“They passed the big, bad billionaire bill, and we named that thousands of people would die every year, and we still didn’t see the mass outcry from the church,” said the Rev. Ciera Bates-Chamberlain, executive director of Live Free Illinois, which works with Black churches to help communities improve safety and economic viability. “So my question is, how many panels, how many sermons, how many Bible studies? What does it take for us to actually get out into the streets and do what we need to do to make sure that our children and our grandchildren have an opportunity to survive?”
The Rev. Ciera Bates-Chamberlain participates in a panel during the Progressive National Baptist Convention annual session in Chicago. (Video screen grab)
PNBC officials pledged to organize to help members of their communities, as they expect budget cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program will harm people living in poverty.
They also spoke against deportations by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, saying its actions are not solely an issue for Latinos but also for other people of color, including African and Caribbean immigrants, some of whom recently lost temporary protected status that permitted them to work and stay in the U.S., when their homelands were determined to be unsafe.
“We are here and we are listening and we promise that this marriage between ICE deportation and mass incarceration for the purpose of profiting will not stand on our watch,” said the Rev. Jacqueline Thompson, second vice president of PNBC.
Social justice commission team members discussed ways preachers could address the needs of their congregations, whether helping people losing federal jobs or community members in need of food or mental health services, or those needing to meet legal voting requirements. They encouraged delegates to complete a survey to learn if they were currently boycotting certain businesses, such as Target or Amazon, or shopping at DEI-supporting or Black-owned businesses. They also asked via the survey if churches have locations in their buildings where Black history could be taught.
The PNBC meeting also featured leaders of civil rights organizations, including Rainbow PUSH Coalition and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, co-founded by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who called the PNBC his denominational home.
The Rev. David Peoples, PNBC president, center left, presents the Rev. Jesse Jackson with the President’s Award during the Progressive National Baptist Convention annual session, July 23, 2025, in Chicago. (Photo © Landon Brooks, courtesy of PNBC)
The Rev. Jesse Jackson, the civil rights activist who founded Rainbow PUSH, received the President’s Award during a Wednesday ceremony. In presenting the award, Peoples called Jackson “a living legend.”
