This post is about Reverend Walter Hoye II. Walter's story is not being told in the main stream media. This is a story that should be heard and should be important to Christians, to Black Americans, to White Americans, and to anyone whoever resided in their mother's womb. This post will mostly consist of Reverend Hoye's own words.
On Thursday, January 15, 2009, the
Rev. Walter Hoye II, an African-American
pastor from Berkeley, California,
was found guilty of unlawfully approaching
abortion clinic clients at a
clinic in nearby Oakland. He is also
the plaintiff in a lawsuit challenging
the constitutionality of the ordinance
under which he was prosecuted.
Walter is an African-American pastor who
feels a special calling to work for the end of
the genocide-by-abortion that has been taking
place in the African-American community.
As part of his pro-life ministry, he stands
in front of an abortion clinic in Oakland with
information offering alternatives to abortion
and carrying a sign reading, “Jesus loves you
and your baby. Let us help.” On May 13, 2008,
he was arrested for allegedly violating the
newly enacted law.
On the day in question, he was confronted
by an escort from the clinic, who later
accused him of approaching her in a hostile,
intimidating manner. Fortunately, a video was
being taken at the same time that disproved
her account and confirmed his. Nevertheless,
he was convicted.
Walter was sentenced to 30 days in jail, and just got out of Santa Rita this week.
The following are his words:
The Silence is Killing Us!
By Walter B. Hoye II
The silence in the black American Church
regarding the evil of abortion is killing us. The
numbers reflecting the impact of abortion in
the black American community are horrifying.
From 1882 until 1968, 3,446 black Americans
were lynched in the U.S. over a period of
86 years. Today, that many black babies have
their lives terminated by abortion every three
days. That is 5,500 times as many black
Americans as were lynched in 86 years!
Today, 69% of pregnancies among black
women are unintended, but the abortion rate
for black women is almost five times that for
white women. Indeed, a black baby is aborted
every 72 seconds in America.
The fertility rate for black Americans is
currently 1.9, which is below the replacement
level of 2.1 according to the U.S. Census
Bureau. This means that black Americans are
no longer replacing themselves.
It has been reported that the abortion rate
for black women is 543 abortions for every
1,000 births. In other words, a black baby has
less than a 50:50 chance of being born alive.
Yet black American political leaders continue
to support the pro-choice movement.
Why?
Why did ninety-six percent (96%) of black
America vote for our new President Barack
Obama, a man who supports abortion, the
very action that is taking such a huge toll of
the black population? The total number of
black abortions has reached 19 million since
1970. That is more than six times the black
population of New York State.
How can that be in the best interests of
the black community in America?
Why are black American leaders afraid to
acknowledge how dangerous the President’s
support of abortion is?
Are black leaders too uninformed to be
outraged that for years he has been supporting
and is being supported by the Planned
Parenthood Federation of America, Inc.
Planned Parenthood is the leading provider
of surgical abortions in the United States
and, therefore, the leading terminator of the
lives of black Americans.
Is it possible that black Americans really
believe the product of a human father and a
human mother can be anything other than a
human being?
Do black Americans really believe a man
or a woman has the right to kill their child?
Can it be true that black Americans really
believe it is best to allow our babies to be
physically dismembered and sucked out of
their mother’s womb into biohazardous waste
bags because their parents income is below
the federal poverty level?
Do black Americans really believe that the
reason a black woman kills her child is because
she understands the value of an education,
the benefits of a job, and the responsibilities
of parenthood and family life?
Do black Americans really believe that if a
black woman does not have the love and
support of a man, she should consider terminating
the life of her baby?
Do black Americans really believe there is
a “time and place” to suspend the constitutional
rights of our offspring?
The statistics of abortion would say “yes”
to all of the above, As a black American pastor,
I am ashamed of the black Church’s unwillingness
to openly, publicly and forthrightly
challenge the morally reprehensible impact of
abortion on the black community.
According to Day Gardner, President of
the National black Pro-Life Union, abortion is
the number one killer of black Americans.
Abortion kills more black people than cancer,
heart attacks, stroke, HIV-AIDS, accidents,
and violent crime combined.
Yet our pulpits, if not supporting prochoice
leaders, have been criminally silent on
the issue of abortion.
They have been negligent in providing
tangible and practical help such as Post
Abortion Counseling and Education (PACE)
programs. They have neglected preventive
education for young people to prepare them
for the challenges of young adulthood. Men,
women and families have been deceived by
the lies of a pro-death society and hurt by a
rabid abortion industry. The right to know has
taken second place to the “right to choose.”
Sadly, they are not alone in this. A great
many other Christian and Catholic churches
share this scandalous reticence to speak truth
to power on this most important issue.
Yet, God has ordained every man of God
to serve the spiritual needs of the present
age. The Lord has given him the power to
speak truth to the hearts of their people.
In the black community no one has more
influence than the Pastor; and yet, brothers,
we have willfully allowed ourselves to be
deceived by our own self-interests. Abortion
is clearly a moral issue. The Word of God
requires us to stand up and speak against it.
In 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in his
“Letter from Birmingham Jail,” wrote:
“Whenever the early Christians entered a
town, the power structure got disturbed and
immediately sought to convict them for being
‘disturbers of the peace’ and ‘outside agitators.’
But they went on with the conviction that
they were ‘a colony of heaven,’ and had to
obey God rather than man. They were small in
number but big in commitment. They were too
God-intoxicated to be ‘astronomically intimidated.’
They brought an end to such ancient
evils as infanticide and gladiatorial contests in
which the end was death.”
Let us face this new year without fear.
Let us humble ourselves and seek God’s
face.
Let us repent of our sins and ask God to
forgive us.
Let us, like the early Christians, boldly
choose to obey God rather than man and
bring an end to abortion wherever it exists.
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