There is so much history between the walls of Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church, which has hosted funerals for Rosa Parks and Frederick Douglass and opened its pews to American presidents and civil rights icons.
It made history again this year: Thanks to a lawsuit, Metropolitan AME now controls the trademark to the Proud Boys, the far-right group that once vandalized the church’s property in Washington.
After a pro-Donald Trump rally in December 2020, Proud Boys destroyed Black Lives Matter signs at two historically Black churches during a violent night in the city.
“The act of destroying these signs was not just alcohol-lubricated, infantile frat-boy stuff,” said the Rev. William H. Lamar IV, Metropolitan’s pastor.
“This is a softer version of cross-burning, designed to keep us quiet,” he said.
It was political intimidation, according to Lamar. A judge awarded the church $2.8 million in damages in 2023, condemning the Proud Boys’ “hateful and overtly racist conduct.”
In February, after the Proud Boys didn’t pay, the court gave the church use of the group’s name and symbols — seen on its black-and-yellow gear and laurel wreath logo.
