Black caucus wrestles with immigration injustice

Key points:

• Nearly 300 laity and clergy attended the 59th General Meeting of Black Methodists for Church Renewal on March 18-20 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
• Members came from The United Methodist Church’s five U.S. jurisdictions and included bishops, district superintendents, agency leaders, pastors and local church members.
• Chairperson Deborah Bass charged the caucus to respond purposefully to current challenges in the church and society with “faith, compassion, justice and prophetic courage.”

Before Deborah Bass began her chairperson’s address to open the annual meeting of United Methodism’s Black membership caucus last month, she treated her audience to the sound of R&B vocalist Marvin Gaye’s 1971 signature song, “What’s Going On.”

She smiled as some listeners quietly sang along to the soulful masterpiece that questioned the meaning of war, poverty, social conflict and government injustice.

The iconic song and its probing title set the tone for much of what would be discussed over three days in dramatic speeches, a rousing sermon, candid dialogues and a call to action on the harsh immigration enforcement besieging communities.

The meeting’s theme took the caucus’ longtime motto, “Our Time Under God Is Now,” and added the words “to Inspire, Influence and Impact.”

In what may be the most connectional annual gathering of African Americans from across the denomination, nearly 300 laity and clergy attended the 59th General Meeting of Black Methodists for Church Renewal on March 18-20 in Charlotte, North Carolina. With an attendance half the size of national meetings a decade ago, but no less engaged, members came from numerous conferences in the church’s five jurisdictions and represented all levels of leadership — from bishops and district superintendents to church agency leaders to pastors and local church members.

Calling their theme “a divine summons for this moment in history,” Bass charged the caucus to respond purposefully to current challenges in the church and society, as its founders did over a half-century ago, with “faith, compassion, justice and prophetic courage.”

Regarding one challenge that would provoke the meeting’s most intense discussion, she said to applause, “Immigration and migration are not someone else’s issues. They are our issues … woven throughout the story of our faith.”

A “Call to Action” session March 20 began with introductory remarks about justice, compassion and solidarity with immigrants offered by the leaders of two denominational agencies: Bishop Julius C. Trimble of the United Methodist Board of Church and Society and the Rev. Giovanni Arroyo of the Commission on Religion and Race, both located in the nation’s capital.

But what followed was an hourlong, emotional dialogue with concerns and questions voiced by anxious caucus members lined up at microphones. The two agency leaders and others attempted to offer ideas and possible solutions to their concerns.

Trimble criticized the Supreme Court’s recent decision allowing Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to stop and interrogate people based solely on their racial appearance, language, work location or type of work. He also denounced efforts to end U.S. temporary protected status for people escaping danger and crises in their home countries. And he urged support for Haitian immigrants currently “fighting in court to keep their temporary protected status here.”

Trimble and Arroyo both criticized recent federal permission for ICE agents to freely conduct raids at houses of worship, schools and hospitals — places formerly considered off-limits as “sensitive locations.” Arroyo reported on collective efforts to challenge that permission in court.

“We should stand firm, draw a line and say you can’t come into my church and take anybody unless you have a warrant from a judge that says somebody’s committed a crime and is in this space,” he said.

Arroyo also responded to questions about inter-ethnic differences — particularly Black Americans’ stake in opposing immigration injustice when most victims seem to be Hispanic-Latine.

Arroyo said racially biased U.S. immigration enforcement also affects Black, Caribbean and African individuals, churches and communities.

“We cannot be faithful to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and silent in the face of injustice,” he said. “We must be clear that immigration in the United States is not just about borders. It’s about race and ethnicity; and for Black migrants, it’s about being twice marked. They’re targeted for who they are (as Black persons); and they’re punished for where they come from.”

Citing harsher federal restrictions on travel to the U.S. from African countries, Arroyo described U.S. immigration policy as shaped by “racial hierarchy and exclusion. It is the rhetoric of anti-Blackness in our society. It is deeply connected to the same systems that shaped slavery and mass incarceration. … It is part of the same struggle.”

Over a dozen BMCR lay and clergy members came to microphones to describe the fear and insecurity caused by ICE activities and threats in their communities. They lamented that children of immigrant families are fearful or unable to attend school, and that many church members and pastors — some of them legal immigrants — are afraid to speak out for justice and mercy for fear of being targeted.

Arroyo and Trimble and several caucus members responded to many comments with information and suggested tactics that have helped in some communities, such as citizen volunteers escorting children of immigrant families to school.

“We must raise the alarm about the historic moment we are in and encourage all of us to take advantage of the power that is ours,” Trimble said. He also condemned in his remarks attempts to “erode our constitutional rights,” citing challenges to the First, Fourth, 14th and 15th amendments. And he named other concerns, including efforts to restrict voting access; unemployment increases, especially among Black women; and deep cuts in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and in Medicaid benefits.

Recalling the prophet Isaiah’s charge for God’s people to “learn to do good, seek justice, rescue the oppressed…” (Isaiah 1:17), Trimble called for prayer, preaching and teaching about justice in churches, along with organized, interfaith social advocacy, lobbying of elected officials for justice and social change, and promoting voter participation in the legislative midterm elections in November.

