Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors condemns homophobic televangelist’s claim the movement wants a ‘lesbian, Marxist revolution’
Patrisse Cullors at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. (Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images)
Patrisse Cullors, the artist, activist and prison abolitionist who co-founded Black Lives Matter, has condemned televangelist Pat Robertson’s for suggesting the movement is anti-Christian because it is LGBT-inclusive.
Robertson, 90, made the comments last week on his The 700 Club chat show. He claimed that the Black Lives Matter movement will lead to a “lesbian, anti-family, anti-capitalist Marxist revolution”.
Calling Robertson’s comments “outlandish”, “inflammatory” and “dangerous”, Cullors said that his insinuation that Black Lives Matter is anti-religion is “disgraceful” and offensive to Christian campaigners against racial injustice.
“People are hurting all across this country due to the carelessness of comments made by individuals like Pat Robertson,” Cullors said in a statement on the Black Lives Matter website.
“At what point do those individuals who walk alongside him stop and say, enough is enough with the sexist, misogynistic, and supremacist way of displaying the bigotry that continues to flow from the souls of many of our leaders.
“Christianity was built on empathy; not hate. Until hate and racism is eradicated, America will continue to be a divided nation.”
An unprecedented number of global protests against police brutality and racism began in May, after George Floyd, a Black man, was killed by a white police officer kneeling on his neck, and have continued over the summer.
Robertson had also criticised Colin Kaepernick, the former quarterback whose football career was effectively ended when he knelt during the US anthem to highlight police brutality and racism during the 2016 NFL preseason.
“Athletes used to be terribly admired by all of society, but their rating has gone to negative because of their association with Black Lives Matter,” Robertson said, citing no actual sources.
“Of course Black lives matter, but that legitimate thing has been hijacked by these radicals.”
These “radicals”, Robertson claimed, aim to “destroy the nuclear family” and paint “Christianity as being racist”.
In her statement, Cullors concluded: “It is our hope that Pat Robertson and anyone else who believes we are destroying Christianity with our work, would join us in our movement as we will continue to galvanise these moments of division and false character accusations as fuel to move our country and world forward.
“Every day, we are surviving — if we do. We will continue to rise up until all Black lives are valued and matter across this world.”
