Cleveland pastor Jawanza Colvin says it's too late to have a 'conversation about race'
The Reverend Dr. Jawanza Karriem Lightfoot Colvin is the young pastor of Olivet Institutional Baptist Church, a African-American church in Cleveland, Ohio that has served as a hub for civil rights activism for decades.
Pastor Colvin is a member of the "Cleveland 8," a group of local activists, clergy members and scholars who filed citizen's affidavits seeking charges against the police officers involved in the death of Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old black boy who was shot and killed by Cleveland police in 2014.
It pains a parent to have to have those conversations, but it is a conversation that we've been having since slavery. How to walk through the master's house. How to speak to him. How to walk down the street. How not to look at somebody in the eye. How to say 'yes sir' and 'no ma'am.' This is a conversation that did not begin with Tamir, did not begin with Michael Brown, didn't begin with Freddie Gray, didn't begin with Eric Garner. Black people in this country have been having this conversation... for 400 years.- Pastor Jawanza Colvin
Michael visited a worship service at Olivet on Sunday, July 17 and spoke to Pastor Colvin about a divided Cleveland, why he believes it's too late for a "conversation" about race and why he sees the criminal justice system as a modern-day extension of slavery.
Click the button above to hear a short excerpt from a worship service at Olivet and Michael's conversation with Pastor Colvin. A longer excerpt of Pastor Colvin's sermon can be heard in the audio player below.
