How Hakeem Jeffries’ Black Baptist upbringing and deep-rooted faith shapes his House leadership
For Jeffries, 53, his leadership in the House traces back to his formative days growing up and serving at Cornerstone, a historically Black congregation which he still attends.
“It certainly was an important part of my mother’s life, and therefore my younger brother’s and myself,” he told the AP.
Cornerstone in its heyday was the spiritual home for many grandchildren and great-grandchildren of enslaved African Americans who fled to Brooklyn from the South for better opportunities, including war-industry jobs. The church has long been part of the National Baptist Convention, the largest Black denomination in the U.S.