Christian pianist Huntley Brown probably isn’t a household word in the Christian music industry, but for many who rely on chain, forwarded emails as their personal soapboxes, he may be a familiar name.
That’s because there’s an email written by Brown making the rounds in which he clearly and specifically lays out his thoughts on why he will not be voting for Obama in November.
In the email, Brown says, “Many of my friends process their identity through their blackness. I process my identity through Christ … I can’t vote black because I am black; I have to vote Christian because that’s who I am. Christian first, black second.”
The problem, as we all know, is that those chain emails are rarely legit. Except, in this case, the go-to site for the truth about hoaxes and urban myths, Snopes.com, verifies that Brown did write that email.
But he didn’t write it for you.

Brown tells Snopes.com that he wrote that email to some friends who were urging him to vote for Obama because he was black, adding that he never meant for the email to be shared around the world and didn’t write it to sway public opinion. Despite the hate mail that he’s gotten from people who have read the email, Brown insists that he doesn’t hate Obama (or gays or women who’ve had abortions), adding, “I love and appreciate Senator Obama but our views are diametrically opposed.”
I wonder why Brown’s friends would pass that email around the internet, especially when it was meant to be a private response in a discussion among friends. Shame on them.
But now that it’s out there, I’m really not sure what the problem is. A black man who isn’t going to vote for another black man just because he’s black, but instead plans to make his decision based entirely on where the candidate stands on the issues, isn’t a racist. He’s an American who uses his God-given, Constitutional rights to weigh the issues and make an informed choice that best reflects his own views.
Besides, there’s more to Huntley Brown than just that email.
The Jamaican-born Brown came to the US to attend Judson College in Elgin, Illinois and is an accomplished artist who had performed around the world. He was the regular crusade pianist for the recently retired Dr. Ralph Bell, an associate evangelist with the Billy Graham Association and is now the pianist for Ruth Graham and Friends Ministries. Brown’s electrifying playing earned him the Top Caribbean Gospel Instrumentalist Award for 2005 and 2006.
Brown’s ministry touches all ages and demographics. In one case, he was allowed to perform at a gang-infested high school, where the student body was allowed to assemble, under police guard, for the first time in four years to hear Huntley. The students responded with rapt attention and wild appreciation, including a deafening, heart-rending standing ovation.
To read Brown’s entire email, along with his response to Snopes.com, visit Snopes.com.
(UPDATE 2/12/09 – I heard from Huntley Brown this week, who has requested that I remove this post due to the overwhelming amount of hate mail and threats he’s receiving. While I can’t unpublish a story, I do want to remind you that Mr. Brown wrote this email to his family and friends back before the election and it was made public by someone else. With the election over, Mr. Brown says, “Now that he is elected I am committed to praying for him as we have been instructed to do in the Bible. God bless you and God bless America.” Even if your opinion differs from Mr. Brown about President Obama, I urge you to refrain from sending hate mail. We’re all allowed to have different opinions.)
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