Atlanta Pastor, Louie Giglio referred to slavery as “white blaessing”.
What We Know:
- Pastor Louie Giglio, with the Passion City Church, made some outrageous comments durring a recorded interview with Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy and Christian hip-hop artist Lecrae.
- Giglio stated, “We understand the curse that was slavery, white people do, and we say that was bad, but we miss the blessing of slavery, that it actually built up the framework for the world that white people live in and lived in”. Then he contiuned to say that instead of using the term white privilege, he perfers “white blessing”.
- Lecrae listened with respect to the pastor and then explained that being able to dismiss the term white privilege is a privilege in and of itself. “You have the ability to not think about it. I cannot change my skin tone,” Lecrae explained. “I cannot live another day without recognizing my blackness.”
- After the comment, Twitter went up in a fire storm over his comments.
Watching @louiegiglio talk about “the blessings of slavery” and “white blessings” reminds me that MANY white evangelical leaders are two or three good questions (and a bourbon) away from confessing a white supremacist view. https://t.co/SCoRs79fHx
— Jonathan Merritt (@JonathanMerritt) June 16, 2020
“White privilege” is NOT “White Blessing!” Please don’t do that.
Slavery was indeed a demonic curse. And what came out of it is also A CURSE.
That logic means I can kidnap someone, force them to work for free, & call the profit MY BLESSING!
NO SIR! @louiegiglio NOPE!
— Hart Ramsey (@hartramsey) June 16, 2020
.@louiegiglio trying to rename #WhitePrivilege as #whiteblessing b/c it hurts white people's feelings is the height of white privilege. I wish I could say I'm surprised to see white men trying to take over a conversation they know nothing about — but I can't.
— Kirsten Powers (@KirstenPowers) June 16, 2020
- Then Tuesday, Giglio released a video apology, saying using the phrase “white blessing” was a “horrible choice of words”.
I’m sorry—a message from my heart. pic.twitter.com/FD6AYU1mcM
— Louie Giglio (@louiegiglio) June 16, 2020
- “I don’t, to be clear, believe there is any blessing in slavery,” he stated. “To the contrary, what I’m trying to understand and help people see is that I, my white brothers and sisters, we sit in large part where we are today because of the centuries of gross injustice done to our black brothers and sisters.”
This isn’t the first time Giglio’s comments have sparked outrage. In 2013, he withdrew from giving the benediction at President Barack Obama’s second inauguration following criticism over a sermon he gave in the 1990s, pushing for a controversial therapy that claimed to turn gay people straight and for saying homosexuality was a “sin”.
