Black Pastors Preach the Truth About Charlie Kirk
Why the Black pulpit still matters in America’s moral crisis
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The Sunday after Charlie Kirk’s murder, many people wondered what they would hear from the pulpit on Sunday.
Would preachers be silent or would they speak with clarity? The Black church did what it has always done: told the truth.
The Black church is still here, still central, still interpreting our chaos with the spirit of justice.
Kirk’s life and death revealed America’s fault lines—between faith and politics, racism and justice, memory and myth.
And once again, Black pastors gave us the moral clarity we desperately needed.
A Contested Legacy
Social media had plenty to say about Kirk’s life and legacy.
Some people insisted that he was a Christian apologist who was outspoken about his faith and willing to go anywhere and debate anyone with boldness and intelligence.
Others saw him as a young man who built his brand on divisiveness and touting racist beliefs loudly and proudly.
Countless posts and comments stoked the conversation to a fever pitch until Sunday finally arrived.
What would church leaders say about this man who loudly proclaimed his Christian religion while also saying,
“If I’m dealing with somebody in customer service who’s a moronic Black woman, I wonder: Is she there because of her excellence, or is she there because of affirmative action?”
Truth from the Black Pulpit
Debate raged online, but in the pulpit some Black preachers spoke with undeniable clarity.1
Pastor John Howard Wesley of Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, VA said he was overwhelmed with the hypocrisy.
I am overwhelmed. And I do not celebrate the killing of anyone. Charlie Kirk did not deserve to be assassinated, but I'm overwhelmed seeing the flags of the United States of America at half staff, calling this nation to honor and venerate a man who was an unapologetic racist and spent all of his life sowing seeds of division into this land.
Rev. Dr. Wesley made it plain.
I am sorry, but there's nowhere in the Bible where we are to honor evil. And how you die does not redeem how you live. You do not become a hero in your death, when you are a weapon of the enemy in your life.
Dr. Freddy Haynes, III of Friendship West Baptist Church in Dallas, TX drew a hard line—Kirk’s words were racist, but political violence is never the answer.
Don’t compare Kirk to King. Let me hasten to say, I’m anti-political violence. Kirk should still be alive. I don’t agree with anything Kirk said. What Kirk said was dangerous. What he said was racist. Rooted in white supremacy. Nasty and hate-filled. But he should still be alive.
Pastor Jamal Bryant, who has been a vocal advocate of boycotting Target for its rollback of DEI initiatives, rebuked fellow Black pastors who compared Charlie Kirk to Martin Luther King.
I’m concerned about all of these Negro preachers who’ve been, in fact, talking about that this man who was killed was the answer to Christ in the Earth. They having moments of silence in Black churches all over the country over a man that was racist and a white supremacist. How dare you compare him to Martin Luther King. The only thing they got in common is both of ‘em was killed by a white man. After that, they got nothin’ else in common.
The sermons from Wesley, Haynes, and Bryant are just three examples, but they represent something bigger.
The Black church is still here—speaking truth when others equivocate, naming racism when others excuse it, and calling this nation to a higher moral ground.
If you want to understand America’s present chaos, don’t just watch the news or scroll your feed.
Listen to the Black pulpit.2 It has been guiding us through storms for centuries.
And it is still speaking today.
What other social media posts or sermons do you think spoke truthfully and prophetically about Charlie Kirk’s life and death? Share in the comments.
These preachers are merely representative of the countless preachers—across the racial and ethnic spectrum—who spoke truthfully and prophetically about Charlie Kirk’s life and death. They are cited here because they are clips of sermons—not just social media posts—and because of how widely people online interacted with their preaching.
Not all Black pulpits.
I realized I was starving to hear these things spoken out loud, righting the record. "Lord, God, please protect Pastors Wesley, Haynes and Bryant and continue to give them, and us, courage to speak the truth, along with a circumspect wisdom and discernment."
The only thing MLK and Kirk got in common is they both shot by a white man. Exactly.