'I'm not racist': Oklahoma pastor facing furious backlash after blackface photos discovered
An Oklahoma pastor is trying to tamp down outrage after multiple photos of him in blackface he posted to Facebook years ago recently came to to light.
According to a report from Fox23, Pastor Sherman Jaquess of the Matoaka Baptist Church in Ochelata, Oklahoma saw nothing wrong with the pictures when he shared them on Facebook in 2017 and now, six years later, is pushing back at criticism during a recent sermon where he claimed that he is not a racist and that there is a simple explanation for his actions years ago.
As the report notes, Jacquess told his congregation last week, "I just want to publicly say I don’t have a racial bone in my body. I’m not racist at all."
He then added, "There wasn't anything racial about it. I was singing Ray Charles, Seven Spanish Angels and I said, ‘I love Ray Charles music. How can you portray Ray Charles if you’re not a black man?”
According to the report, the pastor's explanation is not making the controversy go away.
In a statement, advocacy group Rural Oklahoma Pride insisted, "We at Rural Oklahoma Pride have viewed the images in the incident of what occurred at the Matoaka Baptist Church and are unable to comprehend the level of suffering and anger that Pastor Sherman Jaquess has caused the people of Bartlesville, Oklahoma. We believe that this pastor should be directing and leading acceptable, respectful, and appropriate activities for his congregation to partake in, not activities that are discriminatory. We have seen racism and intolerance against people of different ethnic backgrounds."
The report notes that the pastor has recently "been outspoken about public drag queen performances in Bartlesville" despite another photo showing him dressed up as an indigenous woman.
In response he claimed "One night we had cowboys and Indian night. I dressed up like a Sq&*%. I had a full Indian looking dress on. I had a wig braided. That wasn't a drag queen performance that was a theme night at falls creek and I was fully clothed and I did nothing sexual or lewd. That was a theme night at Falls Creek.”
You can see the Fox 23 report below:
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