Houston Megachurch pastor delivers racially charged sermon after Tyre Nichols: 'Open season on Black men'
A Black pastor of a Houston-area megachurch said Black men were being 'hunted down like prey' and warned his majority Black church to be wary of White people they work with.
Two Black megachurch pastors' racially charged sermons in response to the brutal death of Tyre Nichols made waves on social media Friday.
James D. Gailliard, Senior Pastor of Word Tabernacle in Rocky Mount, North Carolina framed his sermon on how Nichols' death was a reminder of the importance of giving for "social justice."
"God is using the African American church to be an agent of change for our community," he said, referring to financial donations.
Gailliard is also a former Democratic member of North Carolina's House of Representatives where he served from January 2019-January 2023.
"When I say the African American Church, I'm not talking about a church of only Black people. I'm talking about a church that understands that the gospel is justification by faith and social justice," he explained.
Pastor James D. Gailliard delivers a sermon about tithing and racial justice on Jan. 29, 2023 (YouTube/Word Tabernacle Church)
The pastor then used a famous teaching by Jesus to encourage his congregation that by donating money to his church and other Black churches, they were helping to stop Black men from being brutally killed.
"We don't live by bread alone but by our giving we provide a voice, we provide funding to the voice of change. And so when we don't give particularly to African American churches, or churches that believe the gospel is justification by faith and social justice, when I don't give to those environments, I'm perpetuating the Tyre Nichols situations of our society. So don't be angry about it if you're not going to fund the voice of change. That's what giving is about," he said.
Gailliard also encouraged church members to join their ministries working for "social justice, economic equity, criminal justice reform, and voter engagement."
Rev. Terry K. Anderson of Lilly Grove Missionary Baptist Church in Houston Texas also delivered a sermon on January 29, in response to Nichols' death, where he criticized both Black and White people.
"We want innocent Black men to be policed like guilty White men," he demanded, before referring to Kyle Rittenhouse, who was acquitted by a jury in 2021, as a "guilty White man."
Reverend and MSNBC host Al Sharpton said during the funeral of Tyre Nichols said that if he had been White, police "wouldn’t have beat him like that that night." (ABC NewsLive screenshot)
If Tyre Nichols were White, "[t]he Black policemen would've politely asked him for his license and registration . . . and courteously set him on his way," Anderson claimed.
Declaring it "open season on Black men" who were "being hunted down like prey," the pastor warned about racism from Whites and Blacks.
"We've treated dark skin among ourselves differently than light people . . . nappy hair different than straight hair . . ." he said, giving several examples he saw of biases against physical differences within the Black community.
However, he claimed that White people were prejudiced against all Black people.
James D. Gaillard, Senior Pastor of Word Tabernacle in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, Rev. Terry K. Anderson of Lilly Grove Missionary Baptist Church in Houston, Texas (YouTube)
"But you know what White people call all of us? It rhymes with ‘trigger,'" he declared, implying a racial slur.
The pastor then warned his congregation to be wary of White people they work with.
"Don't you think ‘cause you’re in that office you're one of them. . . . Don't you think because your name is on the desk or on the door that they're going to treat you any differently. Any time they get a chance, they're gonna bring you down! That's why you better come back over here and meet us," he said.
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"How I make it tomorrow morning don't depend on how no White man feels about me," Anderson added.
Anderson also decried violent protests that often arise in the wake of these events as examples of "glaring hypocrisy" he saw within the Black community.
"The Black community theoretically would already be setting Memphis on fire, burning down only Black businesses," if the officers who beat Nichols were White, he claimed.
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Clips from two sermons were shared by Twitter user "Woke Preacher Clips."
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