By Dr. Susan Berry
The president of the Coalition of African American
Pastors (CAAP) endorses Donald Trump for president.
Rev. William Owens, who is endorsing the Republican
candidate as a private citizen, says Trump deserves the chance to prove himself
to Christian voters, including those in the black church. He asserts the
Democrat Party has offered blacks nothing but failed policies.
He states:
When I was first called to help others, I began an
organization called the “Give Me a Chance Ministry.” Our goal was to provide
scholarships, tutoring and mentoring programs to underserved students. One of
the keys to that remarkably successful program was the fact that we asked
nothing from the university involved other than that they give these students a
chance to excel. That is the position that I find myself in today when looking
at the best candidate for President. Donald Trump has humbly asked the African
American community to give him a chance. After witnessing 50 years of failure
from the Democratic Party, compounded by a growing hostility to religion in
their platform, I feel that it is definitely time that we give Mr. Trump that
chance to prove he can be a great President.
Owens, a black minister who marched with Rev. Martin
Luther King, Jr. in the civil rights movement, has launched an ad campaign
urging black voters to abandon the failed policies of the Democrat Party.
In an open letter to black voters, Owens states:
It is time we faced the truth. The policies embraced by
the Democrats have failed us for decades. They have destroyed our communities,
weakened our families, and doomed us to a future of dependency. What’s more,
the Democrats now take our votes for granted and ignore our voices in favor of
other interest groups.
“Be honest,” Owens addresses black voters. “Can you
really say that Hillary Clinton speaks for you? Or understands the African
American experience? We’re told that we should vote for her because … well,
because blacks have always voted for Democrats.”
Owens says he came to the realization that his
relationship with the Democrats was “completely one-sided.”
“They ask for everything—support, votes, unquestioning
loyalty—and give nothing back,” he writes. “If we want to reclaim our power as
voters, then African Americans need to demonstrate that we won’t allow
ourselves to be used.”
Owens has been a fierce opponent of abortion and same-sex
marriage. The black leader has condemned the narrative created by President
Barack Obama and former Attorney General Eric Holder that black civil rights is
analogous to the agenda to achieve same-sex marriage.
“President Obama is a disgrace to the black community,”
Owens told Breitbart News in March of 2015. “He is rewriting history. We didn’t
suffer and die for gay marriage. We marched for opportunity, equality, justice,
freedom from oppression. We are the true heirs of the civil rights movement.”
CAAP has since launched a new initiative called RISE, a
grassroots network that seeks to unite “people of every race, creed, culture,
and background,” to focus on defending faith, family, and justice.
Owens cites the issue of Supreme Court appointments as a
major factor in his decision to endorse Trump.
“The simple truth is that the next President will appoint
at least one Supreme Court justice, thereby shaping this country for decades to
come,” he states. “By promising to nominate only constructionist jurists to the
Supreme Court, Donald Trump has demonstrated that people of faith can trust him
to defend religious freedom and traditional values.”
“On the issue that matters most, Mr. Trump is the only
candidate that I could consider voting for,” Owens concludes.
