<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">With locations in every zip code, the Salvation Army helps millions of Americans escape poverty every year by providing a host of services such as financial assistance, counseling, job training, and disaster relief.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For decades, the Salvation Army has used the generous donations of Americans to better society by providing these services to people in need in the U.S. and abroad. In fact, according to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-i-took-the-salvation-armys-internal-survey-on-racism-within-the-organization-heres-what-i-discovered" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kenny Xu</a>, president of Color Us United, </span><a href="http://tennesseestar.com/2022/12/01/color-us-united-president-kenny-xu-describes-meeting-with-salvation-armys-national-commander-kenneth-hodder/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">80% of the Salvation Army&#8217;s worldwide donations</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> come from Americans. But in recent years, the Salvation Army has shifted its focus and its priorities.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Through anti-racist training programs pushed by newly hired </span><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20211230171023/https:/caringmagazine.org/new-dei-directors-aim-to-better-reflect-the-kingdom-of-god-in-the-west" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">diversity officers</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, the Salvation Army, on the national level, is prioritizing telling salvationists that they are racist. The Salvation Army’s new woke direction raises a question for the every-day Americans who have supported the charity with their dollars in the past: should you still give to the Salvation Army?</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">On the one hand, it is undeniable that the Salvation Army still does good in the U.S. and around the world. Because the Salvation Army has so many locations in so many communities, it can accomplish a lot of good on a local level by responding to the specific needs of each unique community. Just last year, the Salvation Army </span><a href="http://s3.amazonaws.com/usn-cache.salvationarmy.org/8e728e5c-52d1-4db7-a8c5-87a6257243b1_TE-Salvation-Army-Annual+-Report-2022-08-05-Single-Pages+%281%29.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">provided</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> shelter to over 7 million homeless individuals and over 171 million meals to the hungry.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When weighing whether to give to the Salvation Army, you may see the impact your local Salvation Army chapter is making and conclude that withdrawing your support would be selfish and uncalled-for. Local Salvation Army chapters rely on support from donors to keep doing their good works, after all. But that’s not the whole story.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">10% of </span><a href="http://tennesseestar.com/2022/12/01/color-us-united-president-kenny-xu-describes-meeting-with-salvation-armys-national-commander-kenneth-hodder/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">all the proceeds</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> from donations to local chapters go to the national headquarters. As Kenny </span><a href="http://tennesseestar.com/2022/12/01/color-us-united-president-kenny-xu-describes-meeting-with-salvation-armys-national-commander-kenneth-hodder/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">pointed out</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> in my interview with the </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Tennessee Star</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">, the national headquarters puts the money toward conducting large-scale fundraising and lobbying campaigns and “crafting and controlling the message.” And the national messages they put out, pushed by their influential </span><a href="http://salvationarmy.org/isjc" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">International Social Justice Commission</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, have told good-hearted Americans they are racist.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The national branch also oversees <a href="http://colorusunited.org/salvation-army-imposes-racial-wokeness-within-churchs-ranks/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the </a></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">antiracist training programs</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> that teach the principles of Critical Race Theory to Salvation Army officers. One of the new DEI directors for the Salvation Army’s western US territory </span><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20211230171023/https:/caringmagazine.org/new-dei-directors-aim-to-better-reflect-the-kingdom-of-god-in-the-west" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">bragged</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> of the College of Officer Training in California that, “Our officers will have DEI wired into their DNA as they go into the territory to serve,” because every course syllabus in the curriculum is required to have a DEI component before it gets approved.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In other words, when you donate to your local Salvation Army chapter, 10% of your money unfortunately funds the divisive ideology that is destroying our country. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When you donate to the Salvation Army, you are unwittingly contributing to the messages of division and despair that are disincentivizing Americans from giving. 10% of your dollars empower the national branch to expand its DEI reach.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">We have seen how rapidly its DEI programs, officers, and ideology have grown in power and influence. There is nothing to suggest these people will stop until they have influenced every corner of the organization. Not unless you tell them enough is enough.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As a donor, you have a right to take your money elsewhere. You are not an evil person if you weigh the facts and decide that donating to a good cause is not worth the cost of helping to fund the promotion of poisonous ideology.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">You have every right to withdraw your support from the Salvation Army and give it to another organization that better aligns your values. Moreover, with your dollars, you have the power to convince the Salvation Army that they need to change.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If enough Americans pull their support from Christian charities that are bending to wokeness and explain (to their local Salvation Army captain) </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">why</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> they have done so, this could lead to a time of healing for Christian charities.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If enough Americans make their voices heard, we very well may see the Salvation Army and other Christian charities abandon wokeness and return to their core mission of showing Christ’s love to all, regardless of race.</span></p>
<p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Emmie Lo is a Latin teacher and a writer for Color Us United, which advocates for a race-blind America.</span></em></p>
<p><em>The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.</em></p>


Holiday Season Begins Across New York City Area

Red Kettles And Racism: Where Do Your Salvation Army Donations Really Go?

Charity

Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

Readers Pass

Salvation Army

Social Issues

U.S.

