Pastor Mark Burns brought the house down Thursday while delivering his speech at the Republican National Convention, addressing the “divisive rhetoric of the Black Lives Matter movement” and declaring to the packed Quicken Loans arena in Cleveland that in “a Donald Trump Administration, all lives matter.”
“Listen, Republicans, it is so important that we come together to defeat Hillary Clinton and those race-baiting Democrats! And those Democrats will do whatever it takes to keep us Americans focusing on the colors that divide us and not the colors that unite us,” the South Carolina pastor began. “And you know why? Because she is afraid… She’s afraid because she knows that together we will never allow Hillary Clinton to become the next President of the United States of America.”
Burns, the Co-Founder and CEO of The NOW Television Network, sent a clear message to American voters and the subject of race relations.
“I want to declare to the whole world and to the Republican Party that under Donald Trump and under a Trump Administration, all lives matter,” he said to thunderous applause.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLAAhoOtrv8
“That means black lives, white lives, Hispanic lives, Asian lives, Christian lives, Muslim lives — shout with me — all lives matter,” Burns added.
The audience burst out in unison, chanting: “All live matter!”
“And, listen, let me say this,” Burns said, quieting the crowd. “Even though I disagree with the tactics and the divisive rhetoric of the Black Lives Matter movement, I do understand that hopelessness and lack of opportunity breeds this type of desperation.”
“And this is true in many of our nation’s ghettos and underprivileged communities,” he continued. “Much of the protests in urban city centers are born out of this kind of desperation.”
“But the thing is — the way that we can solve the problem and to eliminate this kind of a desperation is to create good jobs, urban economic revitalization, and opportunities for job training and long-term solutions. That will solve the problem in our troubled cities around this country,” he said to thunderous applause.
“And I want to make a loud cry that we as Republicans — we are declaring right now today, that we are determined more than ever to listen to the cries of the disenfranchised, the low-income, the at-risk communities. We are more than ever – we will solve the problems together!”
“Together. Together. Shout together!” he said to the audience, leading them in a chant of the word “together.”
“And I know without a shadow of a doubt, that Donald J. Trump will make sure that all Americans will have jobs!”
Leading the crowd in another chant of “together,” Burns then made an homage to the iconic closing lines of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s famous “I Have Seen the Mountaintop” speech.
“Together — not as black Americans, white Americans, brown Americans, yellow Americans, or red Americans, but just as Americans, — and together as Americans, we will get to the Promised Land. And the Promised Land is a place where jobs have returned back to this country, where college degrees replace mass incarcerations, and no matter what terrorist group that tries to destroy our way of life, we will rise from the ashes! We will never die! We will always fly! And you know why? Because we are the United States of America!” he said prompting another standing ovation from the crowd.
“And despite the color you was born with, here in America, the only colors that matter are the colors of the red, white and blue!” he shouted, as the crowd joined him in reciting the colors.
Follow Jerome Hudson on Twitter: @jeromeehudson
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.