Micah Beckwith needs to keep his mouth shut
Indiana's Lt. Governor Micah Beckwith has made a series of gaffs in the short time since his inauguration. The most recent of these is unforgiveable. In the closing hours of the 2025 General Assembly, Beckwith used the slave-era argument that an enslaved person was worth three-fifths of a person. While I would give him some grace if his remarks were taken out of context, they weren’t. His premise is that counting a slave as less than a full human being is good for African Americans. There is no world in which this is even nominally acceptable.
Casey Smith wrote an excellent piece for the Indiana Capital Chronicle entitled A ‘great move,’ or revisionist history? Beckwith’s comments are clearly the latter. While it’s become commonplace for us to accept such egregious comments as benign rantings of the ignorant, I implore us to call them out for what they are - racist tirades meant to desensitize us into accepting this behavior as normal. Ignorance is not the same thing as misinformed, and as Smith points out in her article, Beckwith is following the Christian Nationalist agenda of people like David Barton. That America was founded as a Christian nation is itself revisionist history. I call on all people of good conscience to speak up and out against hateful rhetoric no matter who it targets.
Here is the press release from Concerned Clergy, Baptist Ministers’ Alliance, Indiana Chapter of National Action Network, Union District Missionary Baptist Association of Indianapolis which GIMA wholeheartedly endorses.
And be sure to add your name to the petition demanding Beckwith apologize for his vile statements
Indianapolis Faith Leaders Demand Retraction of Lt. Governor Beckwith’s “Three-Fifths Compromise” Remarks
For Immediate Release April 25, 2025, Communication Contacts: Ashley Hogue (317) 750-4026
Indianapolis, IN — The Concerned Clergy of Indianapolis, the Indiana Chapter of the National Action Network, the Baptist Ministers' Alliance, and the Union District Missionary Baptist Association stand together in righteous indignation and moral clarity to denounce Lieutenant Governor Micah Beckwith’s recent statement praising the Three-Fifths Compromise as “a great move.” This language is not merely insensitive, it is an affront to human dignity and an echo of a racist ideology that sought to legitimize the inhuman treatment of Black people in America.
Let us be clear: the Three-Fifths Compromise was never about compromise; it was about control. It was about counting enslaved African bodies for political power while denying them humanity, freedom, and rights. To call this a “great move” is not only historically inaccurate but morally repugnant.
The Lt. Governor’s comments dishonor the memory of those who were enslaved, disrespect the struggle of generations who fought for civil rights, and display a dangerous disregard for the continuing racial disparities that still plague our state and nation. These words are beneath the dignity of Indiana’s second-highest elected office, and they are unacceptable.
We call upon Governor Mike Braun to:
Immediately and publicly denounce Lt. Governor Beckwith’s remarks.
Mandate a full and formal retraction from Lt. Governor Beckwith, accompanied by an apology to the Black community and all Hoosiers who value truth and equality.
Affirm Indiana’s commitment to accurate historical education, racial reconciliation, and the full humanity of all its citizens.
This moment requires more than silence. It demands courage. It demands moral clarity. It demands leadership.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” The words of Lt. Governor Beckwith matter — and they must be answered with truth, accountability, and action.
We will not allow historical revisionism to justify past oppression or present ignorance. We will not stand by while the pain of our ancestors is dismissed in the halls of power.
Indiana must do better. It begins with setting the record straight.
Signed:
Rev. David W. Greene, Sr, President, Concerned Clergy of Indianapolis
Dr. Wayne L. Moore, President, Baptist Ministers’ Alliance
Dr. Stephen J. Clay, President, Indiana Chapter of National Action Network
Dr. Clyde Posley, Moderator, Union District Missionary Baptist Association of Indianapolis
