The latest heroes and zero are a group of black religious pastors who tell Trump “hell no” and an actor/comedian (Chris Rock) who’s not sure if he has an adoptive daughter?
Hero- Black Religious Leaders
Now here is why they are heroes this week in my book- they stood up to Donald Trump. When I heard that some pretty big name black religious leaders were talking about meeting with him, as the mothers of the church say, it just didn’t sit right with my spirit.
Several black pastors, according to CNN and several other outlets, were invited to meet with Donald Trump on November 30th. We are told that they were set to endorse him for president, but the event has been cancelled by Trump’s camp and reports are saying that it has everything to do with the black leaders saying, “Hells no.”
Los Angeles-area pastor Bishop Clarence McClendon was one of the men invited to the gathering but clarified via Facebook on Friday what the purpose of the meeting.
“The meeting was presented not as a meeting to endorse but a meeting to engage in dialogue.”
Not all religious leaders invited were as diplomatic as McClendon when speaking about their invite. Senior Pastor of The Holy Ghost Cathedral and star of “Preachers of Detroit,” Bishop Corletta Vaughn, was a lot more open and honest about not attending nor endorsing Trump.
“Trump is an insult and embarrassment. But he represents the country we have become… “ZERO experience … Flaunting a ticket of unbridled bigotry, sexism, racism and everything that is wrong with America,” she said via Facebook mid last week.
The thing about the situation is that it was clearly marketed as a “meeting of the minds” so to speak where 100 of the most influential black evangelicals and religious leaders would come together and endorse Trump for the GOP at the Trump Tower.
“On Monday, Mr. Trump will host an informational meet and greet with many members of the Coalition of African American Ministers. This is not a press event, but a private meeting, after which, a number of attendees are expected to endorse Mr. Trump’s campaign for President.”
How this even became a thing that they believed would happen is beyond me. The majority of black folks are not messing with Trump because he is indeed “disrespectful” among a host of other things. I mean, Trump, you allow black protestors to be brutally beaten at your rallies without chastising those involved, and you expect black leaders to look past that; come the hell on?
For telling Trump to “suck it” and for standing up for their beliefs, the religious leaders who turned down Trump’s invite are definitely heroes.
Zero- Chris Rock
There is no doubt that funnyman Chris Rock has been busy within the last year, in particular with his divorce. But how could he have forgotten that he and his wife adopted a little girl from Africa while they were married? Well, the answer to that is simple- he didn’t forget he just refuses to acknowledge her. This makes him a super duper zero in my book.
It’s tough when you are famous and going through a divorce I get it, but the reports about Chris Rock not claiming the South African girl who had been living as his and Malaak Compton-Rock’s daughter since she was six months old are disheartening.
The story goes, or rather a part of the story is that she was in the U.S. on a visitor visa “for pleasure.” Her real father, Crispen Khanyile, spoke to TMZ in an attempt to shed some light on the situation since he and the girl’s mother were broke and already caring for two children at the time of Ntombi’s birth.
Now per TMZ, who reported that Rock “never signed legal documents to adopt her and bringing her into the country was his estranged wife’s doing,” his reps have also stated that he does not have an adopted child.
My question is how do you just disconnect from a child that has been living with you since she was six months old? Adopted or not, I would imagine that you still hold some kind of affection for the baby. It has been reported that Rock hasn’t seen his ex-wife or Ntombi since he filed for divorce almost a year ago.
Even with all the speculations surrounding the girl’s adoption status, Chris Rock seeming not to want anything to do with her is “Zero” behavior.