A Georgia pastor among black church leaders calling for a boycott of Home Depot for not condemning the state’s new voting laws is a supporter of notorious anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan.
Jamal Bryant, pastor of the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, described the Nation of Islam leader as ‘one of the greatest leaders of our people.’
Bryant is one of thousands of church leaders calling for the boycott to pressure Home Depot, which is headquartered in Atlanta, to stand against Republican legislation which imposed new requirements for absentee ballots, restricted drop boxes and barred people from offering food and water to voters waiting in line.
The pastor has been a vocal supporter of Farrakhan over the years, despite the Islamic leader’s controversial record, including referring to Adolf Hitler as a ‘very great man’ and calling Judaism a ‘dirty religion.’
Jamal Bryant, pastor of the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, attends The Legacy Center Grand Opening on January 8, 2020 in Atlanta
Bryant is one of thousands of church leaders calling for the boycott to pressure Home Depot, which is headquartered in Atlanta, to stand against Republican legislation on voter rights
Louis Farrakhan has a controversial record, including referring to Adolf Hitler as a ‘very great man’ and calling Judaism a ‘dirty religion’
In an interview with Farrakhan from 2015, Bryant, 49, said: ‘We welcome to the Word Network and the entire world, the honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan! We’re honored to have you sir … I’m so appreciative to be able to mark in history that I lived in the same chasm of time as one of the greatest leaders of our people.’
In a tweet four years later he referred to how he was ‘humbled’ to be with Farrakhan during the 2015 interview.
Bryant has also supported controversial minister Jeremiah Wright, Barack Obama’s former pastor, whose sermons were scrutinised when the president used excerpts of them in his 2008 campaign.
Wright said black people should not sing ‘God Bless America,’ but ‘God damn America.
He also claimed that the United States brought on the 9/11 attacks with its own ‘terrorism.’
At the time Obama sought to dismiss the controversy, comparing Wright to an outspoken uncle, but later came out more forcefully against other speeches which he said he was ‘outraged’ and ‘saddened’ by.
Bryant voice his support for the Home Depot boycott in a New York Times interview this week, calling it a ‘necessary evil.’
‘It is unfortunate for those who will be impacted by this, but how many more million will be impacted if they don’t have the right to vote?’ He told the paper.
‘And so in weighing it out, we understand, tongue in cheek, that this is a necessary evil,’ the pastor said. ‘But it has to happen in order for the good to happen.’
Bryant represents more than 1,000 churches calling for the boycott of Home Depot after other firms, including Delta Air Lines and Coca-Cola agreed to sit down with activists and issued statements opposing voting restrictions.
In a statement, Bishop Reginald Jackson, who oversees Georgia’s African Methodist Episcopal churches, said Home Depot had rejected requests to discuss the new law.
Other Georgia-based corporations – including Delta Air Lines Inc and Coca-Cola Co – have sat down with activists and issued statements opposing the voting restrictions. Coca-Cola also hosted a meeting of several companies on April 13 with faith leaders.
‘If you as corporate leaders do not believe and lack the courage to speak out against this legislation, we will not spend our money to purchase your products,’ Jackson said.
The Georgia legislation imposed new requirements for absentee ballots, restricted drop boxes and barred people from offering food and water to voters waiting in line.
Republican lawmakers in numerous states have used former President Donald Trump’s false claims of voter fraud to back state-level voting changes they say are needed to restore election integrity. Opponents say the laws disproportionately harm minority voters.
Home Depot said on Tuesday it believes ‘all elections should be accessible, fair and secure and support broad voter participation’ and that it would ‘continue to work to ensure our associates in Georgia and across the country have the information and resources to vote.’
It also said it ran its own initiatives, including registering more than 15,000 of its associates to vote.
More than 100 U.S. companies, including Apple Inc, Amazon.com Inc, Ford Motor Co and Starbucks Corp , have declared their opposition to new voting limits. Major League Baseball pulled its All-Star Game from Atlanta, citing Georgia’s legislation.
Republican Governor Brian Kemp on Tuesday defended the law, telling reporters it will make balloting more secure while expanding weekend early voting.
‘This insanity needs to stop,’ he said. ‘It’s time that hardworking Georgians know that instead of boycotting great companies like HD, we should be supporting them.’
At a news conference to announce the campaign, several pastors warned that the boycott would escalate if Home Depot did not forcefully denounce the law.
‘This is not a Democratic or a Republican issue; this is a moral issue,’ said Jamal Harrison Bryant of the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church. ‘We are telling Home Depot: It is always the right time to do the right thing.’
