In the spirit of Martin Luther King…
“This is a nation of laws, and we need strong leaders to restore order,” he asserted. “We need to confront the issue of race head-on — not with hand-wringing and meaningless ‘mea culpas’ from leftists who think that’s what black people want to hear. But we need to confront these issues with love, understanding, and a belief in something bigger than ourselves.”
Rev. Bill Owens: ‘Civil Rights Movement Hijacked by Manipulative Politicians’
Rev. Bill Owens, president of the Coalition of African American Pastors (CAAP), says racial tensions have not improved in America because the true civil rights movement has been “hijacked” by politicians who are using black Americans as “a pathway to power.”
In comments to Breitbart News on the violent riots in the wake of George Floyd’s death at the hands of police in Minneapolis, Owens and his wife, Dr. Deborah Owens, said politicians “of all races” are still using black issues to gain power.
“I remember being a college student and saying, ‘If only we had a black mayor, (or black congressman or governor), things would be different,’” Owens, the author of A Dream Derailed, said. “Decades later, we’ve seen black men and women at all levels of power — even a black president — but racial tensions haven’t improved.”
The faith leader said one of the primary reasons the tensions still exist is because of the policies that have torn apart the fabric of black families.
“We’ve seen decades of policies that helped destroy the black family and the black community,” Owens explained. “But finding leaders who are willing to tell the truth about what is happening is like looking for a needle in a haystack.”
Owens said American cities are sorely lacking in leadership.
“As I look around at the violence in our cities, I keep asking, ‘Where are the leaders?’” he continued. “On both sides, where are the leaders? The rioting and looting are a disgrace, but some politicians are so lacking in principle that they’re willing to excuse the rioters or pacify them — and all for political gain.”
“African American voters are taken for granted by one party and, until President Trump, were largely ignored by the other,” Owens said as he condemned the violence and looting.
