Rick Perry's African-American Outreach Guru Endorsed Vicious Attack on MLK

[image, right: screen shot from page 81 of Willie Wooten's 2005 book Breaking The Curse Off Black America]

In 2005, Justice at The Gate ministry head Alice Patterson endorsed a 2005 book, by her fellow apostle Willie Wooten, which blamed Martin Luther King, Jr. for an alleged 40-year curse on African Americans and provided, as documentation of King's alleged misdeeds, a website link to writing posted at a white supremacist, Holocaust denial website that calls for repeal of the 19th Amendment.

Since 2002 Alice Patterson, working closely with Houston pastor and civil rights leader C.L. Jackson, and history revisionist David Barton, has brought a stirring message to African Americans: the Republican Party is on their side and always has been.

In her 2010 book Bridging The Racial and Political Divide: How Godly Politics Can Transform a Nation, Patterson claimed that such efforts have helped to boost Rick Perry's take of the black vote in Texas, from the Republican national average of 9 percent, up to 16 percent for Perry, who in 2004 praised Patterson, Jackson, and Barton in an official governor's speech.

On August 6th, 2011, Texas Governor Rick Perry stood onstage alongside C. Peter Wagner's ICA apostle Alice Patterson and pastor C.L. Jackson, while Perry gave his speech (video of Perry speech) at The Response prayer event.

C. Peter Wagner, whose apostles dominated the event, which served as Perry's de facto presidential campaign kickoff, told Fresh Air host Terry Gross, in an NPR interview aired October 3, 2011, that Alice Patterson had organized The Response, per Rick Perry's direct request.

If Rick Perry wins the Republican presidential nomination, Alice Patterson is positioned to play a key role in working to convince African Americans to vote for Perry, and her efforts would build upon aggressive efforts, by Wagner's ICA apostles, and leaders in the wider New Apostolic Reformation movement, to claim the mantle of "social justice" and the legacy Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights movement.  

QUOTES

"It is my belief that the leadership, who spearheaded the civil rights movement, released ungodliness into the land and now we see the fruit of it as a curse upon our land!" - Willie Wooten, author of Breaking The Curse Off Black America [2005, Lumen-us Publications]

"Apostle Willie F. Wooten from New Orleans, your friendship and leadership are dear to me. I honor and appreciate you." - Alice Patterson, from Bridging The Racial and Political Divide: How Godly Politics Can Transform a Nation [emphasis in original], page 257

[below: quote from writing by Dr. Ed Fields, on web page linked to on page 81 of Wooten's book Breaking The Curse Off Black America]

"Martin Luther King was affiliated with 60 Communist Fronts. He openly incited violence under the banner of "non-violence". King led a bizarre sex life which included acts of shocking perversion...  a cowardly, spineless Congress voted to make King's birthday a national holiday. This is the outrage of the century! Until now we had holidays honoring Jesus Christ, Christopher Columbus and George Washington. We must not allow Marxist liberals to elevate King to their level. The King holiday must be repealed!" - Writing by Dr. Ed Fields,. specifically cited in Wooten's book Breaking The Curse Off Black America (page 81), as posted on the www.christianparty.net website, under the title "ABOLISH THE KING HOLIDAY"

[below: quote from editorial introduction to writings attacking Martin Luther King, Jr., on web page linked to on page 81 of Wooten's book]

"None of the following articles make the obvious connection between the jewish control of the American "mainstream media" and an intentional effort to denigrate Martin Luther by promoting a black criminal with the phony name of "Martin Luther King" " - editorial introduction to writings on web page (posted at www.christianparty.net) referenced by Willie Wooten, on page 81 of Breaking the Curse Off Black America

[below: endorsement of Willie Wooten's book Breaking the Curse Off Black America, from Alice Patterson]

"One of the most powerful books I've ever read was penned recently by my friend, Apostle Willie Wooten from New Orleans, LA. It's called, Breaking the Curse Off Black America. God has given Apostle Wooten divine revelation... Apostle Wooten lays a Biblical foundation as he defines a curse then matches statistics to each characteristic. God showed him when the curse came in and why and how to break it... I encourage you to order the book from his church's website and pass it on to others who need to read this very important revelation.  You can order his book at www.gideonchristianfellowship.org or by calling his church at [phone]. " - Endorsement of Wooten's book, by Alice Patterson, in August 2, 2005 post advertising a Detroit pastors event with C.L. Jackson and David Barton, titled "Breaking The Curse Off Black America".

