As we encounter our twentieth month of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) I want to take a moment to honestly reflect on what is happening not only across America, but namely in the state of Alabama. There is a toxicity that is permeating across this nation through our churches and into the national and state houses of power that unless addressed will completely sever whatever thread is still holding this nation together. We must understanding that unless the states change then the nation will not change. Our states will not change if the churches refuses to do the work of ministry and fulfill the commandant of Jesus. Moreover, the disfunction in this nation at every level is due to hearts not being turned toward God, but instead toward American Civil Religion (idolatry). One cannot separate the sermon heard from the electoral game. Our theology is revealed in the voting booth and in whom we select on the ballot. Alabama Baptist, if Alabama is going to change then it will begin when we become conscious of who we listen to about God and how we choose to vote in the next election season.
Alabama as you know like most states has been impacted not only by the virus itself, but also by failed political leadership. Sadly, many of our political officials have put politics over people and economics over valued lives. Many Alabamians have died because of the misguided and purposely ill-advised news the received from political pundits who get paid to convince them not to take the virus or the vaccination seriously. Our governor has helped to perpetuate this. After spinning the news, the Governor of Alabama along with other elected officials began to blame the “unvaccinated” for the COVID-19 deaths. Governor Ivey said, “Folks are supposed to have common sense. But it’s time to start blaming the unvaccinated folks, not the regular folks. It’s the unvaccinated folks that are letting us down.” At the same time, Alabama was the least 1 vaccinated state with only 33.9% of Alabamians being fully vaccinated. Alabama, even today, 2 still lags behind other states on vaccinations. The result of the major talking points from the Republican Party, who, under former President, Donald Trump began a campaign of lies that called it “fake news” has convinced Americans to not take the vaccine because we don’t know if it can be trusted.
In the New York Times Opinion Page, Jamelle Bouie raises what might be the most important question for us to consider in regards to what we are seeing, Do Republicans Actually Want the Pandemic to End? Representatives such as Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) again spin the news with no attempt to save live. Cawthorn said in regards to Biden’s attempts to save live, “They could then go door-to-door to take your guns. They could go door-to-door to take your Bibles.” Green went even further by falsely tweeting, “People have a choice, they don’t need your medical brown shirts showing up at their door ordering vaccinations. You can’t force people to be part of the human experiment.” Other Republican leaders such as Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Randy Paul (R-KY), Governors Ron DeSantis (R-FL), Randy Abbott (R-TX), Doug Ducey (R-AZ), and Kristi Noem (R-SD) have done their fare share of passing legislation and advocating the continued spread of the virus even through all of them have been vaccinated and have received every possible medical cocktail available to remain alive and safe. Imagine that, they are vaccinated (protected) while their constituents are 3 unvaccinated (not protected) and dying. Governor Ivey in Alabama and many in the Alabama legislature are involved in this death race as well.
USAFACTS reports that as of October 27, 2021, 15,432 Alabamians have died due to the pandemic. There have been 828,648 diagnosed cases of Alabamians contracting the virus. One 4 cannot ignore the relationship that the pandemic has had with politics because according to the Washington Post, deaths are higher in Republican than Democratic led states. Philip Bump in his article, The Inescapable Overlap of Pandemic and Politics points out that this relationship
cannot be ignored:
For example, here is the relationship between cases, deaths, vaccinations and 2020 vote as of Thursday. Of the 23 states that have new case totals per capita higher than the nation overall, 21 voted for Donald Trump in November. Sixteen are among the 17 states that have the lowestrates of vaccination. Of the 18 states that have new death totals higher than the national ratio, 14 voted for Trump and 12 are among the 17 least-vaccinated states.5
Alabama is included in this number. According to Politico, Donald Trump won the state of Alabama by garnering 1,441,170 votes compared to 849,624 for Joe Biden. What’s interesting is the data outside of Jefferson County. The majority of votes against the Republican Party came from the Black Belt of Alabama. The rest of the state voted Republican. This is the same Black Belt area that the Republicans have targeted for elimination since the days of the Civil Rights Movement.6
