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COMMENTARY: Prayers and COVID-19 Prevention — A Black Church Near You Is Here to Help

The pastors in our network, their congregations, staff, and volunteers at our churches and in our community have done an excellent job. Their effort has contributed in no small way to the high COVID-19 vaccination rate and lower positivity rate we now have in California. We are truly proud and grateful.

Published

3 years ago

December 31, 2021

Oakland Post

Oakland Pastor Gerald Agee encourages African Americans to continue to take precautions regarding COVID-19. Photo courtesy of Pastor Gerald Agee

By Rev. Gerald L. Agee | Special to California Black Media Partners

Holiday celebrations have come, and while many families have safely gathered this season, we know that COVID-19 has not taken a vacation.

The Omicron variant now poses a new danger. And cases have begun a gradual rise again here in California and around the country. Therefore, we can never be too careful when it comes to keeping our loved ones safe and healthy. The death rate resulting from COVID-19 is 15% higher for Black Californians than the statewide average, according to numbers from the California Department of Public Health.

Black pastors across California recognize the urgency of this threat. We have accepted the responsibility of this fight, and we understand as faith leaders in our communities that we must combine faith with action. Prayers for healing and health must be backed up by a plan for protection and prevention.

That is why dozens of faith leaders across our state have worked together to open the doors of our churches for convenient COVID-19 testing and some sites offer vaccinations. This effort to keep our congregations and our neighborhoods safe has been made possible with the support of our testing partner Color and the California Department of Public Health.

As we mark the end of 2021 and usher in the new year, some of us may get together with people we love to reflect, celebrate, give thanks, and to ask God for grace and wisdom in 2022. During this time, we must be accountable to each other and prioritize safety, especially for those among us who are aging or otherwise fragile.

As our slogan tells us, “Don’t guess, get the test” before going back to work or school. Look up one of our centers in your community to get vaccinated and tested. It is the surest way that we can stem the spread of this virus.

As we walk into the uncertainties of the next year, we must decide to renew our hope and lead with faith even stronger than we have had this past year. With that resolve, committing ourselves to keeping each other and our communities safe will be easy.

Remember, we can push through this pandemic together and we can beat it.

The Rev. Gerald L. Agee is the founder and pastor of Christian Friendship Church in Oakland and the statewide manager for the Black church testing program.

Oakland Post

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Oakland Post: Week of June 4 – 10, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of June 4-10, 2025

Published

6 days ago

June 7, 2025

Oakland Post

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Remembering George Floyd

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing.

Published

2 weeks ago

June 2, 2025

Oakland Post

Mural showing the portrait of George Floyd in Mauerpark in Berlin. To the left of the portrait the lettering "I can't Breathe" was added, on the right side the three hashtags #GeorgeFloyd, #Icantbreathe and #Sayhisname. The mural was completed by Eme Street Art (facebook name) / Eme Free Thinker (signature) on 29 May 2020. (Wikimedia Commons)

By April Ryan
BlackPressUSA Newswire

“The president’s been very clear he has no intentions of pardoning Derek Chauvin, and it’s not a request that we’re looking at,” confirms a senior staffer at the Trump White House. That White House response results from public hope, including from a close Trump ally, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. The timing of Greene’s hopes coincides with the Justice Department’s recent decision to end oversight of local police accused of abuse. It also falls on the fifth anniversary of the police-involved death of George Floyd on May 25th. The death sparked national and worldwide outrage and became a transitional moment politically and culturally, although the outcry for laws on police accountability failed.

The death forced then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden to focus on deadly police force and accountability. His efforts while president to pass the George Floyd Justice in policing act failed. The death of George Floyd also put a spotlight on the Black community, forcing then-candidate Biden to choose a Black woman running mate. Kamala Harris ultimately became vice president of the United States alongside Joe Biden. Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison prosecuted the cases against the officers involved in the death of Floyd. He remembers,” Trump was in office when George Floyd was killed, and I would blame Trump for creating a negative environment for police-community relations. Remember, it was him who said when the looting starts, the shooting starts, it was him who got rid of all the consent decrees that were in place by the Obama administration.”

In 2025, Police-involved civilian deaths are up by “about 100 to about 11 hundred,” according to Ellison. Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African-American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing. During those minutes on the ground, Floyd cried out for his late mother several times. Police subdued Floyd for an alleged counterfeit $20 bill.