Only On 2: Oxnard Pastor Hires Extra Security After Receiving Threatening, Racist Letter
OXNARD (CBSLA.com) — An Oxnard pastor has hired extra security for his church after receiving a threatening and racist letter.
Bishop Broderick Huggins pf the St. Paul Baptist Church on Wednesday spoke to CBS2's Rachel Kim about his ordeal.
It's a story that is Only On 2.
"It's very painful, conjured up a lot of memories, horrible memories of my past," Huggins said.
In his decades at the pulpit, BishopHuggins has talked about the power of love and forgiveness.
These days, he's practicing what he's preaching.
A couple of weeks ago, Huggins received a disturbing letter. In the envelope, a clipped newspaper article with his picture on it. But handwritten all over the article, racist slurs and death threats.
"It said dead [expletive deleted], die [expletive]. It referred to me as an ape and said 'pin a medal on James Earl Ray, he did the world a favor.' "
Ray was the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassin.
Huggins says he's no stranger to racism as his grandfather was lynched and he was beaten up as a teen during the civil-rights movement.
He's sad to see some of those racist sentiments have not died.
"That spirit of racism, hatred and bigotry, it's real and it exists. It's a wake-up call; it's a reality check," Huggins said.
Oxnard police are investigating the letter as a hate crime as they work to determine who sent it.
Meanwhile, Huggins has hired security guards for Sunday services to make sure church members are safe.
He said can't forget about the church shooting in Charleston in June that left nine black people dead after a 21-year-old white terrorist shot up the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church during a weekly Bible study.
"In light of what happened in South Carolina last year," Huggins said. "I just felt it was important to make this known for the protection of our congregation."
Huggins said he believes it wasn't a coincidence this letter was sent to him after King's birthday and during Black History Month.
"It's a teaching moment for all of us, and I'm hoping that we all can learn something from this experience," Huggins said.
And rather than hate the person who hates him, he cannot.
"I would like to say to that person I love you in spite of (this)," Huggins said.
