More than 90% of U.S. churches were closed at the height of the coronavirus pandemic. But since mid-April, mostly white faith leaders have pushed to fill their pews again, suing governors over bans on large gatherings and joining "reopen" protests at state capitols. President Trump threatened to override governors who did not allow "essential places of faith to open right now," flying in the face of black pastors urging caution. African American deaths from COVID-19 are nearly twice as high as would be expected based on their share of the population.
The Rev. Lenny Duncan is a black preacher in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, one of the nation's whitest Christian denominations. As nationwide protests have forced white Americans to talk about race, Duncan's longtime advocacy within the church has become all the more relevant.
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