“Leaders of the African Methodist Episcopal Church and the pastor of an AME congregation in Wilmington, Delaware, are condemning a Trump-Pence campaign ad that uses footage of Joe Biden kneeling in the sanctuary of a Black church, describing it as racist and demanding an apology. The Rev. Silvester S. Beaman, pastor of Bethel AME church that is featured in the digital spot released Wednesday (Sept. 9), said it encourages viewers to see Black church leaders and their flocks as ‘thuggish rule breakers.’ ‘The ad is overtly racist and offensive on numerous levels,’ Beaman told Religion News Service on Saturday (Sept. 13).”

“‘It is a racist attack on the African American church, and because it was an attack on the Christian church, it should be offensive to every Christian and person of faith.’ Beaman was joined by leaders of the AME denomination, who are preparing a statement decrying the ad to be released on Monday. ‘This ad subtly incites white terrorism against people of color and attacks the Black Church and Black people for refusing to bow down to the idol called white supremacy,’ read a draft of the statement provided to RNS. The advertisement mostly featured scenes from protests against police killings that roiled several American cities this Spring and summer, emphasizing violent clashes between demonstrators and riot police. But as the advertisement ended, it cut to slow-motion footage of former Vice President Biden kneeling at Bethel in front of a group of Black leaders, including Beaman. It was followed by a slide that read ‘Stop Joe Biden and his rioters’ before an audio clip of Vice President Mike Pence said ‘you won’t be safe in Joe Biden’s America’ accompanied the sound of cackling” – Religion News.