Trimble spoke more about Church and Society’s work during the caucus’ annual bishops’ panel discussion. Joining him were Bishops Cedrick Bridgeforth of the Greater Northwest Area; Kennetha J. Bigham-Tsai of Iowa and Great Rivers Illinois conferences; Gregory V. Palmer, retired and serving as executive secretary of the Council of Bishops; and Kenneth H. Carter Jr. of the Western North Carolina Conference, who attended the meeting as BMCR’s episcopal host.

Panelists described signs of hope and progress in their episcopal areas, including:

• Black clergy joining conference staffs to help promote multicultural and anti-racism ministries.
• Plans to fund repairs and renovation of historically Black churches in Western North Carolina.
• New local BMCR caucuses being formed in the Iowa and Pacific Northwest conferences.
• And churches in both those conferences undergoing “transformation and creative ministry expansion” while learning to work with community and statewide partners to challenge racism.

Carter and Bigham-Tsai promoted the Council of Bishops’ new book “Building Beloved Community: The Courage to Love in the Face of Tyranny,” published in October to provide “a theological and practical guide to resisting authoritarianism, racism and Christian nationalism through love-based, community-focused action.” 

“I just would love it if people would take this book and preach and teach from it and form study circles,” Carter said. “The greatest risk we can take right now is to not take a risk.”

Palmer, who resides in Charlotte, preached for BMCR’s annual Communion service. He recalled Ezekiel’s vision of God reviving a valley of dry, disconnected bones to prophesy the promised revival of God’s oppressed but chosen people of Israel. He gently implied present-day similarities to Israel’s exile in Babylon as punishment for having broken its covenant with God through rampant idol worship, social injustice and failure to honor the Sabbath. 

“(In) The United Methodist Church — and I want to say Black churches — we’ve declined because we unhitched ourselves from our communities,” the bishop preached. “We became disconnected from our communities. … We declined because our bones got dry.”

But finding hope in God’s attentive compassion and ability to restore his people, Palmer asked if BMCR and the denomination have Ezekiel’s courage, when God commands us to speak to the bones, “to show up, reconnect and obey.”

Black Methodists for Church Renewal reconnects with Africa at each general meeting through reports from leaders of United Methodist-supported Africa University in Zimbabwe. Andra Stevens of the Africa University Development Office in Nashville updated the caucus on the institution’s progress.

In addition, the Rev. Saneta Maiko, a district superintendent in the Indiana Conference who will become the university’s first director of community impact in July, led a session to help members learn ways to engage in “radical hospitality” and supportive relationships with African visitors and immigrants to the U.S. He immigrated to the U.S. from Kenya decades ago.

Three other speakers helped caucus members recall the legacy of its past, understand its present challenges and look to its future.

The Rev. C. Denise Pickett, a pastor in Brooklyn, N.Y., led a two-day Bible study. The Rev. Reginald Lee, a South Carolina Conference pastor, spoke on “Where Do We Go from Here After Disaffiliation.” He urged Black United Methodists to actively “build intentional coalitions across racial, cultural and social identities and engage meaningfully with other marginalized groups,” while embodying Methodism’s spirit of grace.

Lee recalled the denomination’s early history of racially charged schisms and mergers and its recent church disaffiliations over disagreements about LGBTQ people’s role in the church. He noted that Black members had little say or participation in such conflicts but merely remained faithful and largely loyal to the church for various reasons. However, he emphasized the need for a different response now, calling on BMCR members to “confront our present reality with honesty” and become active participants in “shaping the church’s future and the opportunities that come with it.”

Lee also urged Black church traditionalists to examine “our internal social dynamics that hinder authentic community, including patterns of moralism, rigid dichotomies and selective acceptance.” He added, “We must learn how to engage meaningfully with those whose experiences and identities do not fully mirror our own.”

Finally, the Rev. Hanna R. Broome, an African Methodist Episcopal Zion church leader in North Carolina, delivered a rousing speech during the closing banquet. Broome is the president of the North Carolina Council of Churches as well as a leader of the national Poor People’s Campaign and other social impact and community development organizations. 

Emphasizing the urgency of “now” in the caucus’ motto, Broome challenged members to pivot from their proud history and inspirational meetings to influence impactful change among their constituents. She called for effective leadership development initiatives, strategic efforts with measurable outcomes to strengthen Black congregations, mobilization of members to promptly and publicly witness to concerns of injustice, and greater advocacy to influence equitable changes in the denomination’s priorities, accountability systems and leadership representation.

The caucus reelected Bass, of Compton, California, to another two-year term as chairperson. They also elected the Rev. Yvette D. Massey of Decatur, Georgia, as vice chairperson and reelected the Rev. Cary Beckwith of Springfield, Illinois, as secretary, and Gail Douglas-Boykin of Brooklyn, New York, as treasurer.

Members donated nearly $22,000 in the caucus’ annual Festival of Giving fundraising effort and $11,000 to benefit Bennett College in Greensboro, North Carolina, a United Methodist-supported Black college. Several Bennett students and faculty sang and shared testimonies during BMCR’s annual luncheon to celebrate the denomination’s Black College Fund.

The 2027 BMCR General Meeting will take place next March in Oklahoma City.

Coleman is a longtime communicator and part-time local pastor.

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