By Lianne Kolirin
A former BBC presenter has launched a blistering attack on the religious media for its treatment of Britain’s black Pentecostal communities.
Dr Dulcie McKenzie, an award-winning radio presenter and producer, told the third annual Religion Media Festival ‘Exploring Belief’ that mainstream religious media had “failed” Britain’s black Pentecostal churches.
Dr McKenzie, director of the Centre for Black Theology at the Queen’s Foundation in Birmingham, said she was a “lifelong Pentecostal” whose Jamaican-born parents were both ministers.
But to members of black Pentecostal communities, she said, the mainstream religious media had made itself “intangible, irrelevant and immoral”.
Delivering one of three polemics entitled You Don’t Understand Me, she said: “When I say intangible, the religious media exists, but it isn’t really readily accessible to black Pentecostal churches. When I say irrelevant, religious media provides a national service, but has little meaning, little application, or is of no significance to black Pentecostal churches.
“When I say immoral … it is not consistent with its own principles of diversity and inclusivity. Black Pentecostal churches are marginalised and the religious media plays a big part in that.”
Pentecostalism, according to Dr McKenzie, is the fastest-growing division of Christianity worldwide. Its history in Britain, she explained, stems largely out of being rejected by “host churches”.
“Details of the experience of the migrants is very much part of the narrative of church history in this country,” she said. “Coming from a hot climate like the Caribbean in comparison with Britain, it was bitterly cold. And the people were not always friendly.”
Members of the Windrush generation — like her parents — often struggled to find a place of worship. “They arrived as fellow Christians, and although they knew that they wouldn’t find in Britain Pentecostals like they had back home … they assumed their right to worship freely in the host churches.” Disappointment was widespread.
“My late dad often shared a particular story of a vicar thanking him for attending the Sunday morning service, but suggested that he should not come back. ‘Instead, try the other church down the road’, as they would be happy to welcome ‘his kind’.
“Sadly, my dad’s story is not unique. There are many other examples of that experience shared by many other migrants who received a cold reception by host churches.” That rejection led many black migrants to create a “sacred space of their own”.
Dr McKenzie said: “They initially met in their own bedsits and front rooms, and as the gatherings grew larger and larger, they relocated to school halls and other public venues. These small gatherings grew into larger congregations, and soon became credible church denominations with governance in North America.”
As they grew in size, so the interest from the outside as social scientists portrayed black churches as “sects”.
“And the media then were keen, very, very keen to show congregations possessed by the Spirit. Consequently, leaders and members of the congregation were suspicious of the media, and they preferred to keep them out.”
Over the decades the movement and its influence have grown from strength to strength, providing educational, social, psychological and financial help for their followers — and all “independent of state support or governance”, she said.
Yet still it is overlooked by the mainstream religious media. The one area that does occasionally garner attention, however, is gospel music.
“Metaphorically speaking, gospel music is the child of the black church. What tends to happen though, is the child of the black church is often invited by the media to come out and play. But the invitation is rarely extended to the parents or other family members of the child.”
She added: “To borrow a phrase from a fellow black theologian Dr Robert Beckford, ‘The black church is represented in the media in two ways: the choir or the conflicted.’
“In other words, we can expect to see the choir at particular times at Christmas, Easter, Pentecost Sunday, and now and again on certain religious programmes. Or if there is a high-profile issue or story that relates to the black community, there is a tendency for the media to call on a black clergy for a reaction.”
While Dr McKenzie suggested that little has been done to improve matters over the year, she believes the impact of the pandemic and the reaction to the death of George Floyd have been “transformative”.
“The opportunity for black Pentecostals to broadcast online means that the mainstream religious media is even more intangible and irrelevant,” she said, while concluding that the lack of diversity and inclusivity within the religious media also makes it “immoral”.
“Why is there such a continued dominance of whiteness representing Christianity perpetuated in mainstream religious media … when black churches are flourishing in this country?”
After the festival, we asked the BBC for a response:
“The Pentecostal church and gospel music are featured across BBC television and radio – recent examples include a Pentecostal story in documentary Being Christian; this year’s Christmas Day live worship from the Church of the God of Prophecy in Birmingham; and new Songs of Praise presenter Brenda Edwards speaking about her upbringing in the Pentecostal church, all on BBC One. Major competitions Gospel Choir and Gospel Singer of the Year on BBC One showcase the very best of gospel talent and local radio featured a special programme over Easter with gospel artist and worship leader Muyiwa Olarewaju. In addition, gospel music and music influenced by gospel can be heard regularly on Radio 2 and on Jamz Supernova’s recent 6 Music Show whilst Mica Paris traced the origins of six famous gospel songs in a documentary for BBC Four.”
See the full video of Dr Dulcie McKenzie’s polemic on our Youtube channel here:
