A message to religion bashing Democrats, and Democratic bashers in general.
Commentary by Black Kos Editor Denise Oliver-Velez
First let me offer my deepest condolences to the religious family of Pope Francis upon his death. The world has lost both a humanitarian, and a good man.
Secondly, let me make my feelings known about some responses to the Pope’s death, that I have read, coming from purported Democrats, which I find deeply troubling.
I don’t care if you are an atheist (my communist dad was one) or have specific beefs with the idea of religion in general, or one particular doctrine specifically,
Fox Spews and the right are gleefully having a Pope Francis bashfest.
“Do we want to continue in a basically, sad to say, woke direction in the Catholic Church…?”
– Fox News’ Father Gerald Murray, trashing Pope Francis for showing compassion over cruelty.
Y’all bashers are contributing to the general nastiness.
At a time when we need to bring people together to mount a battle against the unholy cabal of fascists running and ruining our nation, when clearly Black Americans are the voting block who overwhelmingly votes for Democrats, there are some, mostly white, self-proclaimed “progressives” who have taken it upon themselves to trash the Pope, but gone beyond that to trash anyone professing religion or spirituality. I don’t give a flying f**k what you believe or don’t believe. It’s your right. What I do believe is you should keep it to yourself and not spread your snide or snarkey disdain around on social media, or in comments on blogs like Daily Kos.
I’m a priest in my chosen African diasporic faith, and have been since I was initiated in 1998. My personal spiritual journey has never interfered with my commitment to waging political struggle, or prevented me from forming alliances with people of all faiths, nationalities, ethnicities, genders and races.
Trashing the death of Pope Francis, and religion in general shows me you have no clue about Black Catholics, Black religious voters, our history and our present day Democratic electoral demographics.
According to PEW there are about 3 million Black Catholics in the U.S. While granted, the majority of Black folks who are people of faith belong to a cross section of Christian Protestant and Black Evangelical denominations, all of them have a belief in God or some Higher Power.
The Importance of Christianity to Black Americans
Religion plays an important role in the lives of Black Americans. According to PRRI data from 2022, more than seven in ten Black Americans (71%) are Christian, a slight decrease from 79% in 2013. About one in five are religiously unaffiliated (22%), up from 16% in 2013, and the remaining 7% affiliate with non-Christian religions. Black Americans are notably more likely than Americans in general to say that religion is the most important thing in their lives (28% vs. 15%), and this percentage is notably higher among Black Christians (36%).
Among Black Christians, 41% identify as evangelical or born-again and 59% do not. Black evangelicals (46%) are more than twice as likely as nonevangelicals (21%) to say that religion is the most important thing in their life.
I wrote about Black Evangelicals here, back in 2017, in Let’s talk about black evangelicals and social justice ministries
Somehow, some of you have managed to dis-remember that many of the leaders of our movements for change were and still are people of faith, and ministers — like the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and El Hajj Malik Shabazz (formerly Malcolm X) or currently pastors like Evangelical Bishop Reverend Barber.
Rev. Barber: 57 years ago, on April 3, reverend Dr. King said the night before he died, nothing would be more tragic than for us to turn back now….We cannot be at ease in America! History is pushing us, the present is demanding us, and the future is calling us. #HandsOff
I’m not the only person noticing this. Saw this post today:
I always feel a flash of annoyance when I see uncritical acceptance/repetition of the idea that Republicans have wholly cornered the market on religion and many liberals ignore spirituality
Black people (around 75% of whom in the US are Christian) & Jewish people overwhelmingly vote for Democrats
Black pastors and congregations have carried organizing for Democrats forward, in movements like Souls To The Polls.
Somehow, you have disr-emembered who the most loyal Democratic voters are.
As a side note thought I would add a little Catholic Black history to my rant today, which you may or may not be aware of.
Posted during Black History Month:
27 Mar 2010
Pope Benedict XVI decrees Henriette DeLille Venerable. She is the first African American to receive the title and may become the first African American Saint. DeLille is born in New Orleans in 1812 into a placage system—grooming for marriage to wealthy European men.
As we celebrate #BlackHistoryMonth, we take a moment to appreciate the lives and accomplishments of Black Catholics. Today we recognize Servant of God Mother Mary Lange.
During #BlackHistoryMonth, we’re celebrating #BlackCatholics such as Venerable Pierre Toussaint. He was enslaved and brought to New York City and became a renowned hairdresser and philanthropist, caring for the sick in his home. Original image c/o The National Black Catholic Congress.
I think there is no coincidence that diaries bashing Democrats, chock full of negativity soar to the top of the wreck list here, while diaries promoting the good tend to languish, like those on the Congressional Black Caucus from Linda, and others from janesaunt, bilboteach, and Dfh1 which get short shrift.
Please share Linda’s @lindaleepeacock.bsky.social : CBC Roundup: Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett (TX-30) – telling it like it is
www.dailykos.com/stories/2025…
For today’s CHC Roundup, I am introducing the leader of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus – Rep. Adriano Espaillat! He has quite the task in leading the ethnically and ideologically diverse caucus while also representing NY-13 in Congress!
www.dailykos.com/stories/2025…
www.dailykos.com/stories/2025…
Still Think Democrats Aren’t Fighting Back? Introducing Don Beyer. From @dfh1.bsky.social
www.dailykos.com/stories/2025…
We here at Black Kos are generally ignored except by loyal community regulars, more than half of whom are white who don’t have an allergy to Blackness.
