Black Churches Focus on Hope Amid COVID-19, Violence and George Floyd Trial

Rev. Howard John Wesley, pastor of the Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, Virginia, at his Easter service broadcast on YouTube.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The flags flying above the U.S. Capitol are flying at half-mast again, this time to honor the life of William “Billy” Evans, an 18-year veteran of the U.S. Capitol Police who died April 2 protecting the Capitol building, on lockdown for the second time this year.

It was Good Friday, but the news of the blue sedan that plowed into the north barrier gate of the U.S. Capitol overtook the president’s Easter message.

The driver, 25-year-old Noah Green from Indiana, killed Evans and wounded another officer in the crash. He was fatally shot when he jumped out of the car with a knife. According to his family, Green struggled with mental issues, and though he was devoted to the Black religious nationalism organization Nation of Islam, there are no clear answers about his motives. The incident comes three months after the Jan. 6 riot when a protester was fatally shot, lawmakers sheltered in place and hundreds of Trump supporters carrying Christian symbols stormed past police into the Capitol building.

On Easter Sunday, pastors across the country offered few answers to these recent tragedies. For many churches, especially historically Black congregations, the normal traditions of Easter— massive church services, family dinners and music programs about faith— took a back seat to the trial over George Floyd’s death and news reports about COVID-19 vaccinations. April 4 is also the anniversary of pastor and Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr’s assassination in 1968.

Instead, pastors talked about present dark days and hope of better days, many through online pulpits streamed on Facebook and YouTube as their sanctuaries remain closed or only partially opened with limited seating.

“If there is anything that should anchor your hope … it is that Christ has risen from the dead,” preached Rev. Howard John Wesley, pastor of the Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, Virginia. The service was broadcast on YouTube and the sanctuary remains closed due to rising COVID-19 infections in the area. “All of our faith hinges on the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”

Wesley also addressed the ongoing trial of police officer Derek Chauvin over the death of George Floyd.

“Maybe the darkness we feel is from when we witness a defense that makes you think that George Floyd’s death was justifiable, and Derek Chauvin wasn't responsible for killing a Black man right before our very eyes,” Wesley said. “Maybe the darkness we feel is from the fact that 54 years ago today Martin Luther King was shot and killed in Memphis, Tennessee and look how far we have not come.”

Sen. Rev. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) came home to Atlanta to preach on Easter at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church. Standing in the pulpit of the home church that belonged to Dr. King and his father, Warnock said the pandemic has been a season of separation.

“All of us who have journeyed through this pandemic have to deal with suffering and sorrow,” he said. “If we stopped and thought about all of the things we have gone through we might lose our minds.”

On Twitter, Warnock drew criticism for tweeting and deleting a message that the meaning of Easter “is more transcendent than the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Whether you are a Christian or not, through a commitment to helping others, we are able to save ourselves.”

On Sunday Pastor Keith Battle welcomed 11-time Grammy award-winning gospel artist Kirk Franklin to the Zion Church family, which is a cluster of congregations around the Metro Washington area. In addition to singing his hit songs “Don’t Cry” and “Now Behold the Lamb,” with lyrics about the resurrection, Franklin talked with Battle about his music ministry and his challenges. Franklin was in the news recently after he was video taped by his son cursing.

Law enforcement authorities said the attack in the capital on Friday didn’t appear to be related to terrorism.

According to his online activity, Green closely followed the founder of Nation of Islam, Louis Farrakhan, and recently spoke of going through a difficult time where he leaned on his faith, according to messages that were posted online that have been taken down. Green also wrote about how he thought the government was using mind control on him. The messages were captured by the group SITE, which tracks online activity.

“To be honest these past few years have been tough, and these past few months have been tougher,” Green wrote. “I have been tried with some of the biggest, unimaginable tests in my life. I am currently now unemployed after I left my job partly due to afflictions, but ultimately, in search of a spiritual journey.”

On Friday, a spokesman for the Nation of Islam in Chicago said to email questions about Green’s affiliation with Nation of Islam but declined to give any comment. Then on Easter Sunday NOI officials posted a video from April 11, 2004 of Farrakhan challenging the Christian church for turning their Sunday service into a “fashion show.”

President Joe Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden left the White House on Friday to spend Easter weekend at Camp David. But before they left they issued a video statement released on Twitter.

“We share the sentiments of Pope Francis who said that getting vaccinated is a moral obligation, one that can save your life and the lives of others," Biden said in the video. "By getting vaccinated and encouraging your congregations and your communities to get vaccinated, we not only can beat this virus, we can also haste the day when we can celebrate the holidays together."

Jill said there is "hope all around us" and mentioned families receiving financial help, businesses recovering and an increase in Americans receiving vaccinations against the virus.

At the Vatican, Pope Francis urged countries during his Easter message on Sunday to quicken distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, particularly to the world's poor, and called armed conflict and military spending during a pandemic "scandalous". The pope would normally have given the address to up to 100,000 people in St. Peter's Square, but spoke to fewer than 200 in the church while the message was broadcast to tens of millions around the world. 

Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, were in Los Angeles on Sunday, according to news reports.

The annual Easter egg roll, which has been a White House tradition on the Monday after Easter since the late 1800s, took place virtually this year as the country continues rolling out millions of vaccines around the country. In light of the change, the White House Historical Association created a website where families can take part in scavengers hunts, bingo games, puzzles and other activities to celebrate the holiday.

Rev. Wesley pointed past the Easter traditions and trials of the past year to what he sees as the distinguishing hope Christianity offers.

“Just about every world religion has some type of prayer and meditation,” he said. “Just about every world religion has some type of belief in the afterlife. The one thing that distinguishes our faith is that our savior died and rose again.” 

An hour before the attack on Friday, Rev. Henry P. Davis, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Highland Park in Maryland, hosted a Good Friday service.

“There is so much going on in the world right here in our local community with hurt and murder,” Davis said, only 15 minutes before Green drove his car into the Capitol barrier killing Evans. ”There is so much going on and we stand in the gap even today.”

At the same service, a young woman sang about the hope and redemption Christians believe Jesus brought through his death and resurrection.

“The blood of Jesus will never lose its power,” she crooned. “I know it reaches to the highest mountain and it flows to lowest valley/ the blood that gives me strength from day to day/ it will never lose its power.”

 Senior contributor Hamil Harris is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Maryland College Park and has been a lecturer at Morgan State University. Harris is minister at the Glenarden Church of Christ and a police chaplain. A longtime reporter at The Washington Post, Harris was on the team of Post reporters that published the series “Being a Black Man.” He also was the reporter on the video project that accompanied the series that won two Emmy Awards, the Casey Medal and the Peabody Award. In addition to writing for ReligionUnplugged, Harris contributes to outlets such as The Washington Post, USA Today, The Christian Chronicle and the Washington Informer.