An anti-BLM sign outside St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Ferndale. | Submitted.
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Seven months after sparking protests with an anti-LGBTQ message, the pastor of St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Ferndale is again courting controversy, this time with an incendiary “Community Comment” — broadcast on local radio station KINS — wherein he calls Black Lives Matter an “evil organization promoting a movement built on sin.’
On the occasion of Black History Month, Reverend Tyrell Bramwell recorded a two-minute, 47-second message lambasting the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, Inc., a Delaware-based charity organization, for its stances on various political issues, including LGBTQ inclusion, immigration and the makeup of the Supreme Court.
In his commentary, Bramwell conflates the organization with the larger #BlackLivesMatter movement, which is a leaderless and decentralized protest movement that gained traction worldwide amid an epidemic of violence against Black people by police officers and vigilantes.
Bramwell argues that by focusing on race, BLM supporters are “recklessly implanting racism into many hearts as they go.”
“Now, I recognize that in today’s cultural climate, a white man isn’t supposed to be able to say these sorts of things,” he declares. “Because of my pale complexion, many leftists would call me a racist for being honest about the BLM organization.”
As with his gay-shame crusade last summer, Bramwell seems most concerned about sexuality and gender.
“The [BLM] foundation claims to affirm the lives of Black queer and trans folks,” Bramwell says, adding, “Now, certainly, being Black isn’t evil.”
Bramwell may be willing to look past people’s skin, but he will not tolerate homosexuals or trans folks.
“Holy Scripture is very clear about the evils of sexual immorality,” he reminds us.
Late last week a reader sent the Outpost a photo of the sign outside St. Mark’s with its current message. Confused, we wrote to ask Bramwell if he could explain the message. He emailed back on Monday, pointing us to the KINS webpage with his Community Comment.
The diatribe is brief, but Bramwell finds time to complain that the BLM charity affirms the lives of undocumented folks. This, he says, means the group supports “the lawlessness of illegal immigration.”
On its website, Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, Inc., declares its support for a wide variety of people, including “folks with [criminal] records, women, and all Black lives along the gender spectrum.”
Bramwell interprets that last part for us: “Which is to say that BLM affirms the godless and harmful scientism that promotes gender dysphoria, thereby rejecting God’s created order of male and female.”
The last straw for Bramwell appears to have been this post discussing the hashtag #BlackWomenAreDivine, which says, in part, “The Creator speaks and works through us.”
Bramwell calls this claim — that God speaks and works through Black women — “very bold” and condemns these particular Black women for their audacity.
“Scripture says a lot about false prophets who claim to speak in the name of God,” the reverend says. “What are they called again? Oh yeah: Antichrists.”
You can listen to the whole thing on the KINS website.
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