliefs for the organization. Beliefs outlined in the manifesto were the source of intense scrutiny and criticism from both sides of the national debate on racial issues due to emphasis on issues unrelated to race and a perceived animosity to Christian beliefs.
“We disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement by supporting each other as extended families and ‘villages’ that collectively care for one another, especially our children, to the degree that mothers, parents, and children are comfortable,” the What We Believe page had stated.
The deleted page also specifically targeted “heteronormativity” as a source of oppression related to Black Lives Matter’s work as activists.
“We foster a queer‐affirming network,” the site said. “When we gather, we do so with the intention of freeing ourselves from the tight grip of heteronormative thinking, or rather, the belief that all in the world are heterosexual (unless s/he or they disclose otherwise).”
Black Lives Matter has been a controversial organization in Christian circles across the United States, with clergy and lay believers torn between the desire to fight racism but distasteful of the movement’s aims that run contrary to mainstream Christianity.
John Edmerson, a Black senior minister and church elder at the Churches of Christ at the Vineyard, is not a proponent of the movement, but says that “you can say ‘Black Lives Matter’ and not sign on to a platform that represents a lot of things that Christians in the Churches of Christ don’t really espouse or adhere to,” according to the Christian Chronicle.
After the charges in the Breonna Taylor case were announced, clergy continued to make their voices heard in and around the movement.
"It seems to me that Black lives do not matter to some people," Rev. Robert Collier, a Black clergy leader in Philadelphia said, according to ABC 6. "It's another case — if you're Black, it doesn't make a difference. We can kill you and there's no consequence for that."
Patrisse Cullors, a co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement, has previously referred to the group’s founding members as “trained Marxists” in interviews, though any Marxist affiliations have been removed from official material or talking points.
Conservative Clergy of Color, a Christian ministers’ organization organized against the Black Lives Matter movement, questioned the reason for the change.
“The founders of Black Lives Matter have been very open about supporting Marxism, and until now their website clearly stated their desire to eliminate the nuclear family, a bedrock of Western civilization. What suddenly changed?” said Bishop Aubrey Shines of the Church of God in Christ.
The manifesto has been replaced by a new section on the site’s About page, where a shorter and less specific list of goals and values are listed.
“We affirm the lives of Black queer and trans folks, disabled folks, undocumented folks, folks with records, women, and all Black lives along the gender spectrum,” the new About page states. “Our network centers those who have been marginalized within Black liberation movements.”
The page continues, “We are working for a world where Black lives are no longer systematically targeted for demise. We affirm our humanity, our contributions to this society, and our resilience in the face of deadly oppression.”
Timothy Nerozzi is a writer and editor from northeastern Pennsylvania. He covers religious issues with a focus on the Catholic Church and Japanese society and culture.