The angels among us
23rd April 2019 · 0 Comments
While Paris’ Notre Dame Church burned, Louisianans continue to absorb the hate crimes perpetrated on parishioners of three African-American churches in St. Landry Parish. Of all people, a deputy sheriff’s son burned down the churches.
St. Mary Baptist Church in Port Barre burned down on March 26; Greater Union Baptist Church went up in flames on April 2 and Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in Opelousas burned on April 4.
Holden Matthews, the 21-year-old son of a sheriff’s deputy, last Monday pled not guilty to two counts of simple arson, one count of aggravated arson, and three counts of hate crimes. The judge set a September trial date.
One of many touched by the torching is Benjamin Watson, a former NFL tight end. He was drafted by the New England Patriots in the 2004 NFL Draft and later won Super Bowl XXXIX with the team over the Philadelphia Eagles. Watson has also played for the Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens and yes, the New Orleans Saints.
“It is imperative that we show this community and the entire country that these types of acts do not represent who we are. And most importantly as the body of Christ, we suffer alongside our brothers and sisters whenever tragedy, persecution or loss happens,” Watson wrote on Twitter to his 107K followers, on April 13, the day of Matthew’s arrest. He added a link to the GoFundMe page set up by the Seventh District Baptist Association.
Watson’s plea caught the attention of local and national media. CNN, WWL, and others documented the athlete’s call for donations for the Louisiana churches.
Clearly a modest, God-fearing, family man, Watson demurred when he was thanked for his support of the churches: “Just standing alongside thousands of other in support of these congregations and communities. Continue to pray and get involved: https://www.gofundme.com/f/church-fires-st-landry-parishmacedonia-ministry…”
Modesty notwithstanding, as of April 18, Seventh District Baptist Association’s GoFundMe campaign has raised nearly $2 million for the rebuilding of the churches.
No doubt Watson’s putting the word out helped boost contributions. But a cursory look at the retired football player’s other endeavors, shows that he is deeply committed to helping others.
The self-described “Eldest of 6, Father of 5, Athlete of 4, Servant of 3, Son of 2, Husband of 1/ @AllProDad /Author – #UnderOurSkin#NewDadsPlaybook and #FreedomFriday founder, Watson is no stranger to philanthropy as evident on the family’s website at www.thewatsonseven.com.
“In our daily lives, we look to conduct all relationships in family and society with fairness, generosity, and equity,” he writes. The principals he lives by are truth, justice, faith, family, fatherhood and kindness.
The #FreedomFriday Initiative is a call to service. Kirsten and Benjamin Watson’s The One More Foundation donates $5,000 to worthy organizations and encourages others to do the same.
“True freedom is that which is spent for the uplifting of OTHERS. In a variety of different causes, the people in each of these organizations are tirelessly working to free people from physical, emotional and spiritual bondage, removing seen and unseen obstacles so that they are free to reach their fullest potential. My goal is to thank them for their perseverance and dedication by sharing their work with the masses and by donating $5,000 to each #FreedomFriday honoree,” he writes on the family’s website.
Among #FreedomFriday honorees are the New Orleans Mission, International Justice Mission, Operation Restoration, Water Mission, All Pro Dad, Apex Community Involvement, Inc., and the Human Coalition.
Family is paramount to the Watsons. In May, they will welcome twins. So, the W7 (Watson 7) will soon become the W9.
As history notes, the burning of African-American led churches has been all too common. Among the most heinous was the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama on Sunday, September 15, 1963, by the white supremacist terrorist group, the Ku Klux Klan. Four young girls were killed in the bombing Addie Mae Collins (14), Cynthia Wesley (14), Carole Robertson (14), and Carol Denise McNair (11).
The burnings continued over the next three decades. In 1995, President Bill Clinton set up a church-arson investigative task force, and in 1996, Congress passed a law increasing the sentences for arsonists who target religious organizations, particularly for reasons of race or ethnicity. Between 1995 and 1999, Clinton’s task force reported that it opened 827 investigations into burnings and bombings at houses of worship; it was later disbanded.
With the recent spate of hate crimes visited on churches in America in recent years, it is obviously time to implement another Church Hate Crime Task Force.
To date, Benjamin Watson continues to issue a call for donations for the St. Landry Parish’s burned churches. The Louisiana Weekly salutes the Watson family for its mission of helping others and we hope many more will donate to the churches and other causes.
But we also call upon our elected officials in the Louisiana Legislature to pass hate crime laws with stiff penalties for those who destroy and desecrate houses of worship.
This article originally published in the April 22, 2019 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