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Salvation Army has recently come under significant </span><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/salvation-army-withdraws-anti-white-lets-talk-about-racism-guide-after-uproar"><span style="font-weight: 400;">fire</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> for asking white donors to “offer a sincere apology” for racism. The nearly 150-year old organization created a curriculum entitled </span><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/184xr9KICHSqsYUvLAKHqeRAcfVnnAhZK3bdmRaSpROM/edit?usp=sharing"><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Let’s Talk About Racism”</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and shared it with its members, along with associated DEI Trainings that cite and draw from Robin DiAngelo and Ibram X. Kendi’s work.  The packet argues that Christians should “stop trying to be ‘colorblind’” and that they should apologize for being “antagonistic.. to black people or the culture, values and interests of the black community.&#8221; In response, donors by the thousands </span><a href="https://www.newsweek.com/salvation-armys-donors-withdraw-support-response-racial-wokeness-initiative-1645658"><span style="font-weight: 400;">have vowed not to donate</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> until the organization reverses their stance.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Salvation Army has denied any wrongdoing, defiantly calling the allegations that they have gone woke </span><a href="https://www.salvationarmyusa.org/usn/story/the-salvation-armys-response-to-false-claims-on-the-topic-of-racism/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">“false.”</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> While they admit that the topic of race in America can be fraught with controversy, they have denied they have “gone woke.”  Much of their denial centers around their claim that use of the guide was completely voluntary, and that they are not peddling critical race narratives in their organization.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I obtained a copy of The Salvation Army’s internal survey on “racism within the Salvation Army” and tested that claim.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">One Salvation Army officer reached out on condition of anonymity to </span><a href="https://colorusunited.org/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Color Us United</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, the raceblind advocacy organization which I run, to reveal an internal survey he was asked to take. It was </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">not </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">a voluntary survey, and was sent by the Territorial Diversity and Inclusion Secretary to every Salvation Army Officer in the US Central Territory. The purpose of the survey, according to an email from the “Territorial Racial Diversity and Inclusion Secretary,” was “to better understand perception of institutional racial bias within The Salvation Army.” The accompanying email stated that there was no “preconceived idea” with regard to whether or not racism existed in The Salvation Army, and told recipients that there were no wrong answers.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I sat down and went through the questions.  </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">First, Questions #1, #2, and #3 asked me for my race, age, and gender.  I could not skip these questions.  Already, I felt uncomfortable being required to list my personal attributes.  If I was an officer, I would be wondering: how could this information be used against me in the future? (They did promise anonymity in this survey.)</span></p>
<div class="image"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-317075 size-large" src="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Screen-Shot-2021-12-13-at-3.38.41-PM-697x576.png" alt="" width="697" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2021/12/Screen-Shot-2021-12-13-at-3.38.41-PM-697x576.png 697w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2021/12/Screen-Shot-2021-12-13-at-3.38.41-PM-300x248.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2021/12/Screen-Shot-2021-12-13-at-3.38.41-PM-768x635.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2021/12/Screen-Shot-2021-12-13-at-3.38.41-PM.png 936w" sizes="(max-width: 697px) 100vw, 697px" /></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The survey then asks Salvationists if they agree with the following definition of racism: “Institutional racism refers to organizational or system processes, behaviors, policies, or procedures, which produce negative outcomes for nonwhites relative to those for whites.” The remaining questions in the survey are dependent upon agreeing to this definition of racism. For any Officer or Soldier who disagrees with this framing, there is no way to express any disagreement or nuance apart from plainly saying that racism does not exist.</span></p>
<div class="image"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-317076 size-large" src="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Screen-Shot-2021-12-13-at-3.38.50-PM-583x576.png" alt="" width="583" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2021/12/Screen-Shot-2021-12-13-at-3.38.50-PM-583x576.png 583w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2021/12/Screen-Shot-2021-12-13-at-3.38.50-PM-300x296.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2021/12/Screen-Shot-2021-12-13-at-3.38.50-PM-768x758.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2021/12/Screen-Shot-2021-12-13-at-3.38.50-PM.png 802w" sizes="(max-width: 583px) 100vw, 583px" /></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Question #6 goes on to ask the survey taker whether they believe there is any institutional bias or racism in The Salvation Army. Question #7 says: “If you answered no to question #6, do you think others in The Salvation Army think there are racial tensions or institutional racism?” The purpose of these questions, I started to feel, was to force the survey taker to admit that The Salvation Army is institutionally racist according to their definition of racism. There is no room for any Officer to elaborate on how they disagree with the definitions, framing, or worldview informing the questions.</span></p>
<div class="image"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-317079 size-large" src="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Screen-Shot-2021-12-13-at-3.38.59-PM-747x576.png" alt="" width="747" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2021/12/Screen-Shot-2021-12-13-at-3.38.59-PM-747x576.png 747w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2021/12/Screen-Shot-2021-12-13-at-3.38.59-PM-300x231.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2021/12/Screen-Shot-2021-12-13-at-3.38.59-PM-768x592.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2021/12/Screen-Shot-2021-12-13-at-3.38.59-PM.png 838w" sizes="(max-width: 747px) 100vw, 747px" /></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The final question asks: “What is the best way to address Racism in The Salvation Army?” The answer options are: “individual reconciliation,” “group reconciliation,” “addressing structures and practices that cause racism,” “all of the above,” or “other.” Note that there is no option for the survey taker to simply say that racism </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">is not a problem</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> in The Salvation Army. The survey (which according to the email, was &#8220;</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">intended to go to all the officers within your division, employees, and soldiers</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">” for the Central Territory) simply assumes that racism is present in the organization.</span></p>
<div class="image"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-317080 size-full" src="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Screen-Shot-2021-12-13-at-3.39.06-PM.png" alt="" width="852" height="476" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2021/12/Screen-Shot-2021-12-13-at-3.39.06-PM.png 852w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2021/12/Screen-Shot-2021-12-13-at-3.39.06-PM-300x168.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2021/12/Screen-Shot-2021-12-13-at-3.39.06-PM-768x429.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 852px) 100vw, 852px" /></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Going through the survey, it became apparent that the survey was attempting to lead me to making only one conclusion about The Salvation Army &#8211; that it harbored problematic racism.  </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This belief is one of the core tenets of critical race theory. Critical race theorists teach that racism is ubiquitous in all aspects of American life. They also teach that it works systemically; that is, by being ingrained in the systems and institutions that operate in society. Their primary evidence of the system being racist is the reality that individuals from different demographics have different life outcomes on average, without taking into account any variables that might impact said life outcomes apart from the color of their skin. </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">All </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">of these concepts are reflected in The Salvation Army’s survey.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Any officer who believes in individualism, colorblindness, and meritocracy will be unable to answer any of the survey questions in good faith. Any officer who believes that The Salvation Army is not a racist organization would not be able to answer these questions in good faith either.  Many (if not most) Americans believe that racism is primarily an issue of individuals who harbor feelings of hate against those of other races, not a society-wide conspiracy as alleged by antiracist activists. This survey totally excludes the colorblind perspective from the conversation and forces Officers and other Salvationists into a critical race theory-informed box.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">And yet the organization remains steadfast in their denial that their actions are indicative of a commitment to wokeness or critical race theory. They explicitly </span><a href="https://www.salvationarmyusa.org/usn/story/the-salvation-armys-response-to-false-claims-on-the-topic-of-racism/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">deny</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> claiming that “America is an inherently racist society” and say that “no one is being told how to think.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But their actions speak louder than their words. Asking Salvationsists to take a survey that implies only nonwhite people can be the victims of racism </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">is </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">an implicit condemnation of America as a racist society. Framing all the questions within a critical race theory-based lens </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">is</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> telling them how to think.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There can be no true dialogue so long as “antiracism” is still the foundation of The Salvation Army’s race discourse. It is divisive, opposed to the fundamental principles of Christian colorblindness, and serves only to insult and marginalize the good people who run and operate The Salvation Army on the ground.</span></p>
<p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Kenny Xu is the President of Color Us United and the author of the book “An Inconvenient Minority.”</span></i></p>
<p><em>The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire</em>.</p>


Salvation Army Kicks-Off Holiday Bell Ringing Season

EXCLUSIVE: I Took The Salvation Army’s Internal Survey On ‘Racism’ Within The Organization. Here’s What I Discovered.

Woke Culture

<p>The Salvation Army has pulled its &#8220;Let&#8217;s Talk About &#8230; Racism&#8221; guide after an uproar and donor backlash over the guide asking white supporters of the charity to deliver &#8220;sincere&#8221; apologies to black people for racism.</p>
<p>“The desire is that Salvationists achieve the following,&#8221; the Army says in an online &#8220;<a href="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cache.salvationarmy.org/e0c074e3-39db-4b09-a6ea-aa5bdb6ecaa6_Let%2527s%2520Talk%2520About...%2520Racism%2520COMPLETE%2520SET.pdf">resource</a>” titled &#8220;Let&#8217;s Talk About Racism,&#8221; listing several goals including to &#8220;lament, repent and apologize for biases or racist ideologies held and actions committed.&#8221;</p>
<p>The resource claims Christianity is inherently racist and calls for white Christians to repent and offer &#8220;a sincere apology&#8221; to blacks for being &#8220;antagonistic&#8230; to black people or the culture, values and interests of the black community.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;Many have come to believe that we live in a post-racial society, but racism is very real for our brothers and sisters who are refused jobs and housing, denied basic rights and brutalized and oppressed simply because of the color of their skin,&#8221; one lesson in the resource says. &#8220;There is an urgent need for Christians to evaluate racist attitudes and practices in light of our faith, and to live faithfully in today’s world.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;And as we engage in conversations about race and racism, we must keep in mind that sincere repentance and apologies are necessary if we want to move towards racial reconciliation. We recognize that it is a profound challenge to sit on the hot seat and listen with an open heart to the hurt and anger of the wounded. Yet, we are all hardwired to desire justice and fairness, so the need to receive a sincere apology is necessary,&#8221; the resource added.</p>
<p>In an accompanying <a class="external" href="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cache.salvationarmy.org/456ab604-ccb8-430e-af65-f75e04f223f5_Racism+Study+Guide.pdf"><em>Study Guide on Racism</em></a>, the Salvation Army says whites are racist. “The subtle nature of racism is such that people who are not consciously racist easily function with the privileges, empowerment and benefits of the dominant ethnicity, thus unintentionally perpetuating injustice,&#8221; it says.</p>
<div class="georgia fz-18 my-2">
<p>&#8220;We must stop denying the existence of individual and systemic/institutional racism. They exist, and are still at work to keep White Americans in power,&#8221; the lesson says.</p>
<p>In a lengthy <a href="https://www.salvationarmyusa.org/usn/story/the-salvation-armys-response-to-false-claims-on-the-topic-of-racism/">statement</a> after the uproar, the Army said &#8220;although we remain committed to serving everyone in need—regardless of their beliefs, backgrounds, or lifestyle—some individuals and groups have recently attempted to mislabel our organization to serve their own agendas. They have claimed that we believe our donors should apologize for their skin color, that The Salvation Army believes America is an inherently racist society, and that we have abandoned our Christian faith for one ideology or another. Those claims are simply false, and they distort the very goal of our work.&#8221;</p>
<blockquote><p><em>The truth is that The Salvation Army believes that racism is fundamentally incompatible with Christianity, and that we are called by God to work toward a world where all people are loved, accepted, and valued. Our <a href="https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fs3.amazonaws.com%2Fcache.salvationarmy.org%2F7d3c015c-1af5-4211-830f-b7b0c6a65898_English%2BRacism%2BIPS.pdf&amp;data=04%7C01%7Cnick.wheeler%40use.salvationarmy.org%7Cb27a1a4908fd42218cd808d9b1d58f87%7C7f723060ac5c4464a3895f2bed4b4773%7C0%7C0%7C637736353092143659%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&amp;sdata=FWtlyNYpVMAHez%2B%2BKv%2BqNHz6%2BdDqHT2nvZ3GW6Xd6Ag%3D&amp;reserved=0">positional statement on racism</a> makes this clear. These beliefs and goals are critically important because we know that racism exists, and we are determined to do everything the Bible asks of us to overcome it.</em></p>
<p><em>The Salvation Army occasionally publishes internal study guides on various complex topics to help foster positive conversations and grace-filled reflection among Salvationists. By openly discussing these issues, we always hope to encourage the development of a more thoughtful organization that is better positioned to support those in need. But no one is being told how to think. Period.</em></p>
<p><em>In this case, the guide “Let’s Talk About Racism,” was issued as a voluntary resource, but it has since become a focus of controversy. We have done our best to provide accurate information, but unfortunately, some have chosen to ignore those efforts. At the same time, International Headquarters realized that certain aspects of the guide may need to be clarified.</em></p>
<p><em>Consequently, for both reasons, the International Social Justice Commission has now withdrawn the guide for appropriate review.</em></p></blockquote>
</div>


Boy Donating

Salvation Army Withdraws Anti-White ‘Let’s Talk About Racism’ Guide After Uproar

Racism

<p>The Salvation Army has gone woke.</p>
<p>The charity is asking its white donors to do more than just drop some coins into the kettle when they go shopping this holiday season. Leaders of the Army want whites to apologize for being racist.</p>
<p>&#8220;The desire is that Salvationists achieve the following,&#8221; the Army says in an online &#8220;r<a href="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cache.salvationarmy.org/e0c074e3-39db-4b09-a6ea-aa5bdb6ecaa6_Let%2527s%2520Talk%2520About...%2520Racism%2520COMPLETE%2520SET.pdf">esource</a>&#8221; titled &#8220;Let&#8217;s Talk About Racism,&#8221; listing several goals including  to &#8220;lament, repent and apologize for biases or racist ideologies held and actions committed.&#8221;</p>
<p>The resource claims Christianity is inherently racist and calls for white Christians to repent and offer &#8220;a sincere apology&#8221; to blacks for being &#8220;antagonistic&#8230; to black people or the culture, values and interests of the black community.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;Many have come to believe that we live in a post-racial society, but racism is very real for our brothers and sisters who are refused jobs and housing, denied basic rights and brutalized and oppressed simply because of the color of their skin,&#8221; one lesson in the resource says. &#8220;There is an urgent need for Christians to evaluate racist attitudes and practices in light of our faith, and to live faithfully in today’s world.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;And as we engage in conversations about race and racism, we must keep in mind that sincere repentance and apologies are necessary if we want to move towards racial reconciliation. We recognize that it is a profound challenge to sit on the hot seat and listen with an open heart to the hurt and anger of the wounded. Yet, we are all hardwired to desire justice and fairness, so the need to receive a sincere apology is necessary,&#8221; said the resource.</p>
<p>In an accompanying <a class="external" href="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cache.salvationarmy.org/456ab604-ccb8-430e-af65-f75e04f223f5_Racism+Study+Guide.pdf"><em>Study Guide on Racism</em></a>, the Salvation Army says whites are racist. “The subtle nature of racism is such that people who are not consciously racist easily function with the privileges, empowerment and benefits of the dominant ethnicity, thus unintentionally perpetuating injustice,&#8221; it says.</p>
<div class="georgia fz-18 my-2">
<p>&#8220;We must stop denying the existence of individual and systemic/institutional racism. They exist, and are still at work to keep White Americans in power,&#8221; the lesson says.</p>
<p>The Army&#8217;s declaration comes as liberal media are blasting Thanksgiving as a holiday that promotes genocide and white supremacy.</p>
<p>&#8220;What is Thanksgiving to Indigenous people? &#8216;A day of mourning,'&#8221; a USA Today <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/11/23/how-native-americans-spend-thanksgiving/8628270002/"><u>headline</u></a> on Tuesday said.</p>
<p>&#8220;For many, rather than a celebration of peace and shared prosperity between Native Americans and Pilgrims, Thanksgiving represents the dark shadow of genocide and the resilience of Native people,&#8221; said the piece. &#8220;Every tribe and every individual may have a different way of spending Thanksgiving. Some will gather with their families and share a meal, exchanging prayers and stories from the rich oral history of Native Americans. Others will fast for the entire day.&#8221;</p>
<p>The paper quoted American Indian Dennis W. Zotigh saying that Thanksgiving is &#8220;a day of mourning.&#8221; &#8220;To most natives, Thanksgiving is not a celebration,&#8221; Zotigh said. &#8220;Natives, particularly in the New England area, remember this attempted genocide as a factual part of their history and are reminded each year during the modern Thanksgiving.&#8221;</p>
<p>A weather service called Currently also posted an article Tuesday suggesting that Americans who celebrate the holiday are &#8220;hurting&#8221; the Native American community.</p>
<p>&#8220;Thanksgiving will be celebrated by many people across the country,&#8221; the service said on Twitter. &#8220;The holiday perpetuates in a false narrative, that spins the true history of genocide and colonization into a light and largely false story.&#8221;</p>
</div>


Charities Hope For Extra Donations On “Giving Tuesday”

