EXCLUSIVE | Queer Eye's Pastor Noah says discussion on BLM is important for the nation, essential to his faith
Pastor Noah Hepler of 'Queer Eye' was the "hero" who got a makeover on the first episode of Season 5. He is already someone who is looked up to by the community at the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Atonement, Fishtown, Philadelphia. He was able to advance his position as the voice of reason by his active participation in the countrywide protests to fight racial injustice.
It all started when a video of him surfaced on Twitter that was recorded at the Fishtown protests that took place in the aftermath of George Floyd's death. In the video, he was seen urging the police to make a gesture that depicted that they were not okay with what happened to George Floyd. In an exclusive chat with MEA WorldWide (MEAWW), he shares with us the importance of the Black Lives Matter movement and what spurred him to confront the police present at the protests.
Elaborating on the movement, Hepler says, "I think Black Lives Matter is an important and essential movement and discussion in our nation, and I believe that being anti-racist is essential to my faith - that is, I think it is essential to what it means to be human and respecting the dignity that we all have been given."
Hepler says that he was present at the protests because it was started by the families in the community who were in support of racial justice. About what moved him to confront the police present at the protests, he says, "As the protest went on, it seemed clear to me that the gathered community felt the police were distant and emotionally removed. As I said on the show ('Queer Eye'), honest dialogue is something that I think is important. And sometimes that means having difficult conversations about things we would rather just sweep aside. But that’s not peace or a resolution to my mind. I wanted to help spark that conversation; so my friend and fellow pastor and I went forward."
Speaking about what came out of that conversation, he says, "I don’t know if we helped but it seemed like things changed, at least for a moment, after asking the officers to say something about how they felt about what had happened to George Floyd and all the others who have gone before him. They said they were against what happened. I hope that."
Speaking about the BIPOC community at large, Hepler further said that there are far too many ways that the society works in sidelining these voices. He also listed this as one of the reasons why supporters of Black Lives Matter say racism is a systemic problem. In conclusion, he said that one way of bringing about needed change is to "make sure that the police are listening."
Pastor Noah Hepler's episode on 'Queer Eye' Season 5 is now streaming on Netflix.