A historic Black church in Washington D.C., whose Black Lives Matter sign was vandalized by members of the Proud Boys, is launching a project to further support its social justice work and that of national groups. The project, which will be available on the church website, aims to provide a space for discussions about social justice concerns and ways to address them. The church recently won a ruling that bars the Proud Boys from selling merchandise using its name or symbols without permission.
The pastor of Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church, William Lamar, expressed the church’s intention to use the trademark of the Proud Boys, a violent white supremacist organization, for good. The church sought action after the Proud Boys failed to pay a $2.8 million judgment. However, Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio stated that the group does not plan to sell merchandise and intends to appeal the court decision. He plans to make personal shirts for the group called the African Methodist Boys.
Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church aims to capitalize on the attention from this incident to support its social justice work as well as issues including environmental justice, health disparities, and food insecurity. The church has a long history with the Civil Rights Movement and recently hosted a rally on Martin Luther King, Jr., Day. This project serves as a way for people to come together and strategize on how to move forward politically, spiritually, and emotionally in light of recent events.
Note: The image is for illustrative purposes only and is not the original image associated with the presented article. Due to copyright reasons, we are unable to use the original images. However, you can still enjoy the accurate and up-to-date content and information provided.
