An Open Letter to 
President Elect Biden, Vice President Elect Harris 

On behalf of the faith leaders and partnering Black Church institutions of the Black Church PAC, we offer our congratulations for this historic electoral accomplishment. The election of President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice- President Elect Kamala Harris is a needed course correction for our country’s moral and political well-being. The Black Church community did not sit on the sidelines through this electoral process and do not intend to sit on the sidelines of accountability, agenda setting and governance. 

Given the unique and expansive presence of Black Churches in our most vulnerable communities, Black Church PAC Advisory Board Members, comprised of Senior Bishops and National Faith Leaders request face-to-face meetings with President-Elect Biden, Vice-President Elect Harris, and key incoming Senior White House staff and Transition officials before the end of this calendar year. Our faith leaders and congregations literally put our health and well being on the line to ensure black civic engagement. We are concerned about the lack of Black women and men appointments in senior administration cabinet positions. We need to hear and understand your plans to remedy this, directly. 

The power of our network was on display as we were selected by the Biden Victory Fund as a key partner and vendor for GOTV efforts via our Souls to the Polls programs. Throughout the electoral season, the Black Church PAC network flexed our collective muscle of engagement and impact: 

• Over 2 million voters pledged to vote and 1.6 million total text messages sent 
• Almost 600k text messages sent during Text-a-Thons by over 600 volunteers
• 31,368 Doors Knocked + 4287 Door Convos in GA alone. 
• 43,498 Phone Calls + 26,659 Phone Convos 
• 2650 clergy leaders trained for election protection + souls to the polls during national & regional convenings and denomination meetings 
• 1.2 million media hits and 1.3 million views of our streaming video and digital content 

Our endorsement of the Biden-Harris ticket, along with over a dozen key Democratic candidates, revolved around these key issues: 

• Economic Fairness and Reparations 
• Reimagine Public Safety: Urban Gun Violence, Police Reform & Justice Reform 
• Equitable Healthcare and Emergency COVID-19 relief 
• Voting Rights and Combating Voter Suppression 
• Environmental Equality & Climate Change 

The Black Church is the premier institutional home of black life and struggle. Our work requires seats at the table of governance and counsel. We do not believe the advocacy and needs of historical black church denominations and national black religious networks should be mediated through civil rights organizations, though we affirm our connection and partnerships. 

Below you will find signatories from our expansive network who affirm this request and ask for a timely response. The conditions of black communities are too dire to continue business as usual. We put our collective relational and organizational weight to secure this shift in our country’s national leadership, We seek to do the same through accountability and meaningful engagement related to how we are governed. 

The Black Church PAC Advisory Council

Bishop Leah Daughtry - Washington DC/NYC - The House of the Lord Churches
Bishop Frank Reid - Ohio and Baltimore, MD - AME
Bishop Noel Jones - Los Angeles, CA - Penteocstal Assemblies of the World
Pastor Traci Blackmon - St. Louis, MO - United Church of Christ
Dr. Jamal Bryant - Atlanta, GA - AME
Dr. Iva Carruthers - Chicago, IL - Proctor Conference
Dr. Otis Moss - Chicago, IL - United Church of Christ
Pastor Michael McBride - Oakland, CA - Pentecostal
Dr. Brianna Parker - Dallas, TX - Baptist
Pastor Rahiel Tesfamariam - Washington, DC - Non-denomination
Erica Campbell - Los Angeles, CA - Pentecostal
Warryn Campbell - Los Angeles, CA - Pentecostal
Pastor Tony Lee - Prince George County, MD - AME
Dr. Benjamin Stephens, Kansas City, MO - COGIC

Bishop Rudolph W. McKissick, Jr.
Senior Pastor of the Bethel Church
Jacksonville, FL

Rev. Jeremiah Wright
Chicago, IL

Bishop James Clark
Presiding Apostle
Churches of our Lord Jesus Christ, Inc

Pastor Timothy McBride
Tabernacle of Praise International
McDonough, GA

Rev. Michael Pfleger
Pastor, Faith Community of St. Sabina
Chicago, Ill.

Rev. Dr. Joseph Ratliff
Pastor, Brentwood Baptist Church
Houston, Texas

Rev. Dr. Frederick D. Haynes III
Pastor, Friendship West Baptist Church
Dallas, Texas

Rev. Dr. Gina Stewart
Pastor, Christ Missionary Baptist Church
Memphis, Tennessee

Rev. Wendel Griffen
Pastor, New Millennium Church
Little Rock, Arkansas

Ms. Robin Williams
President United Food and Commercial Workers
Washington, D.C.

Rev. Dr. Reginald Williams
Pastor, University Park Baptist Church
University Park, Illinois

Rev. Willie Francois
Pastor, Mt. Zion Baptist Church
Pleasantville, New Jersey

Rev. Dr. Lance Watson
Pastor, St. Paul Baptist Church
Richmond, Virginia

Rev. Everett Kelley
National President, American Federation of Government Employees

Rev. Kobi Little
Dean, Justice Chapel
Baltimore, Maryland

Dr. Leslie D. Callahan
Philadelphia, PA

Rev. Dr. Jacqueline A. Thompson
Senior Pastor
Allen Temple Baptist Church

Rev. Pamela R. Lightsey, Ph.D.
Chicago, IL - The United Methodist Church

Rev. Danielle Ayers, Dallas, TX - Baptist

Dr. Lance Watson
Senior Pastor
Saint Paul’s Baptist Church, Richmond, VA - Baptist

Rev. Dr. Reginald W. Williams, Jr.
First Baptist Church of University Park
University Park, IL
Senior Pastor

Rev. Marlon Millner, Evanston, IL
American Baptist Churches USA

Bishop Claude Alexander
Charlotte, NC The Park Church

Rev. Dr. Valerie Bridgeman
Delaware, OH
United Methodist Church
Dean & Vice President of Academic Affairs, Methodist Theological School in Ohio

Elder. James M. Booker Sr
BCP/Michigan

Rev. Anthony L. Trufant, Senior Pastor
Emmanuel Baptist Church of Brooklyn, NY
Baptist

Pastor Les Simmons
South Sacremento Christian Center
Non - denominational

Pastor Gabby Cudjoe Wilkes
Double Love Experience Church Brooklyn, NY

Rev. Andrew Wilkes
Double Love Experience Church, Brooklyn, NY

Zakiya Jackson, Washington DC, Non-Denominational

Bishop Edgar Vann
Second Ebenezer Church
Detroit, MI

Pastor Matthew Watley
Kingdom Fellowship AME Church
Silver Spring, MD

Tamura Lomax, PhD,
Westwood Baptist Church Richmond, VA

Rev. Mark Thompson
New York, NY

Dr. Ron Daniels
Institute of the Black World 21st Century
New York, NY