Faithfully Podcast 11: Lecrae Tweets Photo of Blacks Picking Cotton, White Fans Freak Out

Christian rapper Lecrae Moore sparked a discussion among Evangelicals when he tweeted a photo of blacks picking cotton in a field on July 4, 2016, to illustrate the status of blacks when the U.S. declared independence from the British Empire 240 years ago.

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The photo, tweeted by Lecrae at 1:05 p.m. EST, has since been retweeted more than 8,300 times and liked more than 10,750 times as of publication.

The viral image features a photo of several blacks (reportedly a farming family in the 1890s) standing in a cotton field and carrying bags of cotton.

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My family on July 4th 1776. pic.twitter.com/R9DzWkqDWc
— Lecrae (@lecrae) July 4, 2016

The various discussions, debates and commentary seemed most motivated by the responses of those who felt offended or confused by Lecrae’s tweet, or by those who thought the rapper’s allusion to the historical status of African Americans at the time of U.S. independence was out of place.

Here are some of the responses Lecrae’s tweeted photo and statement inspired (with original spelling intact):

“Done supporting you bro. You make everything a race issues lately instead of a gospel issue. You promote guilt instead of love.”
“There’s freedom in Christ. i guess that ain’t enough.”

“really big fan of yours, and while we shouldnt forget, your timing to remind seems wrong. It breaks my heart to see a divide widened … it would seem to encourage an us-vs-them mentality, which really is heartbreaking. Huge fan normally, but disagree with the intent.”
“Fans just realizing he is … Black & Christian???”
“With all due respect, I feel this is simply stirring the pot. …”
“TY for the reminder that July 4th meant freedom for some, but not all. We must keep fighting until all have equal rights & freedom.”
“I love how Lecrae’s ‘fans’ are willing to embrace him as long as he doesn’t assault their nationalistic/ethnocentric ideals.”
“Respect to @lecrae for posting true history. His white Christian fan base is not about it though…they’ll be ight”

Lecrae pointed later fans to a May 2016 video of his remarks at TEDxNashville, describing the 18-minute video as “How hip hop can be used to facilitate a discussion on race in America.”