They wore clerical collars and vestments, their heads covered with Kippahs and Taqiyahs.
Religious leaders and congregants rallied Monday in Washington, D.C., to say “the soul of the nation” is at stake. The leaders of multiple faiths near the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial said it’s not about politics, but the moral corrosion of the country that they believe has become increasingly evident under the presidency of Donald Trump.
The “One Thousand Ministers March for Justice” rally, organized by the Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network, comes on the 54th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, where King delivered his famed “I Have a Dream” speech. That dream, rallygoers said, is at stake as religious leaders said they must be public and vocal about fighting white supremacy.
And while they said Monday’s rally was about more than politics, they offered blistering condemnations of the Trump presidency.
“We will not be indifferent when transgender individuals are not allowed to serve in the military,” Rabbi Jonah Pesner said. “We will not be indifferent when a sheriff is pardoned,” a reference to Trump pardoning former Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio on Friday.
Vincent Herring, a 59-year-old Baptist from Maryland, said politics have turned into issues of morality, and people of faith and moral conscious need to take the lead.
“We haven’t been in the forefront of trying to get things done,” he said. “When you identify it as a moral issue, then that’s what needs to be done.”
The rally will include a prayer vigil and ceremony in which leaders will “recommit to being at the forefront of social justice and civil rights,” according to a permit from the National Park Service.
“We want to convene ministers from all faiths to make a moral statement that no matter what party is in office, there are certain moral things that should be nonnegotiable,” Sharpton said in an interview last week. “That is voting rights, health care, criminal justice reform and economic justice.”
After the rally, participants will march to the Department of Justice.
Elsewhere in Washington, another group of religious leaders sought to counter the message of the “One Thousand Ministers March for Justice.” That event at the National Press Club was to include members of Trump’s faith advisory council and supporters of the president, organizers said.