[below: endorsements of Alice Patterson and her book Bridging The Racial and Political Divide: How Godly Politics Can Transform a Nation, by Willie Wooten]

"RACE RELATIONS AND HIDDEN BLACK HISTORY are brought to light in this book by my good friend, Alice Patterson. She presents a thorough, incisive, serious, and compelling story about how God dealt with her concerning racism, repentance, and reconciliation. Alice's heartfelt story reveals the principles she learned, the evil structures she discovered, and God-given strategies to dismantle the structures." - Willie F. Wooten, Author of Breaking The Curse Off Black America, from the back cover of Alice Patterson's book Bridging The Racial and Political Divide: How Godly Politics Can Transform a Nation [2010, Transformational Publications, a division of Harvest Evangelism, Inc.]

"In this book, my good friend, Alice Patterson, the granddaughter of a deceased Ku Klux Klan member, presents a thorough, incisive, serious, and compelling story about how God dealt with her concerning racism. Alice tells the heartfelt story of the principles she learned, the evil structures she discovered, and reveals the God-given strategies to dismantle the structures. This book touches on race relations, politics, hidden Black history, and most of all, repentance and reconciliation. A wealth of information can be learned from this rich and interesting study." - Willie F. Wooten endorsement of Alice Patterson's Bridging The Racial and Political Divide: How Godly Politics Can Transform a Nation, as posted on Patterson's Justice at The Gate ministry website

Willie Wooten is not a peripheral figure in Alice Patterson's ethnic outreach program. Until a few weeks ago, Alice Patterson's Justice At The Gates ministry website was selling CDs and DVDs with footage from a massive March 12-13, 2007 "African American Pastors' and Leaders' VIP Summit" event in Austin, TX attended, by some accounts, by hundreds of pastors and headlined, according to the description from Patterson's website, by Patterson, Wooten, former Secretary of Education Rod Paige, Governor Rick Perry, Dr. James Leininger, and others.

Rick Perry's official Texas Governor's website features a speech Perry gave at the 2007 Austin rally. As described on Patterson's website, Wooten and Patterson were the third and fourth speakers at the event:

"Apostle Willie Wooten recounted how God called a small church in New Orleans to impact the Louisiana Legislature. Alice Patterson shared about her family history with the Ku Klux Klan, repented and asked God to heal hearts and break bondages. Every speaker delivered a fresh word under the anointing of the Holy Spirit. From the opening prayers to the worship to information about policy and political issues, God's blessing was upon the entire meeting"

Currently under heavy attack for allegedly racist ties, presidential hopeful Rick Perry can point to his aggressive promotion of African-Americans to Texas government, his friendship with a least one significant civil rights leader (C.L. Jackson), and his close association with the ethnic and racial outreach effort led by Alice Patterson, former Texas state GOP chair Susan Weddington, C.L. Jackson, and David Barton--built around theatrical events featuring Alice Patterson's emotional public repentance for her grandfather's participation in the Ku Klux Klan.

While some media outlets have tried to depict her personal history as a stigma for Rick Perry, Alice Patterson's repentance for racism resonates both with secular American culture and with a deep evangelical tradition of repentance and redemption that resonates across racial, ethnic, and cultural lines.

In mythic America, citizens can always pick up the pieces, and start anew; in evangelical culture, even the most depraved of sinners, who sincerely repent, are forgiven and redeemed. The worse the sin, the greater the triumphal redemption.

Patterson's outreach events to African American pastors, not only in Texas but reaching at least as far afield as Detroit, seem so far to have proven successful. But these events are designed around evangelizing techniques, developed by leaders in C. Peter Wagner's New Apostolic Reformation, commonly referred to under the title "Identificational Repentance and Reconciliation", that drag a host of divisive and offensive theological concepts in tow, including the idea that entire "people groups", including ethnic and racial groups, can (and usually do) carry collective "generational curses" incurred by alleged ancestral misdeeds.

For example, following Rick Perry's The Response prayer event, leading Wagner prophet and ICA apostle Cindy Jacobs claimed that the event had lifted an ancient, ancestral curse over parts of Texas incurred because of Native American cannibalism and violence (video of Jacobs, making claim.)

