Praying to Thank God for Trump is a Very Important Black Job

In a bid to excel in his “Black job” — as Trump so eloquently calls it — Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Scott Turner  gave a prayer that teetered between delusional and outright blasphemous.

What Happened

Donald Trump held is first cabinet meeting Wednesday. It came at a time when his administration is embroiled in lawsuits for everything from attempting to end federal funding of programs for students with disabilities to firing FAA leadership, while the country faces the deadliest plane collisions in twenty years under his watch. It’s a lot. At any rate, during the cabinet meeting, Trump asked Secretary Turner to say a prayer before breakfast. What Turner said in prayer about Trump gave vibes of a man who’d sold his soul to Trump and lost his spine in the process.

Before getting to the crux of Turner’s pseudo prayer, let’s examine the image above. It could be a picture from any boardroom across this country, complete with rich white guys in suits with one token Black guy in the mix, who doesn’t get a seat at the table.

Donald Trump is intimidated by Black men and does not respect African Americans which is why his first order of business was firing Black people in roles they were the first African Americans to take on or just one of few. This is what Trump did to Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown, whom he fired as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Trump also fired Gwynne Wilcox, who was the first Black woman on the National Labor Relations Board. Trump’s white supremacy and lack of respect for African Americans are the reasons why the one Black man (or one of few) he hired has the same job as the last notable Black man he hired: Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary. Dr. Ben Carson was a brain surgeon, but because he was African American, it seems he was relegated to the Black job “urban development.”

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Because he is a white supremicist, Trump double guesses any African American in a job he does not deem a “Black job.” Trump kept using that phrase on the campaign trail when attempting to cause conflict between African Americans and Latinx people. He said that immigrants were “taking Black jobs.” The legacy media pretended to be confused about what Trump meant by “Black jobs,” but we can clearly see what he means through his firing of notable African Americans and his appointment of Turner as urban development secretary.

In Trump’s mind, there exists a static composite perception of what Black people are, Black men in particular. In his mind, Black people are designated to roles in urban development, urban planning or anything “urban” really. They operate outside of Trump’s immediate circle or areas he frequents. When Black people do manage to find their way into these spaces, they should be doing “Black jobs” in Trump’s opinion.

The image of Secretary Turner standing while he prays over a room of sitting white guys is sickening and almost reminiscent of a butler lingering to serve the guests. In this instance, it’s the only Black guy praying to thank God for the existence of the white guy who hired him for his Black job.

As troubling as that image is, what Turner said in his prayer is as troubling or more. He said, “Thank you, God, for President Trump…” This, for me, is probably the most troubling part of the prayer. Trump has fired thousands of federal workers, many of who were disabled veterans. He’s threatening to end federal funding of entire states that go against his demands to discriminate against sports players. Many of the students who receive free food are at risk of losing access to the program because of Trump’s executive orders. Farmers are losing money because Trump ended their subsidies or put a hold on them. I’m sure these many of these people would thank God for almost anybody but Donald Trump.

Secretary Turner also said, “Thank you, God… for appointing us, for anointing us to do this job.” This borderlines on the Divine Right Theory which argues a king has absolute power, derives his power directly from God and answers to God only. This definition aligns with what some have argued are “authoritarian” statements by Trump. As Gen. Mark Milley, a former top U.S. military commander, put it, “We don’t take an oath to a wannabe dictator.”

The Takeaway

It seems that Secretary Turner has happily taken his place as the token Black guy designated to “Black stuff” like urban development and thanking God for his white employer. It’s unfortunate that to be seen, just peripherally, by Trump, African American people like Turner have to reduce themselves to shells of who they are. They can not be dynamic or complex or intellects. In his rapidly declining mind ripe with ideals of white supremacy, Trump wholeheartedly believes there’s nothing wrong with this form of discrimination. Turner is at best a version of a clueless Black guy in the movie Get Out. At worst, he’s complicit in his own discrimination and that of African Americans.

This is Secretary Turner’s entire prayer, as reported by Daily Citizen:

“Father, we thank you for this awesome privilege, to be in your presence. We thank you you’ve allowed us to see this day. The Bible says your mercies are new every morning, and Father God we give you the glory and honor. Thank you, God, for President Trump, for appointing us, for anointing us to do this job.

Father, we pray you’ll give the president and the vice president wisdom as they lead. Father, I pray for all my colleagues around this table and in this room.

Lord God, we pray that we would lead with a righteous clarity. Father God, as we serve the people of this country in every prospecticve agency, every job that we have, we would humble ourselves before you, and we would lead in a manner that you’ve called us to lead and to serve.

The Bible says “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.” But Father, we today honor you, and in your rightful place, Father, thank you for giving us this opportunity to restore faith in this country and be a blessing to the people of America.

And Lord God, today in our meeting, we pray that you would be glorified in our conversation.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

This article was written by Jermaine Reed, MFA, the Editor-in-Chief of The Reeders Block. He also works an Adjunct College Professor. Join the email list to get notifications on new blog posts and books. This article is 100% human-written. And remember, if you see an error, that’s what makes us human.