‘You’re Welcome’: White Pastor Says ‘God Has Blessed’ Black Americans Through White People and Slavery, Sparking
A Christian nationalist pastor who often stirs controversy online for his inflammatory remarks on race relations and America's social and political landscape is drawing backlash once again with a new set of comments aimed at Black Americans. Joel Webbon, the head pastor of Covenant Bible Church in Austin, Texas, recently said that the opportunities Black people were eventually afforded in the U.S. as a result of slavery far outweigh the oppression they historically suffered. He also suggested that Black Americans are to blame for the persecution they experience in the U.S. "Cut it out," Webbon said on his podcast, Right Response Ministries. "You need to grow up. Stop throwing a fit. You're throwing a tantrum. Stop being a little boy. You're whining and crying about something that's ultimately your fault. Stop blaming it on other people. It's your fault." Joel Webbon (Photo: X/Right Wing Watch) "It's like, 'Whoa, slavery.' The richest Black people on God's green earth are African-Americans. If slavery never happened, then you would be in a grass hut. 'Well, we need reparations.' Your reparations are that you get to live in America. You're welcome." "The greatest moment in history for any brown or black country is the moment that the White man's ships arrive on your shore. He brings the gospel of Jesus Christ, he catechizes you and your children, he brings exports, he brings hospitals, medicine, life expansion increases, GDP and resources increase, medicine increases, and most importantly, you get taught the gospel of Jesus Christ so that you can live longer on Earth and then go to Heaven instead of Hell." ‘Unconscionable’: MAGA Pastor Calls for Executing ‘Rebellious’ Black Youth, Citing Death By Stoning In Old Testament Webbon went on to say that although Europeans committed sins during the colonial era, they still worshipped Jesus Christ and introduced the gospel of the Holy Bible to much of the world that was "worshiping demons." He also attributed much of the success that Black Americans and other people of non-European descent experience in the Western world to the efforts and influence of European explorers and colonizers. "God has blessed you, and he blessed you in large part through white people," Webbon continued. "And also, as for you and your house, do your part to change the FBI crime statistics and stop killing people." A roughly 40-second clip of his remarks drew numerous reactions and comments on X after being posted by Right Wing Watch. https://twitter.com/rightresponsem/status/1973478239659237461 Webbon responded to the clip by posting a four-minute video, claiming it showed "the full context" of his comments, "since @RightWingWatch is being deceitful here." Most people thought otherwise. "Your 'context' just makes it worse. Just a white man in 2025, trying to justify slavery and colonialism," one X user wrote. "This is worse. My man I personally cannot wait for racism to end but until then there’s no world where a white person can tell a black person how to feel or respond to generational trauma from slavery," someone else commented. "Such ugliness and hate.. this man is not a Christian," another comment read. Webbon is no stranger to sparking controversy. He's previously set off intense debate and backlash online for other racist and offensive rhetoric. He once asserted that if given the choice between a white and Black physician, he would choose the white doctor, stating that "if there’s a chance that one of them was not qualified and was given a free pass, it’d be the Black guy. I know that that young white guy, there’s no way he got a free pass.” The far-right church leader also claimed that Black people were 30 times more dangerous than white people and advised Black parents to teach their kids that many Black children and teens are “reprobates and misbehaved and rebellious toward authority, including police.”
