The Sentinel

Commentary |
Christian congregations are standing up to cruelty. Why won’t politicians?

The Trump team has attacked bishops, Lutheran social service organizations, and other faith communities simply for following their social gospel.

by Peter Montgomery

OtherWords

Here’s a strange question: Why is Elon Musk lying about Lutherans?

The richest man on earth recently forced good people across the country to interrupt their community work to respond to his lies and threats.

Lutheran social service agencies offer crucial assistance related to adoption, foster care, domestic violence, and more. They also support immigrants and refugees, helping new Americans learn English, find homes and jobs, and settle into their new communities.

Like many nonprofits, they often get federal support to offer this help.

But in early February, as Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” was forcing its way into government, right-wing activist Michael Flynn posted on social media that federal contracts with Lutheran social services organizations amounted to “money laundering.”

Musk responded that DOGE was “rapidly shutting down these illegal payments.”

Neither Flynn nor Musk offered any evidence against these experienced and reputable social service providers. Instead, smearing Lutheran social services was seemingly just a tactic to justify massive cuts Musk wants to impose on social spending.

Already the administration’s spending freeze has disrupted these agencies’ work, causing “considerable harm to people who rely on critical services for shelter, food, and mental health services among other social supports,” according to Lutheran Services in America.

News outlets in Ohio, Nebraska, South Dakota, and elsewhere agreed, pointing out the range of good work being done by Lutheran social service agencies. But I don’t think Musk cares.

Using false claims to justify widespread harm seems to be the operating principle behind Musk’s cruel crusade. Consider the brutal dismantling of USAID carried out by Musk with President Trump’s support.

USAID has boosted U.S. influence around the world while providing desperately needed humanitarian assistance to fight disease, prevent starvation, and provide a lifeline to people displaced by political violence.

The agency enjoyed bipartisan support for this work for over 60 years. Then Musk and Trump suddenly (and illegally) shut it down, abruptly cutting off countless people from lifesaving support. Musk bragged heartlessly about “feeding USAID into the wood chipper.”

“In its simplest terms, the apparent demise of USAID is the result of the world’s richest man ending a program that helps millions of poor people,” wrote Father James Martin, a Jesuit priest and editor at large for America magazine, a Catholic publication. “You don’t need a Ph.D. in moral theology to see why this is an evil. You can just read Jesus’s parables on the rich and the poor.”

Lutherans aren’t the only people of faith being smeared. When Catholic bishops criticized a policy change to allow immigration agents to arrest people in churches, Vice President J.D. Vance suggested the bishops weren’t concerned about the human cost of these policies but about their own budgets.

Since then, no less than Pope Francis himself has condemned mass deportations and the dehumanizing rhetoric behind them.

Sadly, it’s no longer surprising to see conservative Christian activists attack and demean the faith of other Christians who disagree with the Trump team’s actions. When Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde respectfully asked President Trump to show mercy toward immigrants, LGBTQ people, and their families, she became the target of vicious smears and threats.

Bishop Budde has stood her ground, but others have not.

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, whose state is home to the nation’s largest Lutheran congregation, refused to answer when a congressman asked if she believes Lutheran Family Services is a money laundering operation. Reynolds is smart enough to know it’s not, but she was unwilling, like many elected officials, to say anything that might invite the wrath of Trump or Musk.

The Americans who will be harmed by these lies deserve better than this senseless cruelty.

Peter Montgomery is a Senior Fellow at People for the American Way. This op-ed was distributed by OtherWords.org.

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Commentary |
Black History is every day, with or without the White House

Photo: Library of Congress/Unsplash

From local school boards to the White House, the right is doubling down on its efforts to erase Black history. They’ll fail.

by Tracey L. Rogers

OtherWords

It’s a trend that’s been building for a few years now.

Books by predominantly Black authors are being banned around the country. School curricula have been amended to skip the history lesson on slavery and racism. Critical Race Theory (CRT) — and anything that vaguely looks like it — is under attack. And the concept of “wokeness” has been misconstrued and weaponized.

During a speech at Howard University in 1965, President Johnson said that Black Americans were “still buried under a blanket of history and circumstance.”

Fast-forward to February 2025 and there’s been a doubling down on these attempts to erase Black history. President Trump’s anti-DEI, anti-“woke” rhetoric has led major companies and even many federal agencies to avoid observing Black History Month.

As I consider the president’s campaign promise to “make America great again,” I wonder if he means to make America “white” again.

From failing to condemn white supremacists for their violent march in Charlottesville, Virginia during his first term to blaming “diversity hires” for January’s plane crash in Washington, D.C. this year, Trump and his allies seem to have a difficult time acknowledging the diversity that actually makes this country great.

This has been especially true for Black people feeling the brunt of his Executive Orders. These haven’t just eliminated recent diversity and inclusion initiatives — one even rescinded an Executive Order signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson to end discriminatory practices mostly aimed at Black Americans.

During a speech at Howard University in 1965, President Johnson said that Black Americans were “still buried under a blanket of history and circumstance.” Following widespread protests, it was Johnson who signed the landmark Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act into law. Now both historic milestones are under threat by the attempts of Trump and many others to erode the social and economic gains made by Black Americans.

It’s as if we are reliving a time akin to the nadir of race relations in America — the period after Reconstruction, when white supremacists regained power and tried to reverse the progress Black Americans made after the emancipation of enslaved people.

There is nothing comfortable about the history of Black Americans — it’s a history that shatters the myth of American exceptionalism.

Today, from the U.S. Air Force removing coursework on the Tuskegee Airmen to orders by many federal agencies, including the military, canceling Black History Month celebrations, these extreme rollbacks will set a new precedent impacting all minority groups.

I can’t help but to return to sentiments shared by The 1619 Project founder Nikole Hannah-Jones: “The same instinct that led powerful people to prohibit Black people from being able to read,” she wrote, is also “leading powerful people to try to stop our children from learning histories that would lead them to question the unequal society that we have as well.”

There is nothing comfortable about the history of Black Americans — it’s a history that shatters the myth of American exceptionalism. Nevertheless, Black history is American history. Instead of banning it, we must teach it.

It would be impossible to erase the legacy of Black people in this country. Ours is a legacy that endures — one that will continue to endure no matter who’s in the White House.

One thing Black people are going to do is to be Black — and proud. We don’t need a month to know that we stand on the shoulders of giants.

Having overcome enslavement, Jim Crow, and more, our striving to thrive in a country with so-called leaders who would prefer to keep us living on the margins only exemplifies the America we aspire to. And it’s a fight that’s made this country better for struggling people of all races.

Like it or not, Black history is every day.

Tracey L. Rogers is an entrepreneur and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion consultant in Philadelphia. This op-ed was distributed by OtherWords.org.