One of the major professional bodies in Peter Wagner's NAR is the International Coalition of Apostles, which Wagner headed from its 2001 launch into the year 2010. While Wagner's European-American ICA apostles seldom seem to delve into the vilification of racial and ethnic groups, non-white ICA apostles can be found venturing astonishing attacks, including ICA apostle Kim Daniels' suggestion, made on page 98 of Daniels' 2002 book From A Mess To A Miracle (2002, Creation House Press, a part of Strang Communications Company) that Africans are unusually prone to sex with demons (see here, for quote.)

In a related vein, Barbara Robinson Smith, who serves under the "apostolic covering" of ICA apostles Jacquie Tyre and Venessa Battle, claims, in her book Breaking Racism at The Root (2007, Xulon Press), that the continent of Africa is collectively cursed because of, as described in the Bible, the Egyptian pharaoh's enslavement of the ancient Israelites.

 

Follow Bruce Wilson on Twitter: www.twitter.com/brucewilson

Comments

[Mas]

08:50 PM on 10/09/2011

Of course they will claim its all said with love.

[gparks]

03:10 AM on 10/09/2011

OMG .... THIS is what passes for racial harmony in Perry's world view?????

He and they can KEEP this sh*t !!!!!

[clsez]

04:08 PM on 10/08/2011

It must confound these vacuous extreme religious rightist Republicans why AAs who are also predominantly and avidly christian are not fooled, decade after decade, into joining in their schemes.

[gparks]

03:14 AM on 10/09/2011

For some mystrious reason (only to them) ... THEY are confounded shocked and truely amazed ... while the rest of the world of human beings can only shake our collective heads and say "WTF is wrong with these people?"

Fanned -50- and Faved -1-

[llstudent]

03:49 PM on 10/08/2011

OMG This man gets into office and we are all screwed.

[gparks]

03:15 AM on 10/09/2011

HEAVEN forbid!!!

Fanned -253- and Faved-2-

[addisonsteele]

02:54 PM on 10/07/2011

And Republicans have to conjure up Cain's insane claim about brainwashing to understand why they cannot get the African American vote?

[gparks]

03:18 AM on 10/09/2011

It is truely replusive!

Fanned -186- and Faved -3-

[zmberg]

09:32 AM on 10/07/2011

Always love it when some Xian conservative rants about the dangers of socialism. Just more proof he or she hasn't read the New Testament.

[Eldo Hill]

09:12 AM on 10/07/2011

Some people will sell their souls for the almighty evil ( the dollar) and 15 minutes of fame! How much did perry pay them to make those comments.

[queenietoo]

01:49 AM on 10/08/2011

You know they going to hell in gasoline draws rigfht? soul selling just pitiful

[gparks]

03:22 AM on 10/09/2011

You can bet sparky there will be among those consumed by the flames ... with a sh*t eating grimace on his face ... screaming ... "But .. but ... I didn't know no better!"

Fannd -30-

[Ramsis]

08:22 AM on 10/07/2011

Damn

[yukoner1]

07:43 AM on 10/07/2011

These are scary, scary people.

[pappyvet]

04:14 AM on 10/07/2011

The American people is under attack from many directions. Some of it obvious to anyone who loves their country. Some of it is slow like a cancer,one bite at a time. It takes more than being born here to be an American and these people are a blight on our heritage,our honor and our way of life.

[MJinCanada]

02:55 AM on 10/07/2011

Okay, this is a lot more serious than that darned painted rock. This is revolting, a cult of bigotry, superstition and ignorance masquerading as a church group.

[Bruce Wilson]

08:59 AM on 10/07/2011

If Perry can get past the "painted rock" scandal, it could help during the general election, to inoculate him against charges of racism. Karl Rove has advocated doing this sort of thing, to move candidates safely past areas of potential scandal. Is the "painted rock" a campaign ploy? Who knows. But I agree (obviously) that Perry's association with Alice Patterson (and with the prophets of Peter Wagner's New Apostolic Reformation) is more significant.

[gparks]

03:25 AM on 10/09/2011

You said it ... and hit it the nail on the head ... these people are out of their freaking minds!

I am speechless!

