{"id":1028,"date":"2012-09-10T16:13:00","date_gmt":"2012-09-10T16:13:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/african-american-pastor-says-democrats-do-not-serve-black-interests\/"},"modified":"2012-09-10T16:13:00","modified_gmt":"2012-09-10T16:13:00","slug":"african-american-pastor-says-democrats-do-not-serve-black-interests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2012\/09\/african-american-pastor-says-democrats-do-not-serve-black-interests\/","title":{"rendered":"African American pastor says Democrats do not serve black interests"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Charlotte, N.C., Sep 10, 2012 \/ 10:13 am (CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- As delegates at the Democratic National Convention celebrated the party's decision to reiterate its support for abortion and officially endorse \u201cgay marriage,\u201d an African American leader said that these policies harm the black community.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cAs far as I'm concerned, the Democratic Party is not pro-African American,\u201d said Rev. Bill Owens, president of the Coalition of African American Pastors.<\/p>\n

\tOwens told CNA that African Americans in the U.S. are used as \u201cpawns\u201d because they automatically assume that the Democratic Party supports their interests.<\/p>\n

\tBut if Democrats truly have the interests of the black community at heart, and if African Americans consistently vote the Democratic ticket, he asked, \u201cwhy are we in such bad shape?\u201d<\/p>\n

\tOwens said that the major issues facing the African American community today are education, jobs and abortion.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cWe have more young men in prison than in college,\u201d he said, explaining that African Americans are \u201cbehind every group in the country\u201d as far as education, even falling behind groups that come to the U.S. from other nations.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cWe're losing our young men to gangs,\u201d he added, and \u201cculturally, we're slipping behind.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tUnderlying all of these problems, Owens said, is the sad truth that \u201cwe have lost the family.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cIf the family were intact, we wouldn't have so many of our young men in prison,\u201d he said, noting that young men often join gangs when they do not have strong families and faith communities.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cEducation would be much better,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\tOwens recalled that when he participated in the civil rights movement, there were more black families together than white families.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cBut now the family has disintegrated,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\tPresident Barack Obama is the first leader that Owens has ever publicly spoken out against. He said that he is extremely concerned about the implications of the president's positions, including his unprecedented support for \u201cgay marriage,\u201d on black families.<\/p>\n

\tOwens joined other family advocates in warning that \u201cgay marriage\u201d renders both mothers and fathers optional and unnecessary.<\/p>\n

\tWith the black family already weakened and vulnerable, he said, the African American community will be especially harmed by efforts to redefine marriage.<\/p>\n

\tHe also observed that the black community has voted against \u201cgay marriage\u201d at every opportunity.<\/p>\n

\tOwens said that the Democratic Party takes the black vote for granted.<\/p>\n

\tHe explained that he and a group of pastors had invited Obama to a dialogue about important issues within the black community but \u201che didn't give us the courtesy of an answer,\u201d despite the fact that his predecessor had agreed to meet with the group.<\/p>\n

\tWhile there is a need for \u201cdialogue\u201d with both parities, he said, but the Democratic Party's 2012 platform, which endorses a redefinition of marriage for the first time in history, raises particular concerns.<\/p>\n

\tOwens said that he loves homosexual people. However, he explained, respecting individuals and redefining the most basic building block of society are two separate things.<\/p>\n

\tPointing to already struggling black families, he stressed that redefining marriage would be particularly detrimental to the African American community.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cWe're going to be harmed more than anybody,\u201d\u00a0 he said.<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Charlotte, N.C., Sep 10, 2012 \/ 10:13 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- As delegates at the Democratic National Convention celebrated the party's decision to reiterate its support for abortion and officially endorse “gay marriage,” an African Americ…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1028","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-us"],"yoast_head":"\nAfrican American pastor says Democrats do not serve black interests<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Charlotte, N.C., Sep 10, 2012 \/ 10:13 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- As delegates at the Democratic National Convention celebrated the party's decision to reiterate its support for abortion and officially endorse “gay marriage,” an African Americ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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