By Victor Ochieng
Let’s start by acknowledging the fact that two Stacey’s are out for the Georgia gubernatorial post. Why? Well, if you didn’t know already, there are two candidates by the name Stacey in the race, with both running in the Georgia Democratic Party primary. Don’t worry about not being able to differentiate the two; just ask for a picture and it’ll be a lot easier since one is Black and the other is white.
But that’s not the gist of this piece. We want to bring your attention to an ad the white Stacey, (Stacey Evans), sanctioned and ran for some time, but which has since been pulled down. The ad was withdrawn after a complaint by Ebenezer Baptist Church saying it was filmed without their consent.
You might be wondering why Evans needed their consent. Well, here is the thing. The ad contained shots from the Black church captured during the MLK Day celebrations. Evans not only captured shots from the church but also used them without their permission and then, almost at the tail end of the ad, blended her image with that of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
The Evans video has generated some heat, partly because it incorporated the Black church, but more so because it tried to blend Evans’ face with that of King.
At the very end of the clip, Evans is seen clapping in slow motion even as King’s face fades in, blending their two faces.
Even though the video has been around for more than a week, it attracted a ton of online criticism last week Wednesday.
Commenting on the ad, Bakari Sellers, former South Carolina politician and now CNN analyst, tweeted saying it was a clear demonstration that Evans has “no diversity on your team & apparently don’t understand its value.”
Then we had Anoa Changa, a progressive activist who some time back harshly criticized Evans, penning a lengthy piece published on the Peach Perspective, terming the video “tone deaf,” adding that it was a trick by a white candidate to ride on the fame of a Black human rights icon.
At the onset, the church wasn’t aware of the ad, but they were notified of it before they came out to contend its publication. They were not happy that a political candidate was going to use their place of worship to propel her political agenda. The church made it clear that it’s a 501(c)3 and, therefore, cannot endorse any political candidate or party. The church pastor sent Evans a stern warning and asked her to pull down the ad forthwith.
And, of course, Evans had no option but to remove it.
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