Activism

Rev. Jesse Jackson Names New Leader of Rainbow PUSH

Thirty days after he announced his retirement, Rev. Jesse Jackson named Dr. Frederick Douglass Haynes III, as the new president and CEO of Rainbow PUSH Coalition. The official announcement took place on Sunday at the Rainbow PUSH Coalition’s national convention at the Apostolic Church of God in Woodlawn where U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris was scheduled to speak.

Published

2 years ago

July 25, 2023

Oakland Post

Dr. Frederick Douglass Haynes. Facebook photo.

Dallas Megachurch Leader Dr. Frederick D. Haynes III, Has Background in Social Justice

By Kayla Tucker Adams

Thirty days after he announced his retirement, Rev. Jesse Jackson named Dr. Frederick Douglass Haynes III, as the new president and CEO of Rainbow PUSH Coalition.

The official announcement took place on Sunday at the Rainbow PUSH Coalition’s national convention at the Apostolic Church of God in Woodlawn where U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris was scheduled to speak.

In addition to this new role at the helm of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, Dr. Frederick D. Haynes, III, is the senior pastor of Friendship-West Baptist Church, a megachurch in Dallas, Texas, with more than 13,000 members. While Dr. Haynes recently announced Pastor David McGruder as the Executive Pastor of Friendship-West, Dr. Haynes will remain the senior pastor.

“Rev. Jesse Jackson has made the world a better place, breaking down barriers, opening previously locked doors of opportunity, fighting for justice, and refusing to take ‘no’ for an answer on behalf of those who have no voice,” said Dr. Haynes. “Rainbow PUSH has been the organizational vehicle that he has driven in the movement for justice. I am honored and humbled that he has ‘tapped’ me to serve as his successor as the President and CEO of this great organization.”

Haynes is best known as a social justice pastor and advocate for marginalized communities. Known nationally as “the drum major for justice,” he has modeled his ministry like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., focused on the intersections of faith and justice.

From leading protests and demonstrations, to registering thousands of voters, to providing food and other needed resources, to decreasing crime, to serving as a voting super center, Dr. Haynes and Friendship-West Baptist Church have always been in the forefront of creating positive and lasting social change.

As a civil rights leader and activist, Dr. Haynes has had a longstanding relationship with Rev. Jackson.

Alfred Smith Sr., Allen Temple Baptist Church pastor emeritus, had nothing but praise for Dr. Haynes, saying that the Bay Area should be very proud that one of its own was ascending to the position, echoing the legacy of his father and grandfather, whose ministries at S.F. Third Baptist Church.

“There’s no one better qualified: there’s not a better spokesman in the country,” Smith said.. Since Friendship-West Baptist Church is a microcosm of what Jackson achieved, “Haynes will inject new life into PUSH.”

Dr. Haynes holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in religion and English, a Master of Divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary as well as a Doctorate in Ministry from the Graduate Theological Foundation where he was afforded the opportunity to study at Christ Church, Oxford University in England.

Haynes is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. He also serves on the Board of Trustees for Paul Quinn College as well as various other boards dedicated to the advancement of Dallas for all residents, particularly those in underserved and minority communities.

Dr. Haynes has received numerous awards and honors for his ministry and activism. In 2011, Dr. Haynes had the prestigious honor of being the featured speaker at The Congressional Black Caucus’ Annual Prayer Breakfast.

In 2012, Ebony Magazine named him to its Power 100 list of most influential African Americans. He was also inducted into the National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame. In 2013, Dr. Haynes was honored to give remarks at the memorial service of one of the most respected world leaders of the 20th and 21st centuries, President Nelson Mandela.

The prestigious April 4^th Foundation awarded Dr. Haynes the I Am a Man Award in 2020 and he joined the ranks of past honorees that include Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Diane Nash, Congressman John Lewis, and Harry Belafonté.

In 2022, Dr. Haynes was awarded by President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., the Joseph R. Biden Jr. Presidential Lifetime Achievement Leadership Award in Community Service.

In 2003, Haynes founded the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference along with Rev. Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr. and Dr. Iva E. Carruthers and currently serves as co-chairman of the board. Dr. Haynes is on the board of the Conference of National Black Churches, the National Action Network, and the IC3 Church Growth and Development Conference.

Kayla Tucker Adams is an associate of the KTA Media Group

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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

2 days ago

June 7, 2025

Oakland Post

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Activism

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

1 week 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.