Looks like Rev. O'Neal Dozier knows what to say to keep Jeb Bush sweet: praise him to the skies and preach Republicanism from the pulpit. Here's Dozier speaking on the occasion of Martin Luther King Day a year ago:
The Rev. O'Neal Dozier, senior pastor and founder of The Worldwide Christian Center, went so far as to call [Jeb] Bush “the greatest governor ever.”
(Sun-Sentinel, January 21, 2003, Pride on Display; S. Florida Events Honor the Dream and Legacy of the Civil Rights Leader.)
Consider Black S. Florida Preachers Carry on Fight Against Injustice , a story in the Sun-Sentinal—which until now I always thought of as a decent newspaper. This news story (that's right, news, not editorial) printed a couple of days ago paints a glorious picture of Rev. O'Neal Dozier. It begins,
The Rev. O'Neal Dozier lives the message of Martin Luther King Jr. every day. As pastor of the Worldwide Christian Center in Pompano Beach, he uplifts the downtrodden by feeding them and paying their rent. In his sermons he preaches the importance of character. His leadership has transcended the pulpit to politics.
Somehow this news article never gets around to mentioning that Rev. Dozier might be controversial, or why.
Incidentally, until I read this article, I had no idea that Rev. Dozier was black. Does that mean he gets a free pass on MLK day? Somehow I doubt that King would have approved of Dozier—although that is apparently not Dozier's view, as he tries to wrap himself our secular saint's mantle:
“King didn't separate himself from the white establishment,” Dozier pointed out.
Neither does Dozier. A member of one of the state's Judicial Nominating Commissions, which screen and recommend judges, Dozier is active in the Republican Party and served as host to Gov. Bush at his church last King Day.
“We're not going to make advances for black people by slam-dunking [Republicans],” Dozier said. “We need to take a lesson from Dr. King. He had a peaceful approach.”
But even Dozier acknowledges that racism has not gone away. He thinks black people have not helped their cause much because whites perceive blacks as having lost the moral character they had during 1960s protests.
“If King were alive today, he would still be an activist,” said Dozier. “He would be an advocate for black people looking at character.”
Dozier worries that the younger generation needs to strengthen its character for the black community to achieve King's dream.
“Have you listened to the music? It's horrible. The way we dress with our pants down. The way we wear our hair makes us look like demons,” he asserted.
“How can you pierce the upper-crust establishment, where the money and political people are?” Dozier asked. “We can't unless we change our character.”
The article does, however, include a handsome photo of Rev. Dozier.
A little spell on Lexis suggests that Dozier was also active in the 'Ten Commandments' movement, speaking to support (now-former) Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore. Dozier has also been a prominent supporter of the FCAT, the standardized test relied on by the Florida school system, disagreeing with those who claim that the test is racially biased.
There are also some hair-raising interviews in which Dozier makes clear that he does not separate church and state. Rather, his vision of church — like the Mullahs in Iran — instructs the faithful as to how to vote, to support the wise and virtuous Republicans.
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