The Reverend Floyd Flake, Retired US Congressman (Democrat)and leading AME Pastor of Queens NY, appeared with and introduced President Bush in support of the President's Education Program including School Vouchers. I agree with and applaud Rev. Flake for his courage in taking this position which I also support. Rev. Flake has the vision to support what he believes is best for his people and not allow partisan politics to set his stance on issues such as this. This of course is contary to the majority black opinion. Where do you stand on this issue?

Blessings,

Pastor Paris

-- Anonymous, April 12, 2001

Answers

The Reverend Floyd Flake, Retired US Congressman (Democrat)and leading AME Pastor of Queens NY, appeared with and introduced President Bush in support of the President's Education Program including School Vouchers.
This is not particularly surprising. It was speculated in December that Rev. Flake was under consideration for Secretary of Education, before Houston Superintendent Rod Paige was chosen. In addition to being Pastor of Allen Cathedral of Faith, Rev. Flake has grown an already powerful congregation (Bishop Ming was elected from this pulpit in 1976) to a neighborhood transforming suite of ministries that includes a school supervised by his wife, Dr. Elaine McCollins Flake.

I agree with and applaud Rev. Flake for his courage in taking this position which I also support.
Rev. Flake has indeed been courageous. It took courage to move a well-established and renowned church to even higher levels in the face of opposition from many. It took courage to be the leading Democrat on the House Banking Committee yet espouse positions that were typically "Republican". It takes courage to continue to stand on principle rather than party doctrine. I believe he is respected for this in many circles, and resentd at the same time in some Democratic closets.

Rev. Flake has the vision to support what he believes is best for his people and not allow partisan politics to set his stance on issues such as this.
Agreed.

This of course is contary to the majority black opinion.
Pastor Paris, do we still have a good read on the "majority opinion", or is this the majority as the press would perceive it? If your basis for the majority opinion is the continued overwhelming support for Democratic candidates at all levels, then perhaps I agree. I believe there is a rising tide of minorities in the Republican sea, however. What would be useful to understand is whether this is based on total agreement with the Republican agenda or disillusionment with broken Democratic promises. Perhaps some other responses here will offer insight.

It's interesting. As I read the Centennial Encyclopaedia of the African Methodist Episcopal Church..., Bishop R. R. Wright (1916) , I noticed that many of the leaders captured in the late 1800s and early 1900s were Republican, the Party of Lincoln. In my own family's history, my grandfather ran for Baltimore City Council in the mid 1940s as a Republican. The shift to the Democratic party seems to have come around the time of the 1948 convention, after the schism with the Dixiecrats. Perhaps we are seeing the pendulum swing back.

Where do you stand on this issue?
I'm independent, and in favor of finding the optimum path for education that frees the masses from the cycles and dependencies of poverty.

-- Anonymous, April 12, 2001

Jerryl, we are not far from each other. Yes, it is the position that the national media espouses but I refer to the 90% vote for Gore. I have never been able to totally agree with either party, and have never voted a straight ticket. God Bless Pastor Paris

-- Anonymous, April 12, 2001

Rev. Flake has a history of working well with both Democrats and Republicans. His support of vouchers should not come as a surprise since he has helped build an exemplary private school in NY. While I strongly disapproved of his blatant endorsement of Al Gore from his pulpit last year, this announcement is welcomed. QED

-- Anonymous, April 13, 2001

Rev. Flake has it right! No one party satisfies the needs of all Americans. That is why we have a two-party system that provide checks and balances so that neither party can go to far right or left. This system breaks down when we become victims of the hype and blindly support one or the other party without holding them accountable.

Blessings, Pastor Paris

-- Anonymous, April 13, 2001

Well said, Pastor Paris. I like and respect Rev. Flakes. He is definitely a man of character and honor.

In Love and Light, Brenda

-- Anonymous, April 13, 2001