Yes. I think what often stops us from being read is the fact that our content is unapologetically Black. We’re one of the oldest community groups here at Daily Kos, and tend to only get more than 40 or 50 recs, unless we’re ranting.
I’ll close with a post from the Black lady of grace, who we wanted to see elected.
Pope Francis was a visionary leader who dedicated his life to service and justice. He encouraged us to protect our planet, championed a more inclusive church, and cared for all of God’s children — especially the most vulnerable among us.
Doug and I join the world in mourning his loss.
Campus mentors. Move-in events. Scholarships. Diversity offices that made them feel welcome on predominantly white campuses.
As U.S. colleges pull back on diversity, equity and inclusion practices, students of color say they are starting to lose all of these things and more.
The full scope of campus DEI rollbacks is still emerging as colleges respond to the Trump administration’s orders against diversity practices. But students at some schools said early cuts are chipping away at the sense of community that helped open the door to higher education.
“It feels like we’re going back. I don’t know how else to describe it,” said Breeana-Iris Rosario, a junior at the University of Michigan, which is closing its DEI office and scrapping a campus-wide inclusion plan. “It’s like our voices aren’t being heard.”
The retreat from DEI has been building for years, driven by Republican-led states that have ordered public colleges to close DEI offices and eliminate programs. But it has accelerated under President Donald Trump and his threats to cut federal funding.
Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan’s “Sinners” movie is a certified hit, but a tweet from one media outlet is earning big backlash from Hollywood’s own after questioning the movie’s success.
The tweet came from a larger article that talked about “Sinners” debut in relation to “Minecraft,” which has earned $720 million at the box office but just got bumped out of its number one spot by Coogler’s film.
The focus on the film not hitting profitability when it has only been in theatres just one weekend, didn’t sit right with many, including some big name Hollywood actors.
“Sinners” has amassed $61 million in its global debut. It’s a great result for an original, R-rated horror film, yet the Warner Bros. release has a $90 million price tag before global marketing expenses, so profitability remains a ways away. https://t.co/gjPXGBYkZ1 pic.twitter.com/wwXjVC2GT5
If you have ever bought a pair of jeans from an American brand like Levi’s or Wrangler, chances are they were manufactured at a factory in the small southern African nation of Lesotho.
Textile manufacturing is one of Lesotho’s key industries, exporting some 75% of its output to the United States.
This is expected to change after U.S. President Donald Trump slapped a 50% tariff on imports from Lesotho, the highest among all countries. According to Trump, Lesotho charges a 99% tariff on U.S. goods, but the government said it doesn’t know how the U.S. administration calculated that figure. Government officials did not say Thursday what Lesotho’s tariffs on U.S. goods are.
Trump made fun of Lesotho in a speech in March, calling it a nation that “nobody has ever heard of.” Lesotho’s foreign minister reminded him that the U.S. has a diplomatic mission there.
Progressive icon and former U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee declared victory Saturday as the new mayor of troubled Oakland, a San Francisco Bay Area city reeling from economic stagnation, crime and homelessness.
Lee issued a statement Saturday as mayor-elect, saying that her chief opponent, Loren Taylor, had called to concede the April 15 race.
“While I believe strongly in respecting the democratic voting process and ballots will continue to be counted … the results are clear that the people of Oakland have elected me as your next Mayor,” she said. “Thank you, Oakland!”
Lee, 78, is a Black female trailblazer who represented the city in Congress for over two decades before retiring last year after running unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
by Justice Putnam, Black Kos Poetry Editor
Black artists and other artists of color have always been held to a different standard in a country of endemic, systemic racism, and with MAGA fascism in ascendency, they just can’t help themselves. MAGA is on a blitzkrieg to erase anything non-white from history, from the ledger books and from the town square, itself. I wish I was just using overwrought hyperbole, but I’m not. Wokeism is their rally cry, because they really want to use the N word, and they are.
They complain a song or a children’s story honoring the long sacrifice from slavery to freedom is un-American and how dare it be shared in public, lest some white kid somewhere might feel bad about coming from a family of bigots. Can’t have that.
Jacob Lawrence’s art flourished in spite of the racial obstacles lodged his way. His vision of “dynamic cubism” sought to chronicle the Black experience in America using hues of blacks and browns against a palette of vivid colors, not informed so much by cubists working in France, but from the vibrancy of Harlem.
…for me, a painting should have three things: universality, clarity and strength. Clarity and strength so that it may be aesthetically good. Universality so that it may be understood by all… “
– Jacob Lawrence
The sixty panels that make up his “Migration Series” are like film storyboards that make up an epic poem of life, an odyssey from South to North, and the rooms left behind.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
About The Author
More Stories
New Pope Has Creole Roots in New Orleans – The New York Times
Real Talk | Threats to African American history in White and Black – The News-Gazette
American Black Belt Academy teaches fitness and self defense in Massapequa – News 12