This Black church sued the Proud Boys and won its trademark, carrying on a civil rights legacy

WASHINGTON – There is truthful overmuch past betwixt the walls of Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church, which has hosted funerals for Rosa Parks and Frederick Douglass and opened its pews to American presidents and civilian rights icons.

It made past again this year: Thanks to a lawsuit, Metropolitan AME present controls the trademark to the Proud Boys, the far-right radical that erstwhile vandalized the church’s spot successful Washington.

After a pro-Donald Trump rally successful December 2020, Proud Boys destroyed Black Lives Matter signs astatine 2 historically Black churches during a convulsive nighttime successful the city.

“The enactment of destroying these signs was not conscionable alcohol-lubricated, infantile frat-boy stuff,” said the Rev. William H. Lamar IV, Metropolitan’s pastor.

“This is simply a softer mentation of cross-burning, designed to support america quiet,” helium said.

It was governmental intimidation, according to Lamar. A justice awarded the religion $2.8 cardinal successful damages successful 2023, condemning the Proud Boys’ “hateful and overtly racist conduct.”

In February, aft the Proud Boys didn’t pay, the tribunal gave the religion usage of the group’s sanction and symbols — seen connected its black-and-yellow cogwheel and laurel wreath logo.

The religion tin prehend wealth the Proud Boys marque done merchandise sales. And the congregation has begun to merchantability lookalike shirts connected its website with lines similar “Stay Proud, Stay Black.” It plans to connection akin apparel for Pride Month and Juneteenth, with proceeds going to a assemblage justness fund.

Lamar said it’s “our mode of leveraging thing that was intended for evil.”

Despite the wit and subversion, Lamar sees the suit arsenic portion of a agelong enactment of civilian rights activism that has relied connected the courts, from Black women who successfully sued the Ku Klux Klan to lawsuits that pushed desegregation.

“Metropolitan institutionally is doing what Black women and men person ever done,” helium said, “and that is to usage the disposable means to fight.”

In January, President Trump pardoned members of the Proud Boys who were convicted for their relation successful the Jan. 6, 2021, riot astatine the U.S. Capitol. Included successful that pardon was the group’s erstwhile chairman, Enrique Tarrio, who had been serving a 22-year condemnation and is simply a named suspect successful the church’s lawsuit.

Two weeks later, erstwhile religion subordinate Khaleelah Harris heard astir the trademark win, her archetypal effect was to commune for the information of Metropolitan, which astatine 1 constituent was paying $20,000 a period for accrued security.

“I conscionable anticipation they don’t interaction the church. That was my main concern,” said Harris, who is pursuing ordination wrong the AME.

“As overwhelming arsenic this each has been, successful a sense, we person nary choice,” she said. “That’s the bequest of our church.”

Founded successful 1838 and portion of the nation’s archetypal autarkic Black denomination, the congregation laid the building’s cornerstone successful 1881. AME churches astir the country, from Mississippi to Connecticut, paid for its operation arsenic their nationalist cathedral, positioned a half-mile from the White House.

“Washington’s been a precise absorbing town, due to the fact that Black radical person been capable to unrecorded lives present that they couldn’t unrecorded elsewhere,” Lamar said. It was not without segregation and racism, but “they built their ain spaces to sphere their ain humanity, their ain joy.”

Growing up successful Macon, Georgia, Lamar archetypal learned astir Metropolitan AME from a textbook his parent brought home. Almost 30 years later, helium became its pastor.

The determination to writer the Proud Boys was made with a unanimous ballot of religion leaders, though Wayne Curtis, a Metropolitan subordinate for astir 3 decades, is inactive cautious astir the victory, not wanting it to springiness the Proud Boys much attention. But helium said earlier a Sunday work that “it’s an accidental to hopefully bring a small much humility to a beauteous utmost organization.”

The Proud Boys, though fractured arsenic a movement, resurfaced astatine Trump’s inauguration. Tarrio, who got five months successful jailhouse successful portion for burning the 2nd church’s banner, suggested connected the societal level X aft the latest tribunal determination that they alteration their sanction to the “African Methodist Episcopal Boys.” His lawyer did not respond to a petition for comment.

Even if the Proud Boys alteration their name, the enactment and immoderate members are inactive indebted to the congregation, whose ineligible squad plans to prosecute the money. The Proud Boys person paid $1,500 truthful acold of the judgment, which with involvement is astatine slightest $3.1 million, according to the church’s attorneys.

“We volition beryllium unrelenting successful pursuing justice,” Lamar said. “And it is not conscionable for Metropolitan. It is to nonstop a wide awesome to anyone who would intimidate immoderate location of worship oregon immoderate idiosyncratic of immoderate race, color, creed, oregon nary creed astatine all.”

Three blocks from the red-brick church, the metropolis precocious demolished its Black Lives Matter Plaza. In contrast, a bold Black Lives Matter motion inactive stands extracurricular Metropolitan, which is sandwiched betwixt 2 gangly bureau buildings.

Inside the sanctuary connected a caller afternoon, Lamar pointed to pieces of religion history: the names inscribed successful marble, the places marked successful stained glass.

Lamar is moving connected a book astir Black ancestors, whose beingness helium often feels spurring his religion to combat for justice. He has felt them during the tribunal lawsuit too.

“The triumph for maine was ancestral successful that it said, support going. You’ve won this, but it’s not over.”

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