For it is not light that is needed, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake. The feeling in the nation must be quickened, the conscience of the nation must be roused, the propriety of the nation must be startled, the hypocrisy of the nation must be exposed: and its crimes against God and man must be denounced.[1]
Frederick Douglass once proclaimed these words in Rochester, New York. Its themes are still powerful today as our nation must be roused to stand for righteousness.
Why the Douglass Leadership Institute?
The Douglass Leadership Institute (DLI), founded in 2015, is one group seeking to do just that. Bishop Garland Hunt, the pastor of the Father’s House church in Peachtree Corners, is now the President of DLI. The organization, dedicated to biblical and family values, recently held its annual conference in Atlanta last November celebrating 10 years as an organization. Georgia Right to Life was proud to sponsor the event!
As the President of DLI, Bishop Hunt shared that the organization seeks to emulate its founder, Frederick Douglass. Douglass was an excellent orator, slavery abolitionist, and writer of the North Star publications.
The Douglass Leadership Institute is building on the foundation of Douglass as it seeks to restore the values he championed for life, family, and the Bible.
This work is desperately needed. Bishop Hunt recounted the fact that over 69% of black babies are born out of wedlock to single mothers.[2] This leads to the destruction of the black family, as Bishop Hunt warned.
Defeat the Destruction
How did this destruction of the black family start? Ultimately, this goes back to the Garden of Eden, when man first fell into sin. However, we can point out some more modern roots going back to Margaret Sanger.
The genocidal founder of Planned Parenthood advocated for the targeted destruction of those deemed “unfit” for society. Georgia Right to Life’s article, It’s Time for America to Defund Abortion and Gender Ideology highlighted this disturbing truth. Bishop Hunt boldly stated, “It literally has been a conspiratorial genocide against black people.”
Sadly, over 20 million black babies have been aborted in the United States since Roe v. Wade was decided (compare how the U.S. Census records a population of 18 million black Americans in 1960), and since 1994, 58% of abortions in Georgia have been of black babies.[3]
The Jeremiah 1:5 Project
Statistics like the preceding are the reason why the DLI started the Jeremiah 1:5 Project. The project aims to equip pastors and church leaders to take a bold stance for personhood through partnering with DLI and receiving resources to help them stand firm for life. You can learn more about the project here: Jeremiah 1:5 Project
As Bishop Hunt stated, the Douglass Leadership Institute is dedicated to “bringing an end to the genocide of black people in the womb.” The Jeremiah 1:5 project is a way for the Institute to do that.
The Jeremiah 1:5 Project, along with the DLI’s annual conferences, policy briefings, and their North Star Network, which aims to give church leaders exclusive access to DLI materials and leadership, all seek to equip church leaders and remind them that “The Bible is not optional” when it comes to standing up for biblical truth in the culture.
The Douglass Leadership Institute and Georgia Right to Life
Both the Douglass Leadership Institute and Georgia Right to Life share the same stance of protecting all innocent human life with no exceptions and no compromise.
While legislation with exceptions, such as the heartbeat bill in Georgia, aims to protect preborn babies, this type of legislation falls drastically short in its actual ability to protect life.
Regarding that point, Bishop Hunt emphasized, “Pro-lifers that may not be as strong on [the life issue] biblically will give in to a lot of exceptions…That’s not the best. The best is protecting [preborn babies] from the womb.”
Bishop Hunt is clear that we must protect preborn babies from their earliest biological beginnings with no exceptions and no compromise. Exceptions for preborn babies simply based on their level of development or their manner of conception are neither just nor effective. We see this as abortions continue to increase nationwide even with many pro-life laws with exceptions in effect in many states.[4]
DLI is also on the front lines fighting against pro-abortion efforts in other states, such as the radical pro-abortion amendment being pushed in Virginia.
Another commonality Georgia Right to Life shares with the Douglass Leadership Institute is our shared commitment to the Word of God as the standard by which we operate as organizations.
Bishop Hunt was clear when stating that whether the issue be abortion, the black family, marriage, educational freedom, or any other issue, DLI is doing “all these things…for the sake of biblical truth.”
The Word of God is the standard for everything we do to advance biblical truth in today’s culture.
Encouragement for the Weary
For personhood advocates and leaders who are discouraged by the chaos in the world around us, Bishop Hunt has the following to say, “you have to do all you can to stand.” He does not want to see leaders give into the culture and compromise on the faith. He encourages leaders to stand strong and “know that God’s with you.”
We can take his words to heart as we see the culture of death encroaching around us. We must stand strong against the murder of preborn babies in the womb and any denigration of image-bearers of God.
As the Douglass Leadership Institute continues to advance biblical values of family and life, Georgia Right to Life will seek to work alongside the organization as a partner, standing side by side against the genocide of the preborn and standing for biblical truth.
Sources:
[1] A-Z Quotes | Frederick Douglass. Emphasis Added.
[2] Births: Final Data for 2022
[3] Georgia Abortion Statistics; Black Abortions in the U.S.; 1960 U.S. Census Data; Abortion Surveillance — United States, 2020
[4] Guttmacher Institute Abortion Data
Brooke Hampton
Georgia Right to Life
Project Coordinator