Salvation Army Wants White Donors To Offer ‘Sincere Apology’ For Their Racism

Wokeness

<p>Chick-fil-A may now be having second thoughts after departing from Christian organizations like The Salvation Army and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes after LGBTQ activists branded them as homophobic.</p>
<p>In a December fifth <a href="https://www.afa.net/media/449831/letter-from-chick-fil-a.pdf">letter </a>to Tim Wildmon, president of the American Family Association, Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy expressed some regret after the business “inadvertently discredited several outstanding organizations” after shifting gears on its corporate giving strategy this past November.</p>
<p>&#8220;As you have seen, recently we announced changes to our giving strategy at the Chick-fil-A Foundation. These changes were made to better focus on hunger, homelessness and education,&#8221; wrote Cathy. “We understand how some thought we were abandoning our longstanding support of faith-based organizations. We inadvertently discredited several outstanding organizations that have effectively served communities for years.&#8221;</p>
<p>“Some also questioned if our commitment to our Corporate Purpose was waning. Let me state unequivocally: It is not,” he added.</p>
<p>Cathy went on to say that Chick-fil-A never had any intention of weighing into political or social movements, asserting that it will simply be focusing on ways to fix hunger, homelessness, and education.</p>
<p>&#8220;The intent of our corporate giving has always been to have impact &#8212; not to make a statement or support a political or social agenda,&#8221; wrote Cathy. &#8220;In the future, our company will seek to make a greater impact by addressing the challenges of hunger, homelessness and education. Chick-fil-A will give to faith based and other organizations that we believe to be highly effective in a particular area.</p>
<p>&#8220;Grant recipients will likely rotate, as we assess from year to year partners who help us meet our stated goals,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;Also, our operators in your community will continue to invest in local causes that are meaningful at their discretion. Additionally, our family will continue to fund and operate our family foundations and give to other charities of our choice.&#8221;</p>
<p>Though Wildmon <a href="https://www.afa.net/activism/action-alerts/2020/chick-fil-a-responds-to-afa-letter/">said</a> that Cathy&#8217;s letter was a &#8220;welcomed clarification,&#8221; he still expressed caution for people reading deeper. He cited the fact that Chick-fil-A donated to organizations like the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Covenant House, which has <a href="https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/new-chick-fil-a-donation-recipient-hosts-drag-queen-story-hour-events">supported</a> &#8220;drag queen story hour&#8221; in public libraries.</p>
<p>“It appears that Mr. Cathy understands how many evangelicals perceived the company&#8217;s decision, as he stated that these Christian groups were ‘inadvertently discredited,’” <a href="https://www.afa.net/activism/action-alerts/2020/chick-fil-a-responds-to-afa-letter/">said</a> Wildmon. “The fact that Dan Cathy called these two Christian groups ‘outstanding organizations’ will mean a lot to evangelicals.”</p>
<p>&#8220;However, I also mentioned in my initial letter that Chick-fil-A stated that the company would support Covenant House, a ministry to homeless youth, including homosexual young people. While it is admirable to help hurting youth in desperate circumstances — including those who are LGBTQ — Covenant House also openly promotes homosexuality as normal, natural, and healthy,&#8221; continued Wildmon. &#8220;This was evident in Covenant House&#8217;s participation in the NYC gay pride parade and a number of other efforts that make it clear the ministry does not hold to a biblical view of human sexuality.&#8221;</p>
<p>“As a result, AFA will continue to monitor Chick-fil-A&#8217;s corporate giving, at least for the foreseeable future,” concluded Wildmon. “We believe our supporters rely on us to do so.”</p>


US-ECONOMY-RETAIL-FOOD

Chick-Fil-A CEO Says Company Will Still ‘Glorify God’ After Throwing Salvation Army Under The Bus

Chick-fil-A

Christianity

LGBTQ

Same-Sex Marriage

<p>We all know some individuals who are so obviously good and kind that we are certain if anyone were to dislike them, that&#8217;s all we would need to know about the person. We would immediately assume he or she is a bad person. To hate the manifestly good is a sure sign of being bad.</p>
<p>Such is the case regarding the left&#8217;s hatred of The Salvation Army. You don&#8217;t have to be a Christian — I am not — to appreciate the goodness of the people who run and work for The Salvation Army. They devote their lives to helping the poorest, the saddest, the loneliest and the most troubled among us — completely irrespective of race, gender, transgender identity, faith or no faith. And they do it for almost no money. They do it because of their Christian faith.</p>
<p>They provide these downtrodden people with not only food and shelter but also human warmth and love. And they offer the people they care for the one thing most likely to get them out of their predicament: meaning. They offer it; they do not coerce it. And while the vehicle for this meaning — Christian faith — may not be your faith or mine, so what? It takes a truly narrow-minded bigot to want to deprive people of meaning just because that meaning is rooted in faith or in a faith other than their own.</p>
<p>Yet, leftists — most especially LGBTQ groups, which spread a remarkable amount of hate in the name of &#8220;love&#8221; — seek to crush The Salvation Army. They threaten and pressure whoever supports The Salvation Army. &#8220;British pop singer Ellie Goulding,&#8221; the Wall Street Journal recently reported, &#8220;threatened to cancel an appearance at the Dallas Cowboys&#8217; Thanksgiving halftime show, which will celebrate the army&#8217;s red-kettle campaign, unless it made a &#8216;pledge or donation to the LGBTQ community.&#8217; She backed down after the Salvation Army assured her it serves needy members of that community.&#8221;</p>
<p>Most depressing of all, Chick-fil-A, a business owned by a Christian and heretofore run according to Christian principles, caved in to LGBTQ organizations&#8217; pressure and stopped funding The Salvation Army, while it has also donated to a left-wing group that hates the good, the Southern Poverty Law Center.</p>
<p>I never thought I&#8217;d see the day when The Salvation Army would be hated by a substantial number of Americans or lose the support of a Christian-run business.</p>
<p>But given the left&#8217;s loathing of virtually all things good — such as America, Israel, traditional Christianity and Judaism, the Boy Scouts, the nuclear family ideal, Thanksgiving and America&#8217;s founders — it is not surprising.</p>
<p>As I have said for years, the left destroys everything it touches: music, art, Christianity, Judaism, economies, universities, high schools, late-night comedy, pro football, women&#8217;s likelihood of finding happiness, men&#8217;s likelihood of maturing, the Boy Scouts and the innocence of children (think &#8220;Drag Queen Story Hour&#8221; for 5-year-olds at libraries), to cite some of the more obvious examples.</p>
<p>And while it destroys good institutions, the left never builds a viable replacement. Is there a left-wing equivalent to the Boy Scouts, a left-wing institution that helps mold boys into responsible men? Of course not. The left destroys, but it builds nothing — except state power. Or, to take the present example, is there a left-wing equivalent to The Salvation Army? No, there isn&#8217;t.</p>
<p>&#8220;We believe we are the largest provider of poverty relief to the LGBTQ+ population,&#8221; The Salvation Army said in a statement after Chick-fil-A announced its decision. As the Wall Street Journal concluded, &#8220;Considering it serves nearly 25 million people every year, that&#8217;s likely true.&#8221;</p>
<p>But all the good The Salvation Army does means nothing to the left. The left judges people or institutions not by their behavior but by their beliefs. And The Salvation Army believes — as has every civilization in recorded history, and as former President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton did until a few years ago — that marriage should be defined as the union of a man and a woman. To the left, that belief outweighs helping 25 million people including married gays.</p>
<p>One of the great puzzles in contemporary American life is whether there is anything the left could do to make Americans understand how destructive it is. If suppressing free speech at colleges and on the internet, fomenting interracial anger, supporting those who wish to annihilate Israel, allowing (and even encouraging) teenage girls to have their healthy breasts surgically removed if they think they are a boy and trying to crush The Salvation Army don&#8217;t do it, probably nothing will.</p>
<p><i>Dennis Prager is a nationally syndicated radio talk-show host and columnist. His latest book, published by Regnery in May 2019, is &#8220;The Rational Bible,&#8221; a commentary on the book of Genesis. His film, &#8220;No Safe Spaces,&#8221; comes to theaters fall 2019. He is the founder of Prager University and may be contacted at dennisprager.com.</i></p>


Salvation Army.

