Bernice King Calls Out Black Church Ahead of MLK Day

There’s no question on whether the Black Church has been an integral part of the Black community and the greater American story. More than just a site of worship, the church was the bedrock for social, political and educational change and even birthed leaders like Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

But decades after King’s assassination, the church looks very different.

Black Americans are some of the most religious people in the country, with most churchgoers attending a Black church, according to Pew Research. But as we face new plights in the country, many are asking if the church is doing enough to support Black people. Of those is Dr. King’s daughter, Dr. Bernice King, who spoke to The Root Publisher Ashley Allison about why the Black Church is needed more than ever.

“Where are the people of God,” she asked. We previously told you Black Americans have faced significant racial attacks birthed from President Donald Trump’s second term. The erasing of Black history, banning DEI and even attempts to undermine the Voting Rights Act of 1964 have all but ensured a target on Black folks’ back. According to Bernice, now is the time for the Black Church to really get involved as it once did during her father’s era.

“This is a moment that we should be standing strong in,” she continued to The Root. “We should be speaking hope. We should be leading the way of hope and not falling into the minutiae of the conversations that are happening, and I think we all get drawn into it.”

For the past year, Black Americans have watched as the Trump administration tried to dismantle many of the historic contributions of Black Americans. And it seems like the Black Church is nowhere to be found. This — plus other reasons we previously explained — is leading the Black youth further from the church. Bernice called out the Black Church for staying on the sidelines as everyday people struggle.

“We need to see more of the faith community just taking the leadership in terms of how do we pull ourselves together first,” she explained.

The Black Church often gets praise for its role in the Civil Rights Movement. It provided safety in the Jim Crow South and stepped in to serve Black communities when the government wouldn’t.

Still, many Black church failed to answer the call then, citing fears of white retaliation, according to Pew Research. Now, we’re witnessing a similar apprehension, and according to Bernice, no one can afford to stand back and watch.

“The people of God have to get together and create strategy and create planning,” Bernice said. “It can’t be individual efforts because what we’re facing is monstrous. It’s the kind of evil that really requires a ‘Nehemiah Effect,’” the activist said referencing the Book of Nehemiah in the Bible.

“Nehemiah — in Chapter 4, Verse 19 and 20– talked about the work being extensive,” King said. “They were always working in their various spaces. There were forces out there that were trying to destroy the efforts.”

Despite immense pressure, Dr. King and other Civil Rights Movement leaders persevered in their fight for change. We honor this enduring legacy every year with Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Now, King said it’s the next generation of religious leaders who have to pick up where her dad left off. “We need that kind of unity so that the power of God can come in and through us the way it came through the people that were working with my father and the movement.”