This Black Church Sued The Proud Boys And Won Its Trademark, Carrying On A Civil Rights Legacy

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.