PRAGER: The Left Hates The Salvation Army. That’s All You Need To Know About The Left

Leftism

<p>Continuing his quest to Make America Merry Again, President Trump delivered a powerful message about the birth of Jesus Christ as he addressed the crowd during the lighting of the National Christmas Tree.</p>
<p>“In 1923, President Calvin Coolidge lit the first National Christmas tree,” President Trump began, as reported by <a href="https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/trump-the-cross-is-a-powerful-reminder-of-the-meaning-of-christmas">LifeSiteNews</a>. “Later that night, African-American community centers held an outdoor worship service on these grounds, and during that service, the Washington Monument was illuminated with a beautiful cross, a powerful reminder of the meaning of Christmas.”</p>
<p>The president then spoke of the three wise men and how the birth of Christ inspires us all to love one another with open hearts.</p>
<p>“More than two thousand years ago, a brilliant star shown in the east. Wise men traveled far and they came and they stood under the star where they found the Holy Family, in Bethlehem,” the president said. “As the Bible tells us, when the wise men had come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshipped Him. Christians give thanks that the Son of God came into the world to save humanity. Jesus Christ inspires us to love one another with hearts full of generosity and grace.”</p>
<p>President Trump then tipped his hat to David and Sharron Hudson of the Salvation Army, an organization that has increasingly been inundated with false accusations of homophobia from the radical Left in recent days. Those accusations boiled over into absurdity when <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/pete-buttigieg-criticized-volunteering-salvation-army-n1096111">LGBT activists began criticizing South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg</a> for once having volunteered for the organization.</p>
<p>&#8220;Joining us today are David and Sharron Hudson of the Salvation Army,&#8221; the president said. &#8220;Each year, through their Angel Tree program, the Salvation Army brings new gifts to more than 600,000 children. David and Sharron are an inspiration to us all. And, David and Sharron, thank you very much for being with us. Thank you.&#8221;</p>
<p>As the president concluded, he reminded the audience that every human being is a child of God and wished the whole country a Merry Christmas.</p>
<p>&#8220;At Christmas we remember this eternal truth: Every person is a beloved child of God,&#8221; he concluded. &#8220;As one grateful nation we praise the joy of family, the blessings of freedom, and the miracle of Christmas. On behalf of Melania and our entire family, Merry Christmas, and God bless you all.&#8221;</p>
<p>During the campaign of 2016 and following his election, President Trump promised to buck the culture of political correctness he saw during the Christmas season. Accordingly, Trump denounced the phrase, &#8220;Happy Holidays.&#8221;</p>
<p>“We’re getting near that beautiful Christmas season that people don’t talk about anymore. They don’t use the word Christmas because it’s not politically correct,&#8221; he said to a crowd in 2017. &#8220;You go to department stores and they’ll say &#8216;Happy New Year,&#8217; or they’ll say other things and it’ll be red, they’ll have it painted. But they don’t say — well guess what? We’re saying Merry Christmas again.&#8221;</p>
<p>Though President Obama did say &#8220;Happy Holidays&#8221; for the White House Christmas card, <a href="https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/12/03/remarks-president-lighting-national-christmas-tree">he did use the phrase</a> &#8220;Merry Christmas&#8221; during the National Tree lighting.</p>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" title="President Trump Delivers Remarks at the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Hiza2vrGA6o?start=3&#038;feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>


President Trump Participates In 97th Annual National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony

WATCH: Trump Says The Cross Is ‘A Powerful Reminder Of The Meaning Of Christmas’

