A Baptist church in Alabama is in the middle of a local controversy after a sign likened a vote for President Donald Trump to having a mental illness.
The sign outside of New Era Baptist Church in Birmingham read, “A Black vote for Trump is mental illness.”
The other side of the sign read, “A white vote for Trump is pure racism.”
And despite complaints from some members in the community, Pastor Michael Jordan stands firmly behind it.
“God motivates me to take a stand for what’s right,” Jordan told WVTM of the sign, which he explains is a way to encourage people not to vote from Trump in next year’s election. “Read the Bible; if they call me a racist, look in the White House.”
According to AL.com, Jordan has sparked controversy before. Last year, a church sign read, “Black folks need to stay out of white churches.”
The sign was in response to an announcement by The Church of the Highlands, a megachurch, that it planned to open a church in Birmingham.
Jordan defended the sign by stating, “It’s a slavemaster church…I call it plantation religion, slavemaster religion. The white rich folks start a church and put a Black pastor in charge of it.”