A North Carolina church is facing backlash after displaying controversial political messages on its digital billboard. People’s Baptist Church in Greenville has since removed the messages, one of which stated that “free healthcare for illegals is on the ballot.”
While the church’s website boasts of a “warm, friendly atmosphere where everyone is welcome,” at least one member of the community feels otherwise. Jessi Melendez told WITN that the political messages were “disgusting.”
“You’re talking about human beings,” said Jessi Melendez. “Human beings deserve better than that. This church needs to do better.”
The messages on the digital billboard addressed issues of immigration, healthcare, and the economy.
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Melendez, a member of the Latino community, found the church’s message about immigration particularly offensive.
“You’re a church. You’re literally a church. You’re supposed to be accepting and welcoming,” said Melendez. “I’m Puerto Rican, so there’s this assumption that, ‘Oh, I’m friends with a Latina’ or, ‘This person is a part of this, so it’s okay.’ No. No, it [isn’t].”
At a recent Trump rally, comedian Tony Hinchcliffe made a number of racially charged jokes, including one in which he referred to Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean.”
The joke has resulted in considerable backlash, including from President Joe Biden, who said, “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters—his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it’s un-American.”
Biden’s remarks have resulted in another wave of backlash, as many took the president to be saying that Trump supporters, who account for roughly half the nation’s citizens, are “garbage.”
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Tim Butler, who serves as senior pastor of People’s Baptist Church, told WITN that the church posted political messages to its billboard in order to encourage voters to consider the various issues at play in the election.