The Black Belt in Alabama is one of the poorest areas in the nation. In March 2019, al.com shares a report given by the United Nations who visited this areas and found it beyond disturbing. In doing a fifteen day tour of the US, Philip Alston, the UN’s Special Rapporteur noted that as he toured Butler County said, “I think it’s very uncommon in the First World. This is not a sight that one normally sees. I’d have to say that I haven’t seen this.” In talking to a resident in Butler County whose home had unreliable electric services and failed septic tanks, Alston said, “the hope is that we’ll bring attention to [these problems], just like we bring attention to people who are being tortured.” Those who are living in the Black Belt in Alabama are being 7 tortured by the public policy that is written and signed into law by locally and state elected officials. The reason is because the Black Belt was the most politically active area during the Civil Rights Movement. Those living in the Black Belt are being punished for not remaining silent and accepting the status quo as promoted by white supremacy advocates. The al.com article supports this assessment. Alston met with a 96 year old Black woman, Pattie Mae Ansley McDonald who said her house was “shot up” by racist white residents after she voted in 1965 shortly after the federal Voting Rights Act became law. Mrs. McDonald told Ansley that ”we had never voted so they told me I would be sorry if I voted. The white folks told me to move out of Lowndes County, and I said, ‘I ain’t going nowhere’.” The Black Belt continues to suffer from not just 8 poverty, but from voter suppression and lack of immediate access to healthcare facilities. What’s even more unsettling is that Alabama’s elected officials have ignored the plight of Alabamians who live in the Black Belt. The move now isn’t just punishing the Black Belt but now the rest of the state by targeting the already failed and deficit ridden public education system. A system that is ranked almost last in the nation. The target now is American history as the leaders attempt to connect it to the Critical Race Theory (CRT).
The hottest topic now in Alabama isn’t COVID-19 or Governor Ivey taking $400,000,000 to build her private prisons (from COVID-19 relief funds) but the state school board of education attempting to rewrite Alabama history by connecting it to CRT. According to Amy Ansell, CRT is a framework of analysis and an academic movement of civil-rights scholars and activists who seek to examine the intersection of race and law in the United States and to challenge mainstream American liberal approaches to racial justice. In other words, CRT is an attempt to 9 discuss race relations in America as if America exist in a vacuum. The truth is, America doesn’t exist in a vacuum but is part of a larger narrative that highlights that racism in what we are experiencing in the words of Dr. Greg Carr is “anchored here in America.” In Alabama, 10 Governor Ivey knows that CRT is taught in law schools and in graduate schools and yet voted for it to be banned in K-12 schools where it is not taught. Here is what she said, “As I’ve said many times, CRT doesn’t belong in Alabama schools. CRT currently isn’t being taught in Alabama classrooms, and I’ve previously called on the Alabama School Board to keep it that way. We need to focus on teaching Alabama kids how to read and write, not hate.” Those who voted with her were state school board members Jackie Zeigler, Tracey West, Cynthia McCarty, Belinda McRae, Wayne Reynolds and Stephanie Bell. This idea of “teaching hate” is a fallacy. Alabama isn’t the only state working to rewrite American history. Many republican state legislatures are spinning the truth by saying that Africans living in America were not enslaved and were never denied agency to the American enterprise. Spencer Miller, representing Urban Conservatives of America said to the Alabama State School Board, “I approve of your resolution, and I hope that you will push it through, I know what they are pushing in public schools; and they want to push it into every state in this country – the Critical Race Theory that evolved from the teaching of Karl Marx dividing people into oppressed and oppressors.” He goes on and notes, “This is basically cultural Marxism. White are villains, Blacks and Brown are victims. White are guilty. No matter what, you are racist. That is what is being taught. This is not good. We are individuals, we are not collective groups, and this must be denounced.” Yet, Black Americans have been lumped into 11 groups since our arrival as early as 1619 and designated as less than human by those who had the power to define personhood and non-personhood. Laws were passed in the colonies to determine if African were people and if even African can receive the gospel. As Dr. Carr noted, “Critical Race Theory opponents attempt to dial us back where whiteness is no longer in control.”12 Alabama is a reflection of the United States of America. We must come to the reality that ethnonationalist aren’t responding to CRT but the fact that whiteness is now vulnerable and exposed. The venerability and exposure comes out following the election and reelection of President Barak Obama. It’s a dire time in our state because our leaders are not concerned about Alabamians but maintaining the current structure of dominance in society.