Christmas

Donald Trump

Pete Buttigieg

Political Correctness

<p>Earlier this week, erstwhile culinary icon of Southern-inspired cultural conservatism Chick-fil-A <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/walsh-chick-fil-a-just-caved-to-the-rage-mob-theyre-about-to-learn-the-hard-way-that-surrendering-never-pays-off">kowtowed</a> to the <a href="https://americanmind.org/post/brand-warfare-is-a-fight-to-the-death/">hectoring bullies</a> of radical LGBT activism and announced that it would henceforth refrain from donating to such deeply polarizing and horrifyingly conservative Christian organizations as &#8230; the <a href="https://theresurgent.com/2019/11/19/chick-fil-a-is-made-to-care-caves-to-progressives-abandons-salvation-army/">Salvation Army and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes</a>. Apparently, a mere organizational affiliation with Christianity in the year 2019 suffices to incite &#8220;homophobic&#8221; or &#8220;transphobic&#8221; smears from the secularist outrage mob.</p>
<p>Far be it from me to tell a private company that it has made a poor business decision, but the reality is that Chick-fil-A has all but assuredly made a poor business decision. As many in the commentariat class have pointed out, Chick-fil-A&#8217;s business model has only increasingly <em>flourished</em> as the Left&#8217;s attacks against it have contemporaneously amplified. The predictable result of Chick-fil-A&#8217;s corporate cowardice will only be the alienation of the company&#8217;s core supporters and the failure to appease its <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/backlash-chick-fil-a-faces-heat-for-caving-to-leftists-cutting-ties-with-christian-orgs">insatiable foes</a> on the Left.</p>
<p>As Spencer Klavan aptly put it at <a href="https://americanmind.org/post/brand-warfare-is-a-fight-to-the-death/">The American Mind</a>, &#8220;The attack on Chick-fil-A makes plain that radical leftists are not in this for a compromise, or an equitable live-and-let-live solution. &#8230; Destruction, not détente, is the goal.&#8221; Indeed. And against this backdrop of leftist/secularist cultural hegemony, overly defensive calls for pluralism and procedural &#8220;tolerance&#8221; are woefully <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-social-conservatives-must-defend-the-intrinsic-good-of-religion">inadequate</a> <a href="https://americanmind.org/discourse/our-constitutional-order-prioritizes-justice-not-procedure/">responses</a> for those of us on the political Right.</p>
<p>The latest Chick-fil-A imbroglio is, of course, a downstream symptom of an upstream cause: The utterly toxic <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-stop-politicization-what-should-not-be-josh-hammer">politicization of all facets</a> of our day-to-day lives. As Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief Ben Shapiro <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/shapiro-how-to-disunite-america">argued</a> in his syndicated column this week, this is a deeply pernicious trend. The fraying of the American social fabric, already a years- or decades-long phenomenon, continues to worsen unabated. A nation where warring political tribes not only consume different media, but eat different chicken sandwiches and wear differing clothing lines, is a country destined for bitter strife, at best — or internecine violence, at worst.</p>
<p>Americans of good faith all ought to agree that we should not <em>want</em> to live in a country where such an anodyne institution as a chicken sandwich chain elicits this level of hostility, and engenders this level of politicized passion, due to its Christian-inspired donative proclivities.</p>
<p>The question for conservatives, amidst this debilitating backdrop of politicized bifurcation, a widening economic and cultural chasm <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/11/josh-hawleys-striking-critique-of-american-life/">between the classes</a>, and metastasizing crises of hyper-individualistic atomism and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/23/opinion/loneliness-political-polarization.html">despondency</a>, is <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-path-forward-conservative-movement-josh-hammer">how best to proceed</a> as a political movement. The republic often seems to be falling apart at the seams, and it is incumbent upon all of us in the political and commentariat classes to think very hard about what it is we can do to plot a salutary path forward. Above all else, that <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-path-forward-conservative-movement-josh-hammer">path forward</a> must focus on how best to heal our polity&#8217;s fractious wounds and concomitantly re-inculcate a sense of proud Americanism.</p>
<p>It ought to be obvious that &#8220;live-and-let-live&#8221;-style classical liberalism — a political movement centered around the conservation of certain Enlightenment-era procedural norms, and not around the conservation of substantive moral or cultural norms — is both <a href="https://www.voterstudygroup.org/assets/i/uploads/reports/Graphs-Charts/1101/figure2_drutman_e4aabc39aab12644609701bbacdff252.png">politically wanting</a> and woefully inadequate to confront the crises of our times. Rather, a resurgent, forward-looking conservatism simply must better account for a human nature that, contra Ayn Rand, is inherently inimical to radical individualism. Human nature yearns for communitarianism — for inclusion in what Edmund Burke famously called the &#8220;<a href="https://www.bartleby.com/24/3/4.html">little platoon[s]</a>&#8221; of society. Yet the sclerotic and morally bankrupt reality of contemporary American political life presents us, as New York Post Op-Ed Editor Sohrab Ahmari <a href="https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2019/11/joker-and-our-crisis-of-solidarity">put it this week</a> at First Things, with a &#8220;bipartisan abolition of solidarity.&#8221;</p>
<p>Conservatives simply must become more willing to rethink outmoded Reagan-era orthodoxies and to discard the anachronistic bromides of what some now dub &#8220;<a href="https://www.theamericanconservative.com/2009/07/23/conservative-inc/">Conservatism, Inc.</a>&#8221; As Ahmari framed it, the human nature reality for both leftists and libertarians/procedure-centric classical liberals is that &#8220;the longing for solidarity can never be permanently repressed.&#8221;</p>
<p>It is past time to make this pursuit of solidarity a core underlying basis of our conservative political agenda. To be sure, filling out the substantive details of this solidaristic, assimilationist, nationally cohesive conservative agenda — what many of us might call <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-national-conservatism-conference-josh-hammer">&#8220;national conservatism&#8221;</a> — remains a work in progress. Here is how I <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-national-conservatism-conference-josh-hammer">briefly outlined</a> parts of the agenda, back in July:</p>
<blockquote>
<p data-reader-unique-id="184">National conservatism means a politics concretely focused on the mutually interdependent bonds of human loyalty upon which a society ultimately depends — as opposed to the atomization espoused by hyper-individualistic doctrinaire libertarianism. National conservatism means a politics focused on national solidarity and reinforcing the shared customs, traits, norms, and mores that establish America not merely as an idea but also as a tangible people — as opposed to the <a href="https://americanmind.org/essays/defend-america-defeat-multiculturalism/" data-reader-unique-id="185">existential scourge of divisive multiculturalism</a>. National conservatism means viewing America as a nation-state with an economy — as opposed to viewing America as but one border-less abstraction within a globalized economy. National conservatism means the articulation and advancement of all domestic and foreign policy alike through the lens of national self-interest — as opposed to policy advancement based on transnational considerations or the needs of foreigners. National conservatism means a hardened immigration system that <a href="https://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/was-amy-wax-speech-racist-immigration/" data-reader-unique-id="186">prioritizes cultural assimilation above all else</a> — as opposed to a laxer immigration system that prioritizes the cheap labor needs of the Fortune 500. National conservatism means a foreign affairs approach premised on <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/45699/hammer-america-needs-re-think-its-global-alliances-josh-hammer" data-reader-unique-id="187">narrow alliances with like-minded, self-sufficient nations</a> who share America’s core national security concerns — as opposed to a foreign affairs approach premised on a tendentiously moralistic, sovereignty-undermining transnational agenda. National conservatism means a world order of sovereign nation-states — as opposed to the soft tyranny of the unelectable transnational bureaucrats in Turtle Bay and Brussels. National conservatism means a domestic affairs approach that, while undoubtedly market-oriented, resists the vestigial temptation to shirk the levers of political power as a means to advance the conservative cause in the realms of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/49361/hammer-josh-hawleys-bill-taking-big-tech-josh-hammer" data-reader-unique-id="188">Big Tech</a>, higher education, and other private spheres that increasingly pose just as dire a threat to our way of life as does over-zealous Big Government itself. National conservatism means a conservatism that works for the American heartland and for <em data-reader-unique-id="189">all</em> rungs of the economic ladder — as opposed to a purist anti-regulation agenda that merely speaks for the economic interests of the bi-coastal elite.</p>
</blockquote>
<p data-reader-unique-id="184">There are many <a href="https://twitter.com/DavidAFrench/status/1197611846217416710">erudite conservative critics</a> of this prospective political model. I share some of their concerns. And it is true that policy wonks must dedicate substantial time to fleshing out more of the intricate details. But I also do not see a viable alternative path forward. America will regain its sense of national solidarity — its sense of patriotism and of communitarian belongingness in the greatest nation-state in the history of the world — or it will eventually wither and die. I, for one, am hoping for the former.</p>


HAMMER: On Chick-Fil-A, Political Tribalism, And The Need For National Solidarity

