- James David Manning
-
James David Manning Born February 20, 1947
Red Springs, North Carolina, United StatesOccupation Protestant Christian Pastor James David Manning (born February 20, 1947)[1] is chief pastor at the ATLAH World Missionary Church on 123rd Street in New York City. Manning grew up in Red Springs, North Carolina, born to an African American family, and has been at ATLAH since 1981. ATLAH stands for All The Land Anointed Holy, which is Manning's name for Harlem.[2] His congregation, "ATLAH Worldwide Missionary Church" is the former Bethelite Missionary Baptist Church. The church is also the site of the ATLAH Theological Seminary, which offers classes on preaching and prophecy.[3]
Manning is fiercely opposed to the gentrification of Harlem[4] and calls for its residents to boycott its shops, restaurants, doctors, banks and churches.[5] That action, combined with a general rent strike, would force all property owners out of Harlem, he said, leaving the neighborhood to its rightful inheritors: black people.[2][6] Manning calls his plan "No Dew, Nor Rain," after Elijah's warning to Ahab, king of Israel, of a coming drought. "When there's no dew, no rain, there's a drought – there's all kinds of suffering," said Manning. The whole of Harlem, he said, is to be a "drought zone."[5][7]
Contents
Biography
Manning graduated from Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York where he was awarded a Master of Divinity.[8] Manning also holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree from his own ATLAH Theological Seminary, an unaccredited educational institution.[9]
As a younger man, Manning burgled homes, mostly on Long Island. He spent about three and a half years in prison in New York and Florida for burglary, robbery, larceny, criminal possession of a weapon, and other charges before his release in 1978. While in prison, he became a devout Christian.[2]
According to Manning, he attended the Oxford Round Table in 2004.[10]
2008 presidential election
Manning came to public attention in the 2008 presidential election after ATLAH posted several sermons of his that were harshly critical of Democratic candidate Barack Obama on the website YouTube.[11][dead link][12] Among other accusations, he called Obama's mother "white trash" for becoming pregnant by a black man out of wedlock,[13] an issue he discussed during a press conference at the National Press Club on December 8, 2008.[14] Manning revisited this latter issue during a press conference at the National Press Club on December 8, 2008:
"It is common knowledge that African men, coming from the continent of Africa—especially for the first time—do diligently seek out white women to have sexual intercourse with. Generally the most noble of white society choose not to intercourse sexually with these men. So it's usually the trashier ones who make their determinations that they're going to have sex."[14]
Manning defended his sermons in an interview on Fox News, saying that "we also have to talk about his character."[15]
The sermons drew the attention of the Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which filed a complaint with the Internal Revenue Service objecting to alleged violations of laws granting tax-free status to churches on condition that they refrain from certain forms of political activity.[8]
Views on Barack Obama as President
Manning has continued his criticisms of Obama after the election, comparing him to Hitler and frequently calling him a criminal and "long-legged mack daddy." He produced a video in summer 2009 in which he predicts that there will be a white backlash against Obama, complete with riots,[16] and attending one of the first "birther" events.[17] In an interview with Israeli radio station Arutz Sheva, Manning asserted that Obama had chosen to befriend Muslims instead of Jews; he also offered praise of Meir Kahane.[18] Manning has said that Africa is cursed and also that African-Americans should not support Kwanzaa, the NBA or any major Black-owned business.
In responding to a comment by Bill O'Reilly, a commentator on Fox News Channel, calling birther lawyer Orly Taitz a "nut", he and Taitz organized a protest outside Fox News headquarters in New York City in November 2009, which drew an estimated 15 to 20 attendees.[19]
References
- ^ Manning, James (June 2, 2010), Pastor James David Manning BIO, http://atlah.org/2010/06/02/pastor-james-david-manning-bio/
- ^ a b c Williams, Timothy (2008-03-31). "Minister Sees Salvation of Harlem in Boycott". The New York Times (New York City, USA: Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, Jr.). ISSN 0362-4331. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/31/nyregion/31pastor.html?_r=1. Retrieved 2010-05-04.
- ^ Seminary page
- ^ "Harlem development pits African drummers against new condo owners", International Herald Tribune, August 11, 2007, accessed 2008-05-23
- ^ a b Mara Altman, "Do the Dew", Village Voice, April 3, 2007, accessed 2008-05-23
- ^ "West Harlem Pastor Urges Participation in Rent Strike", Columbia Spectator, January 17, 2008, accessed 2008-05-23
- ^ "Pastor Manning says Africa is cursed and Blacks should not support Black businesses."
- ^ a b Paul Vitello, "Pastors’ Web Electioneering Attracts U.S. Reviews of Tax Exemptions", New York Times, September 2, 2008, retrieved 2008-09-20
- ^ ATLAH Worldwide Ministries: About Pastor James David Manning and personal communication from UTS, 11-11-09
- ^ About Pastor Manning: The Oxford Letter
- ^ John L. Jackson Jr., "Are we entitled to all our 'opinions'?", Chronicle Review, November 14, 2008
- ^ ATLAH Worldwide's Channel, YouTube, accessed 2008-06-04
- ^ "Manning's fierce prayer for Bristol Palin", Youtube, September 2, 2008
- ^ a b David Weigel, "Case Not Closed: After losing at the Supreme Court, Obama conspiracy theorists meet the press", Slate, December 9, 2008
- ^ "Pastor Defends Hate-Filled Obama Sermons", Fox News, March 28, 2008
- ^ "Harlem pastor to discuss video", Pensacola News-Journal, September 3, 2009
- ^ David Weigel, ‘If I’m Not Dead on Monday, I Will Be Back’, Washington Independent, December 17, 2009
- ^ "Audio: Reverend Manning Talks About American Black-Jewish Relations", Arutz Sheva
- ^ Koppelman, Alex (November 11, 2009), "Taitz's protest against Fox News falls flat", Salon, http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2009/11/11/taitz_fox, retrieved 2009-11-30
External links
Categories:- 1947 births
- Living people
- People from Red Springs, North Carolina
- Baptist ministers from the United States
- African American religious leaders
- Christianity conspiracy theorists
- American evangelists
- American Internet personalities
- Kahanists
- American burglars
- Politics and race in the United States
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