The way white supremacy advocates maintain their position is by speaking a code language that allows them to remain in power. This code language must be unpacked and recognized. The reason I am providing this is so that you will be able to understand what is being said in the public sphere/public spaces. Here are a few of the code words that are used in social media, news media, radio, print media, and general conversations that are used on the campaign trail to let their followers know who to support with the finances, voice, and vote.
- CRT – A teaching that there is a hierarchy in society where white male,
heterosexual, able bodied people are racist. - Liberty – freedom for all white people who support white supremacy
- Patriotism – white supremacy
- Patriot – race soldier
- Kitchen Table Issues – Issues impacting only white communities
- Fake News – News that brings to light the the plight and blight of poor and
oppressed people - Suburbs – Not urban where better schools and living are possible
- Urban/Inner City – typically where poor and oppressed people are forced to
survive - Gentrification – Reclaiming poor and impoverished communities for personal
consumption and economic - 88 – is a white supremacist numerical code for “Heil Hitler.” H is the eighth
letter of the alphabet, so 88 = HH = Heil Hitler.
This is a very short list. For more information on the words and symbols used by this subculture
of hate go to https://www.ushmm.org/antisemitism/what-is-antisemitism/origins-of-neo-naziand-white-supremacist-terms-and-symbols.
As I conclude this extensive article which I hope you have read critically, I hope to convey to you a reality that we must address: ALL ELECTIONS MATTER AND HAVE CONSEQUENCES. We know that the world is in the hand of God but elections are in our hands. What we must come to grips with is that God will not vote in any of our elections or pick the candidates that will either build or ruin our communities. America is beyond gridlock. We are on a downward spiral because many of those who have been elected to office have the wrong spirit. They are not concerned about the plight of the people nor the situations in our communities. They are focused on personal profits and their personal economic condition. If America and Alabama are going to do an “about face” it will require us to pray and fight in the municipal governments, county offices, and state legislatures by removing those who have forgotten why they are there. This is applicable across the board. Stop looking at ethnicity, skin color, or even college affiliation. It’s not about Democrats or Republicans. It’s not about Conservatives or Liberals. Our measuring rod should be the Kingdom of God and not if they go to church. The reason is because Sunday after church was a good time to have a lynching party. Also, remember that every skin folk ain’t kin folk. We must elect those who are going to work toward making American and Alabama more equitable. This is the only way that we will see change.
Tyree A. Anderson, D.Min.
Chair of the Social Justice Commission
Alabama State Missionary Baptist Convention
1 Alabama Republican Gov. Ivey says ‘start blaming the unvaccinated folks’ for rise in Covid cases, Veronica Stracqualursi, CNN, July 23, 2021 (https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/23/politics/alabama-governor-kay-iveyunvaccinated-covid/index.html)
2 ibid
3 Do Republicans Actually Want the Pandemic to End?, Jamelle Bouie, August 31, 2021 (https://www.nytimes.com/
2021/08/31/opinion/republicans-anti-vax-covid.html)
4 https://usafacts.org/visualizations/coronavirus-covid-19-spread-map/state/alabama
5 The Inescapable Overlap of Pandemic and Politics, Philip Bump, September 10, 2021 (https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/09/10/inescapable-overlap-pandemic-politics/)
6 https://www.politico.com/2020-election/results/alabama/
7 https://www.al.com/news/2017/12/un_poverty_official_touring_al.html
8 https://www.al.com/news/2017/12/un_poverty_official_touring_al.html
9 Ansell, Amy (2008). “Critical Race Theory”. In Schaefer, Richard T. (ed.). Encyclopedia of Race, Ethnicity, and Society, Volume 1. SAGE Publications. pp. 344–346.
10In Class With Carr, Ep. 66: Critical Race Theory and the Cold Civil War
11Alabama state school board passes resolution banning Critical Race Theory, Brandon Mosley, August 16, 2021
(https://www.alreporter.com/2021/08/16/alabama-state-school-board-passes-resolution-banning-critical-racetheory/)
12In Class With Carr, Ep. 66: Critical Race Theory and the Cold Civil War
