Kirk, 31, an avowed Christian, white nationalist, and Trump administration insider, had a history of bigoted, racist remarks. Since his assassination, conservatives have compared him to Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., but Black ministers pushed back on that comparison in sermons the Sunday after the murder.
When he stepped to the podium at Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, Virginia, last Sunday, Rev. Dr. Howard-John Wesley, the senior pastor, had a message for his congregation about the broad-daylight murder of Charlie Kirk, the far-right political activist.
Within an hour of the end of the 8 a.m. service, the entire world had heard what he said; Kirk didn’t deserve to die, but he was no hero, either.
“I’m overwhelmed to see the nation’s flag flying half-staff for a man who was a proud racist and spent his entire life sowing seeds of division and hatred into this land,” Wesley told the congregation in a video that immediately went viral as soon as it was posted. “And then these hypocrites with selective rage who are mad about Charlie Kirk but didn’t say anything about [Democratic lawmaker] Melissa Hortman and her husband when they were gunned down in their living room.”
As the shock waves of Kirk’s assassination on Sept. 10 continued to reverberate, Wesley and other Black pastors across the country grappled with how to respond to the killing. Kirk, whose combative, racially incendiary rhetoric made him a darling of the right — and a Trump administration insider — as well as a lightning rod for critics.
Balancing Sympathy and Truth
Almost to a person, the Black ministers who spoke about Kirk in their Sunday sermons and messages condemned the violence, declaring that Kirk’s murder was unjustified. They recalled the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights leaders who used the church to call for justice, peace, and civic engagement.
But they also argued that, like King, their duty in this historic moment is to offer moral clarity, not partisan fervor.
In sermons and statements, they condemned Kirk’s message, which included attacks on racial equity efforts, LGBTQ rights, social justice, and even King himself. They pointed out that Kirk’s rhetoric fueled division and endangered marginalized communities. And they warned that, despite the outpouring of shock and sympathy over his death, Kirk is not a martyr.
I can be sorry about your death and not celebrate your life.
REV. DR. HOWARD-JOHN WESLEY, ALFRED STREET BAPTIST CHURCH, ALEXANDRIA, VA.