Already a Fan

Faved -12-

[effect]

02:37 AM on 10/07/2011

Interesting strategy. Convince AA's that they are not actually disadvantaged, and there there are no real barriers in their way (a stance which flies in the face of all evidence, but what care the GOP for evidence?) - but that their real problem is that they have been "cursed" by the existence and advocacy of MLK, and by the efforts of progressives to open doors for them. For any AA who cares more about religious faith and ideology than the evidence of their senses, this strategy has a chance.

[Bruce Wilson]

10:06 AM on 10/07/2011

Even if the strategy only works to win over 10-15% of African-Americans, such shifts have the potential, in election years, to flip entire states, from Democratic to Republican--especially given that African-Americans won over to the new perspective will tend to be affiliated with right-leaning churches which, in turn, will be harnessed by Christian conservative get-out-the-vote efforts. So, there's potentially a multiplier effect.

[effect]

12:16 PM on 10/07/2011

Of course, I wasn't belittling or short-changing the value of the strategy. As I said, it has a chance. That it does it a damning reflection on the state of American education and discourse.

[OGSal]

03:30 PM on 10/07/2011

Behind the scenes, its actually 'how' a lot of Black evangelicals - became interested in the Religious Right... an explanation of 'how Africans have not gotten along in life &/or have struggled... apparently... we're cursed! And, with those that are far less educated... its damaged them SO much - the overwhelming believe that No matter what you do... no matter that the Christ died... 'you' are cursed!

Mormons had a belief - Brigham Young's philosophy (maybe still... just not talked about) that "if" you were born Black... that prior to birth - you made a deal with the Devil - so that, it was your agreement with him that you're born Black! (Which is sort of what's scary about Romney... he's in that age group that amongst their Priesthood, would have been indoctrinated into this belief)

[effect]

04:11 PM on 10/07/2011

Yeah - I remember the whole "descendants of Ham" thing. And despite this, they attracted some blacks to the Mormon faith. The urge to take the blame for what has been done to you has long been an inexplicable human desire. Perhaps it's a deep-rooted need to be in control. If what happened to you was your fault, then it was under your control all along. Hence, if you just do things or control things properly from here on out, bad things won't happen to you any more.

Cons do seem to think they can ward off evil or misfortune if they just believe hard enough and are virtuous enough. It's actually the basis of their political ideology as well.

[Unpartisan]

02:30 AM on 10/07/2011

Alice Patterson holds no office or appointment by Rick Perry. She may be a supporter of Rick Perry, but he has had no association with her outside of the church rally. It is an informative piece about the book and that church and movement in Houston, but to me it is a major leap to closely associate these people with Rick Perry or the GOP. This reminds of the right trying to closely associate William Ayers with President Obama.

[Bruce Wilson]

05:56 AM on 10/07/2011

Rick Perry and Alice Patterson have been working together since 2002, as described in Alice Patterson's book Bridging the Racial and Political divide. The two have appeared together at multiple events, and Perry has specifically praised Patterson, in an official TX governor's speech.

As detailed in my story (have you read it?), Patterson describes in her book helping to develop an ethnic outreach program which she suggests boosted Perry's portion of the African American vote by a significant amount as compared to the national average for Republican politicians.

Those are just a few of the extensive connections. Your assertion is directly contradicted by a considerable body of evidence.

[Unpartisan]

07:09 AM on 10/07/2011

Alice Peterson is not a member of Rick Perry's cabinet and is not on his campaign team. She is head of the Justice at the Gate ministry. Everything she has done has been part of the Justice at the Gate ministry, not a part of Rick Perry or the GOP. I will put in another way, Perry couldn't fire her if he wanted to. Not everyone who campaigns for a politician or a political party is part of their administration, or a guru for them, the headline is dishonest.

[BlackPrincess]

08:53 AM on 10/07/2011

An EXCELLENT article.

[Sorenson]

01:23 AM on 10/07/2011

Christ. They might've been off about 20 years, but between this and the last 10 years the Dead kennedys pretty much called it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wngUsiLnL7k

[fishnetdiver]

03:56 AM on 10/07/2011

right on! Jello always had a great way with words.

[ChuckIAm]

12:21 AM on 10/07/2011

The irony of Perry's presidential campaign is I have the feeling it will continue to unearth many things he'll wish stayed buried for when/if he ever runs again for governor again.

[BlackPrincess]

08:49 AM on 10/07/2011

Yup.

That's what Perry get's for PLAYING with God.


http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/08/04/119432/gov-perrys-prayer-day-event-is.html