Chicago faith leaders head to DC despite warning to stay away: 'White supremacy cannot win'
CHICAGO - A group of Chicago ministers are in Washington D.C. for the inauguration with a mission.
Their focus? The soul of America.
"As Dr. King once said, we've learned to fly the skies as birds, we've learned to swim the seas as fish, but we have not learned to walk the Earth as brothers and sisters," said Reverend Ira Acree.
The group of ministers are in DC despite the warning to stay away, because they want to make a statement.
"We have to stand our ground. We saw from the Capitol chaos there are domestic terrorists that are here. We cannot give them ground because white supremacy cannot win," said Reverend Greg Livingston.
"One of the things we want to do is make sure that we salute our troops, support our troops, because despite all the threats, we feel very secure and we appreciate their service even as we pray and imagine a better future for our country," said Dr. Marshall Hatch.
They said they are willing to put themselves in harm’s way in order to help save others.
"We've been reaching out to the right wingers, Franklin Gram. Paula White. We have some African angels in New York and Chicago and DC now, as we try to save the soul of America," Rev. Acree said. "We need healing and we need it now."
The other pastor in the room was David Cherry, who is president of the Leaders Network Chicago -- a group they are all part of that works to improve the quality of the life for the West Side communities and greater Chicago area.