The Rev. Tony Lee Touts 2025 as the Year of ‘Finally’
(Source: The Washington Informer)
While the nation prepares to navigate a second term for President Donald Trump, religious leaders across the city and nation are prioritizing social activism with the same commitment and endurance as the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who mobilized communities of faith in a time of crisis similarly felt today for Black Americans scorned anew in a historically racist regime.
“It’s important for us in this season to hold a perspective, and our perspective, as Black people, is we’ve had bad leaders before. This is a time in which we have to grab a hold of the tenacity of our foreparents and know that we have what it takes to make it through this time as well,” said the Rev. Tony Lee, addressing concerns about the future of Black America in a Jan. 9 segment of “Let’s Talk WIN-TV.”
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More than five decades since he became a martyr for social justice, particularly as the nation inaugurated Trump on the same day of King’s national holiday (Jan. 20), faith leaders are emphasizing the civil activist’s commitment to unity and peace, leveraging this year’s MLK Holiday DC theme of “Commit to the Noble Struggle for Equal Rights” to promote communal organization and reinstill values of the Black church.
“Especially with the shift in leadership, and the shift that’s happening in Washington, we need the Black church to be the safety net, the place where our people can depend on that center of community,” said Lee, senior pastor at Community of Hope AME Church. “We’re all we’ve got, and we are in this thing together, and community is what keeps us moving.”
The week leading up to the national holiday for MLK (Jan. 20), and the second inauguration for President Trump, brought religious leaders of various denominations together to enact King’s powerful message of unity and justice for oppressed communities. Organized events like the 7th Annual Prayer Breakfast (Jan. 11) and “We Are Never Alone” church service at Living Word Church (Jan. 13) offered space for empowerment and plan of action, while senior pastors like the Rev. Dr. Joseph Turner of Matthews Memorial Baptist Church reaffirmed the foundation of the Black church: a sanctuary for healing and community.
“Dr. King was the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. All of the [civil rights] initiatives were birthed out of the church, and somehow or another we lose that sense,” Turner said at the MLK Holiday DC annual prayer breakfast. “It’s important for us to make sure that we pass it on, that it’s a part of his legacy. And others who stand, like myself, in the shadows of Dr. King will share that with those who are to come along.”
Lee and his congregation in Prince George’s County will commit to the noble fight for equality with plans to make 2025 a year of achievement and manifestation, centered around the theme: “finally.” The minister of 33 years told The Informer that, in addition to promoting fellowship and resilience, Community of Hope aims to dedicate the new year to a renowned focus on partnership expansion and the various inequities that disproportionately impact communities of color, including gun violence and poverty.
“I believe that sometimes your greatest purpose can be found in the greatest time of crisis. I don’t care who’s in the White House, as long as I know God is on the throne,” Lee said. “It’s time for us to just move in the season that is ours. It’s our moment to shape our legacy; It’s our moment to leave our imprint on this region, and say, finally.”