Asheville – On September 22nd and 23rd, the N.C. Faith and Freedom Coalition held the 6th annual Salt & Light Conference at the Nebo Crossing Church in Marion, North Carolina. The conference was filled with 32 dynamic and diverse speakers that included a line-up of celebrities, elected officials, faith leaders, political leaders, and policy advocates.
In an atmosphere that was electric, enthusiastic, and joyous, nearly 1,000 like-minded people of faith gathered to learn about critical issues relevant to faith-based communities here in North Carolina and to learn how to be a force for good in governmental and political arenas.
These issues included schools taking away parents rights to decide what is best for their children, censorship of conservatives and Christians, options other than abortion, and the evil that has pervaded the halls of Congress and the Justice Department.
Headliners At The Conference
This conference included some top-name celebrity speakers and performers. Among them were: Mike Huckabee, 44th Governor of Arkansas and host of The Huckabee Show; Judge Jeanine Pirro, TV Host, Author, and former New York State Judge & Prosecutor; Tulsi Gabbard, LTC, U.S. Army Reserves, 4-term Congresswoman and 2020 Presidential Candidate; Dr. Robert Malone, Leading Virologist, Biochemist, Vaccine Scientist and Author; Bishop E.W. Jackson, Candidate for President and Pastor, Founder of STAND; Ralph Reed, founder and chairman of the Faith & Freedom Coalition, and former executive director of the Christian Coalition; and Benny Johnson, Journalist & Host of The Benny Show, and Chief Creative Officer at Turning Point USA.
A Poignant Panel
One of the most poignant segments included civil rights icons and activists Dr. Alveda King, evangelist, author, former GA State Representative in GA28, pro-life advocate, and niece of Martin Luther King Jr., as well as Clarence Henderson, civil rights champion and inspirational speaker from High Point, NC, who is best known for bravely stepping up to participate in the sit-in at the Woolworth’s diner in 1960, an illegal action at the time.
Dr. King shared that they were “trained and taught to be nonviolent. I remember when they bombed our house in 1963, dad stands on our car with a megaphone saying, ‘Don’t riot; my family and I are okay. Go home and pray.’” King continued, “When we took the nonviolent position, the agitators ended up being exposed because the nonviolent went home and prayed.”
Clarence Henderson shared that when he went into that Woolworth Store, “I didn’t know how I was going to come out. I didn’t know if I was going to come out in a vertical position, in handcuffs, going to jail, or a prone position, going to the hospital, or maybe the morgue. He was only 18 years old at the time. When asked if the boys knocked out any windows or turned over police cars, he replied, “No, this was 1960, not 2020.”
Most surprising to many of the people in attendance was when Dr. King stated that they not only killed her uncle, they also killed her dad and grandmother.
In addition to Dr. KIng and Mr. Henderson, another speaker was Leo Terrell, also known as Leo 2.0, civil rights attorney and radio host. When asked about why he calls himself 2.0, Terrell says that it’s a second chance, he is a happier person as a Republican.
Grammy-Winning Entertainers Performed
The crowd was hugely entertained by Grammy and Dove Award winner Jason Crabb in a Friday night concert. Lead vocalist for the group The Crabb Family, Crabb was voted 2004 Gospel Music Male Vocalist of the Year.
On Saturday, Guy Penrod, GRAMMY & DOVE Award-Winning Gospel Music Hall of Fame Inductee & former Gaither Vocal Band Lead, brought the attendees to their feet when he and the Wiley Family brought on stage, and honored, service members, police officers, firefighters, and EMTs during the singing of the song A Few Good Men. After the song, the applause and support of these heroes lasted for over a full minute. One of the honorees, a gentleman who served for many years in the Air Force and now serves in the South Carolina State Guard, later shared with this writer that this was “the most humbling experience of my life.”
Pastor Speakers
Many of the speakers were pastors from across North Carolina and other states. One of these speakers was John Amanchukwu, Influential preacher, author, and activist with Upper Room Church of God in Christ, Wake Forest, NC. Reverend John recently confronted the Asheville City School (ACS) school board over the book It’s Perfectly Normal. Amanchukwu claims it is available in ACS libraries. ACS’s online library catalog suggests that at least one copy of the book can be found in its middle school. When Amanchukwu attempted to read a passage from the book, which seemingly describes aspects of sexual intercourse to readers, an ACS school board member asked him to stop, prompting Amanchukwu to question why the contents are appropriate for “children” but not for “a school board meeting.” He said, as he was forced to leave, “You don’t want me to read the filth because it exposes the truth.”
Laughing, Rev. Amanchuku, who’s father is from Nigeria, told the audience that because he’s standing up for our children, he has now been called a white supremacist.
Politician Speakers
The North Carolina politicians who spoke were Dan Bishop, North Carolina Congressman in NC09, and Candidate for NC Attorney General; Ted Budd, US Senator and former US Congressman in NC13; Allen Mashburn, Businessman & Pastor, and Candidate for Lt. Governor; Fred Von Canon, Founder & President of Maverick Solutions, and Candidate for Congress; Mark Walker, Candidate for Governor, and Congressman in NC06; Hal Weatherman, Candidate for Lt. Governor; and by far the most popular, Mark Robinson, N.C. Lt. Governor, and candidate for Governor.
Watch the Conference
To watch any portions of the conference, you can go to YouTube and look up the NC Faith and Freedom Coalition Salt & Light Conference 2023.