Homosexuality

Nationalism

Religion

<p>The Salvation Army responded on Monday to reports that Chick-fil-A was cutting ties with the Christian organization over its support for traditional marriage by noting that it is the largest social services provider in the world and that it serves millions of members of the LGBT community.</p>
<p>&#8220;We’re saddened to learn that a corporate partner has felt it necessary to divert funding to other hunger, education and homelessness organizations — areas in which The Salvation Army, as the largest social services provider in the world, is already fully committed,&#8221; The Salvation Army said in a statement. &#8220;We serve more than 23 million individuals a year, including those in the LGBTQ+ community. In fact, we believe we are the largest provider of poverty relief to the LGBTQ+ population.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;When misinformation is perpetuated without fact, our ability to serve those in need, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, religion or any other factor, is at risk,&#8221; The Salvation Army continued. &#8220;We urge the public to seek the truth before rushing to ill-informed judgment and greatly appreciate those partners and donors who ensure that anyone who needs our help feels safe and comfortable to come through our doors.&#8221;</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">We love all. We serve all.<br />
Read The <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SalvationArmy?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SalvationArmy</a>&#8216;s full statement in the image and here: <a href="https://t.co/F079r7lbMX">https://t.co/F079r7lbMX</a> <a href="https://t.co/0jJv0Ed2zP">pic.twitter.com/0jJv0Ed2zP</a></p>
<p>— Salvation Army USA (@SalvationArmyUS) <a href="https://twitter.com/SalvationArmyUS/status/1196543204721602561?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 18, 2019</a></p></blockquote>
<p>The Salvation Army&#8217;s statement came in response to an interview that Chick-fil-A President and Chief Operating Officer Tim Tassopoulos gave to Bisnow.</p>
<p>“As Chick-fil-A expands globally and into more liberal parts of the U.S., the chicken chain plans to change which charities it donates to after years of bad press and protests from the LGBT community,” Bisnow reported. “Beginning next year, Chick-fil-A will move away from its current philanthropic structure, Bisnow has learned. After donating to more than 300 charitable organizations this year, the Atlanta-based fast-food chain will instead focus on three initiatives with one accompanying charity each: education, homelessness and hunger. ”</p>
<p>“There’s no question we know that, as we go into new markets, we need to be clear about who we are,” Tassopoulos told Bisnow. “There are lots of articles and newscasts about Chick-fil-A, and we thought we needed to be clear about our message.”</p>
<p>Bisnow noted that Chick-fil-A would &#8220;no longer include donating to organizations like the Salvation Army, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Paul Anderson Youth Home.”</p>
<p>After facing intense backlash online ever since announcing its decision, Chick-fil-A gave a new statement to The Christian Post:</p>
<blockquote><p>Beginning in 2020 the Chick-fil-A Foundation will introduce a more focused giving approach, donating to a smaller number of organizations working exclusively in the areas of hunger, homelessness and education. We have also proactively disclosed our 2018 tax filing and a preview of 2019 gifts to date on chick-fil-afoundation.org. The intent of charitable giving from the Chick-fil-A Foundation is to nourish the potential in every child.</p>
<p>Our goal is to donate to the most effective organizations in the areas of education, homelessness and hunger. No organization will be excluded from future consideration – faith-based or non-faith based. I also wanted to add that Chick-fil-A will not be opening on Sundays.</p></blockquote>
<p><strong><em><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/backlash-chick-fil-a-faces-heat-for-caving-to-leftists-cutting-ties-with-christian-orgs">READ: BACKLASH: Chick-Fil-A Faces Heat For Caving To Leftists, Cutting Ties With Christian Orgs</a></em></strong></p>


The Salvation Army

Salvation Army Releases Statement On Chick-fil-A Cutting Ties. Chick-fil-A Issues New Statement.

<p>Amid pressure from activist fans on social media, English singer and songwriter Ellie Goulding issued a statement Tuesday demanding that one of the world&#8217;s most impactful charities, The Salvation Army, &#8220;very quickly make a  solid, committed pledge or donation to the LGBTQ community&#8221; — or else she &#8220;would have no choice but to pull out&#8221; of her scheduled half-time performance at the Thanksgiving Day NFL game kicking off the charity&#8217;s &#8220;Red Kettle Campaign.&#8221; On Wednesday, the organization, which raised over $140 million for impoverished people last year, issued an update on the situation: After learning &#8220;the truth about The Salvation Army’s mission to serve all,&#8221; Goulding will be performing as scheduled on Thanksgiving.</p>
<p>The short-lived controversy began after Goulding posted a message on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B4xM9fAjHJx/">Instagram</a> promoting her performance at half-time of the Thanksgiving Day game pitting the Dallas Cowboys against the Buffalo Bills at AT&amp;T Stadium. She posted:</p>
<blockquote><p>Ok so maybe hairnet not my strongest look but thank you <a href="https://www.instagram.com/salvationarmyus/">@salvationarmyus</a> for having us in New York,&#8221; she wrote. &#8220;As you know, I have spent a lot of time in shelters in London, and this was my first time in NYC… The Salvation Army annually helps more than 23 million Americans overcome poverty, addiction and economic hardships through a range of social services. By providing food for the hungry, emergency relief for disaster survivors, rehabilitation for those suffering from drug and alcohol abuse, and clothing and shelter for people in need. I sat and spoke to several people who had come in from the bitter cold for some food (they serve to over 150 per day here), warmth and perhaps a chat with one of the volunteers.</p></blockquote>
<p>But after backlash from activist fans alleging that The Salvation Army discriminates against members of the LGBTQ community, Goulding issued her demand.</p>
<p>&#8220;Upon researching this, I have reached out to The Salvation Army and said that I would have no choice but to pull out unless they very quickly make a solid, committed pledge or donation to the LGBTQ community,&#8221; Goulding wrote. &#8220;I am a committed philanthropist as you probably know, and my heart has always been in helping the homeless, but supporting an anti-LGBTQ charity is clearly not something I would ever intentionally do. Thank you for drawing my attention to this.&#8221;</p>
<p>The Salvation Army did not take the allegation lying down, quickly pushing back against the claim. &#8220;With an organization of our size and history, myths can perpetuate,&#8221; a spokesperson for the organization told <a href="https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/sports/Singer-Ellie-Goulding-Threatens-to-Drop-Salvation-Army-Halftime-Show-Over-Alleged-LGBTQ-Treatment-564815552.html">NBC5</a> Tuesday. &#8220;An individual’s sexual or gender identity, religion, or lifestyle has no bearing on our willingness to provide service. We stand firmly behind our mission to meet human needs in His name without discrimination.&#8221;</p>
<p>On Wednesday, the organization issued an update on the situation with Goulding, thanking her and the activists who made the false claim for inadvertently &#8220;shedding light on misconceptions&#8221; about them. Goulding, The Salvation Army announced, will be performing as planned now that&#8217;s she&#8217;s learned about how much they actually do for the LGBTQ community.</p>
<p>&#8220;We’d like to thank Ellie Goulding and her fans for shedding light on misconceptions and encouraging others to learn the truth about The Salvation Army’s mission to serve all, without discrimination,&#8221; said Commissioner David Hudson, National Commander of the Salvation Army, as reported by <a href="https://www.star-telegram.com/sports/nfl/dallas-cowboys/article237318534.html">Fort Worth Star-Telegram</a>. Hudson shared:</p>
<blockquote><p>We applaud her for taking the time to learn about the services we provide to the LGBTQ community. Regardless of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender identity, we’re committed to serving anyone in need. Every day, we provide services such as shelter for the transgender community and resources for homeless youth — 40 percent of whom identify as gay or transgender. Ellie’s performance in the 23rd annual Salvation Army Red Kettle Kickoff during the Dallas Cowboys game Thanksgiving Day on CBS will kick off a season of giving that helps support these and many other programs and services throughout the country.</p></blockquote>
<p>As <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/english-singer-threatens-canceling-halftime-thanksgiving-nfl-show-unless-salvation-army-makes-pledge-or-donation-to-lgbt-community">The Daily Wire</a> highlighted Tuesday, <a href="https://www.salvationarmyusa.org/usn/the-lgbtq-community-and-the-salvation-army/?fbclid=IwAR0RgwB4TRk3OCQPg4xihI1HIVJcNkt3oSjLMI_KU0cKuTgtm5LDuxgllvc">The Salvation Army USA website</a> also notes its work with the community:</p>
<blockquote><p>Almost one-third of transgender people have been rejected from an emergency shelter. The Salvation Army created a dorm in Las Vegas to offer safety and shelter to this group, which is statistically more vulnerable to assault … LGBTQ youth contemplate suicide at almost three times the rate of heterosexual youth. With a presence in every zip code in the nation, we’re committed to providing spiritual and emotional care to those in need regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender identity.</p></blockquote>
<p><strong>Related: </strong><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/english-singer-threatens-canceling-halftime-thanksgiving-nfl-show-unless-salvation-army-makes-pledge-or-donation-to-lgbt-community"><strong>English Singer Threatens Canceling Halftime Thanksgiving NFL Show Unless Salvation Army Makes ‘Pledge Or Donation’ To LGBT Community</strong></a></p>


