Ochelata church ousted from Southern Baptist Convention after pastor wears blackface
An Ochelata church where the pastor unapologetically performed in blackface has been ousted from the Southern Baptist Convention for "discriminatory behavior," according to news coverage of SBC's executive meeting Tuesday.
According to The Tennessean, part of the USA Today Network, the committee voted to "disfellowship" Matoaka Baptist Church for racism.
The article says it's the "second time the nation’s largest Protestant denomination has disfellowshipped a church for “discriminatory behavior” since the convention established a new evaluation process in 2019."
The Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise first reported in April that a video of Pastor Sherman Jaquess of Matoaka Baptist Church was circulating on social media of him performing in blackface during a 2017 church Valentine's Day event.
More: Bartlesville preacher unapologetic about blackface, drag performances
Jaquess, who had been outspoken against drag show performances in Bartlesville, said then he had received more than 20 phone calls and even more Facebook responses from people who were offended by the video, in which he claims he was honoring American singer-songwriter Ray Charles.
"It wasn't derogatory, wasn't racial in any way, and we're not racist at all. I don't have a racist bone in my body. I have a lot of racial friends," he said.
"We have people [who] are offended by a lot of things, but it's hard to play Ray Charles if you don't play a black man; it wasn't anything," he continued. "It was honoring to Ray Charles, we sang the song as best as we could.
The executive committee manages business for the Nashville-based denomination outside the two-day SBC annual meeting. The committee — comprised of an 86-member board of elected representatives and about 20 staff — gathered in Nashville on Monday and Tuesday for a key meeting, according to The Tennessean.
Blackface refers to a practice that dates back to the mid-19th century when minstrel show performers painted their faces black to portray racial stereotypes of a Black person.
This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: Ochelata church ousted from SBC after pastor's blackface performance
