Getty Hakeem Sekou Jeffries is a Christian Baptist.
Hakeem Jeffries is a Democratic House impeachment manager for Trump’s impeachment trial in the Senate. He shares the role with Jason Crow (D-CO), Val Demings (D-FA), Sylvia Garcia (D-TX), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Jerry Nadler (D-VA), and Adam Schiff (D-CA). Jeffries represents New York’s 8th Congressional District, and he is a Christian baptist.
In the early days of the impeachment trial, Jeffries has already made a huge impact culturally. He impressed many with his clarity and efficiency of speech on Tuesday, January 22, and shocked many when he even managed to get a Biggie Smalls reference into his delivery. Specifically, he said,
“We are here, sir, because President Trump pressured a foreign government to target an American citizen for political and personal gain. We are here, sir, because President Trump solicited foreign interference in the 2020 election and corrupted our democracy…That is why we are here, Mr. Sekulow. If you don’t know, now you know.”
That last line is a lyric from Biggie Smalls, also known as the Notorious B.I.G.
Here’s what you need to know:
Jeffries Is a Christian Baptist; He’s Married With Two Kids
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries presents a chart documenting that every one of the 15 previous Senate impeachment trials in U.S. history has included witnesses.
Jeffries’ full name is Hakeem Sekou Jeffries. He was born in Brooklyn, according to a local profile of him; his parents’ names are Laneda and Marland Jeffries. Jeffries also has a brother, Hasan Kwame. According to Jeffries’ parents’ wedding announcement in 1967, he is at least a second generation American, as his grandparents lived in America as well.
Jeffries would go on to attend Georgetown University as an undergraduate, followed by New York University for law school. He is now the No. 5 Democrat, and is largely expected to become the first black House speaker.
A Congressional breakdown by religion from The Washington Post identifies Jeffries as Christian Baptist. Over 65 Congress members are Baptist, according to the publication. Now 49 years old, Jeffries has never given an interview in which he talks about his religious upbringing, spirituality, or faith.
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries: “We don’t hate this president, but we love the Constitution. We love America. We love our democracy. That’s why we’re here today.” t.co/6pKdoktQJX
With that said, he often quotes the Bible, and was described by The New York Times as someone who is “as likely to quote from the Bible as he is from 1990s hip-hop lyrics.”
Baptists are a subset of Protestant Christians who believe that only “believers” should be baptized, and that baptism should require full immersion, rather than just the sprinkling of water on the head. According to Christianity.com, there are over 50 million Baptists in the United States. Since baptism in the Baptist faith requires an awareness of one’s sins, you have to be baptized when you’re old enough to acknowledge your sins, not as a baby, like in other facets of the Christian faith.
Jeffries is married to Kennisandra Arciniegas-Jeffries. Together, they have two sons: Jeremiah and Joshua. Jeremiah was born in 2001, and Joshua was born in 2004. The family lives in the Prospect Park neighborhood of Brooklyn.
From the beginning of the Senate impeachment trial, many have hailed Jeffries for his quick wit and clarity of thought.
Quite a statement from Rep Hakeem Jeffries.
He says President Trump makes President Nixon “look like a choir boy.”
Seth Mandel, an editor for The Washington Post, tweeted on Tuesday, Jan. 22, “Told y’all Hakeem Jeffries is the real deal. Didn’t I tell you?”
Jeffries has been compared to a young Barack Obama on more than one occasion, and is expected to play a large role in the Democrats’ uphill battle to oust Trump with a Republican-controlled Senate. You can read more about him in the article below.
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