ABC’s “Good Morning America” – 2019

Salvation Army Issues Update On British Singer Who Demanded Donation To LGBT Cause To Perform At NFL Game

<p>On Tuesday, English singer and songwriter Ellie Goulding warned that she will cancel her scheduled performance on Thanksgiving at halftime of the Dallas Cowboys football game unless the Salvation Army makes a &#8220;solid, committed pledge or donation to the LGBTQ community.&#8221;</p>
<p>Earlier this week Goulding excitedly <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B4klA6jjtuH/">wrote on Instagram</a>, “Ok this is going to be LIT (can I say that when I’m 32) I’m excited to announce I’ll be kicking off the <a href="https://www.instagram.com/salvationarmyus/">@salvationarmyus</a> Red Kettle Campaign at the <a href="https://www.instagram.com/dallascowboys/">@dallascowboys</a> halftime show this Thanksgiving! I can also confirm that <a href="https://www.instagram.com/the_kearnal_86/">@the_kearnal_86</a> will hereby be launching his acting career. Tune in to CBS for the game and join us this holiday season in the <a href="https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/fightforgood/">#FightForGood</a>.”</p>
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<p style="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;"><a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B4klA6jjtuH/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Ok this is going to be LIT (can I say that when I’m 32) I’m excited to announce I’ll be kicking off the @salvationarmyus Red Kettle Campaign at the @dallascowboys halftime show this Thanksgiving! I can also confirm that @the_kearnal_86 will hereby be launching his acting career. Tune in to CBS for the game and join us this holiday season in the #FightForGood 🥳🤪🥳🤪🥳 #FOOTBALL #BUTAMERICANFOOTBALL Shot by our mate @timmsy 🤙🏼</a></p>
<p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" href="https://www.instagram.com/elliegoulding/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> elliegoulding</a> (@elliegoulding) on <time style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;" datetime="2019-11-07T16:51:59+00:00">Nov 7, 2019 at 8:51am PST</time></p>
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<p>On Tuesday, she <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B4xM9fAjHJx/">added on Instagram</a>, “Ok so maybe hairnet not my strongest look but thank you <a href="https://www.instagram.com/salvationarmyus/">@salvationarmyus</a> for having us in New York. As you know, I have spent a lot of time in shelters in London, and this was my first time in NYC&#8230; The Salvation Army annually helps more than 23 million Americans overcome poverty, addiction and economic hardships through a range of social services. By providing food for the hungry, emergency relief for disaster survivors, rehabilitation for those suffering from drug and alcohol abuse, and clothing and shelter for people in need. I sat and spoke to several people who had come in from the bitter cold for some food (they serve to over 150 per day here), warmth and perhaps a chat with one of the volunteers.&#8221;</p>
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<p style="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;"><a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B4xM9fAjHJx/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Ok so maybe hairnet not my strongest look but thank you @salvationarmyus for having us in New York. As you know, I have spent a lot of time in shelters in London, and this was my first time in NYC&#8230; The Salvation Army annually helps more than 23 million Americans overcome poverty, addiction and economic hardships through a range of social services. By providing food for the hungry, emergency relief for disaster survivors, rehabilitation for those suffering from drug and alcohol abuse, and clothing and shelter for people in need. I sat and spoke to several people who had come in from the bitter cold for some food (they serve to over 150 per day here) , warmth and perhaps a chat with one of the volunteers. </a></p>
<p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" href="https://www.instagram.com/elliegoulding/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> elliegoulding</a> (@elliegoulding) on <time style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;" datetime="2019-11-12T14:30:21+00:00">Nov 12, 2019 at 6:30am PST</time></p>
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<p>But after fans of hers convinced her that the Salvation Army was hostile to the LGBT movement, as <a href="https://www.fox4news.com/sports/ellie-goulding-performance-at-dallas-cowboys-thanksgiving-game-in-doubt-over-salvation-armys-stance-on-gay-rights?fbclid=IwAR0wAxCtvPB7uGzSno9h8QXhOm_7c1f6qT1zvn1eHC6s1YquIn0H6ifUZoA">FOX4 reported</a>, Goudling wrote, &#8220;Upon researching this, I have reached out to The Salvation Army and said that I would have no choice but to pull out unless they very quickly make a solid, committed pledge or donation to the LGBTQ community. I am a committed philanthropist as you probably know, and my heart has always been in helping the homeless, but supporting an anti-LGBTQ charity is clearly not something I would ever intentionally do. Thank you for drawing my attention to this.&#8221;</p>
<p>A spokesperson for the Salvation Army told <a href="https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/sports/Singer-Ellie-Goulding-Threatens-to-Drop-Salvation-Army-Halftime-Show-Over-Alleged-LGBTQ-Treatment-564815552.html">NBC5</a>, &#8220;With an organization of our size and history, myths can perpetuate. An individual&#8217;s sexual or gender identity, religion, or lifestyle has no bearing on our willingness to provide service. We stand firmly behind our mission to meet human needs in His name without discrimination.”</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.salvationarmyusa.org/usn/the-lgbtq-community-and-the-salvation-army/?fbclid=IwAR0RgwB4TRk3OCQPg4xihI1HIVJcNkt3oSjLMI_KU0cKuTgtm5LDuxgllvc">Salvation Army USA website</a> states:</p>
<blockquote><p>Almost one-third of transgender people have been rejected from an emergency shelter. The Salvation Army created a dorm in Las Vegas to offer safety and shelter to this group, which is statistically more vulnerable to assault … LGBTQ youth contemplate suicide at almost three times the rate of heterosexual youth. With a presence in every zip code in the nation, we&#8217;re committed to providing spiritual and emotional care to those in need regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender identity.</p></blockquote>
<p><a href="https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2019/11/12/ellie-goulding-threatens-to-cancel-cowboys-thanksgiving-performance/">Pro Football Talk</a> noted, &#8220;The Cowboys have hosted the Red Kettle Kickoff show since 1997, with the campaign raising more than $2.4 billion, according to the team’s media guide. The funds support Christmas toys for children in need as well as social service programs throughout the year.&#8221;</p>
<p><a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/arts-entertainment/music/2019/11/12/ellie-goulding-threatens-to-cancel-performance-during-cowboys-thanksgiving-halftime-show/">The Dallas Morning News</a> provides more details about the Salvation Army&#8217;s fundraising campaign, which the organization has been conducting for nearly 130 years and raised over $140 million last year alone:</p>
<blockquote><p>The campaign that the halftime show heralds, now in its 129th year, ends on Christmas Eve and is geared toward providing shelter and meals for people dealing with homelessness and hunger. It also supports Christmas toys for children, as well as other social service programs. Last year, the campaign, which the Salvation Army touts as &#8220;the largest and longest-running fundraiser of its kind,&#8221; brought in $142.7 million.</p></blockquote>
<p><strong>UPDATE: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/salvation-army-issues-update-on-british-singer-who-demanded-donation-to-lgbt-cause-to-perform-at-nfl-game">Salvation Army Issues Update On British Singer Who Demanded Donation To LGBT Cause To Perform At NFL Game</a></strong></p>


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