Cleon Lewis Bryant (born March 28, 1956) is an American

Baptist minister Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...

and former

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transm ...

and

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication Media (communication), medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of Transmission (telecommunications), television tra ...

host based in

Jensen Beach, Florida Jensen Beach is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Martin County, Florida, United States. The population was 12,652 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Port St. Lucie, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. Histo ...

. He is a senior fellow at

FreedomWorks FreedomWorks is a conservative and libertarian advocacy group based in Washington, D.C. FreedomWorks trains volunteers, assists in campaigns, and encourages them to mobilize, interacting with both fellow citizens and their political representa ...

, a conservative advocacy group.

Background

C.L. Bryant was born on March 28, 1956 to Lewis C. Bryant, a

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

veteran, and Elnola Goode, a native of De Soto Parish. Bryant was one of the first black children to attend Lake Shore Junior High School in Shreveport at the beginning of

school desegregation School integration in the United States is the process (also known as desegregation) of ending race-based segregation within American public and private schools. Racial segregation in schools existed throughout most of American history and re ...

in the late 1960s. He graduated in 1974 from

Fair Park High School Fair Park Middle School is a former high school located at 3222 Greenwood Road in Shreveport, Louisiana, U.S. The school was originally named Fair Park High School when it opened in 1928, and it was the second high school in the city. C.E. Byrd H ...

in Shreveport, along with

Fox Sports Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the F ...

announcer Tim Brando. Bryant attended

Louisiana State University in Shreveport Louisiana State University Shreveport (LSU Shreveport or LSUS) is a public university in Shreveport, Louisiana. It is part of the Louisiana State University System. Initially, a two-year college, LSUS has expanded into a university with 21 ...

Bishop College Bishop College was a historically black college, founded in Marshall, Texas, United States, in 1881 by the Baptist Home Mission Society. It was intended to serve students in east Texas, where the majority of the black population lived at the t ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

and

Tampa College Tampa College was a private business college founded as a coeducational, nonsectarian, and proprietary institution, in 1890. The school was originally located in Tampa, Florida. The final owner, Corinthian Colleges, folded the school into its E ...

Tampa Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough Co ...

; the latter two of which are defunct. He received a

master of theology Master of Theology ( la, Theologiae Magister, abbreviated MTh, ThM, or MTheol) is a post-graduate degree offered by universities, divinity schools, and seminaries. It can serve as a transition degree for entrance into a PhD program or as a stand ...

degree from Shreveport Bible College and was ordained into the ministry by Reverend E. Edward Jones.

Career

Bryant has spent nearly four decades in the ministry, including a missionary stint to the

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...

section of

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the souther ...

. He has also worked for twenty-five years in the field of finance. His current church affiliation is the inter-denominational Word of God Ministries in Shreveport with pastor James A. McMenis. Bryant has served in several church positions, beginning in Longview, Texas, where his congregation received financial assistance from the late Shreveport philanthropist Virginia Shehee, a former member of the

Louisiana State Senate The Louisiana State Senate (french: Sénat de Louisiane) is the upper house of the state legislature of Louisiana. All senators serve four-year terms and are assigned to multiple committees. Composition The Louisiana State Senate is composed ...

. At the time of his mother's death in 2005, Bryant was pastor of the Cedar Hill Baptist Church in

Grand Cane Grand Cane is a village in DeSoto Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 242 at the 2010 census, up from 191 in 2000. It is part of the Shreveport– Bossier City Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is the hometown of women's bas ...

in DeSoto Parish south of Shreveport. Bryant's radio program, ''The C. L. Bryant Show'', aired from 2015 to 2017. Bryant is a senior fellow at

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, and a member of the Republican Party, which he has defended against allegations of

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

. In March 2012, Bryant criticized

Jesse Jackson Jesse Louis Jackson ( né Burns; born October 8, 1941) is an American political activist, Baptist minister, and politician. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as a shadow U.S. senato ...

and

Al Sharpton Alfred Charles Sharpton Jr. (born October 3, 1954) is an American civil rights activist, Baptist minister, talk show host and politician. Sharpton is the founder of the National Action Network. In 2004, he was a candidate for the Democrat ...

for their roles in protests stemming from the controversial

killing of Trayvon Martin On the night of February 26, 2012, in Sanford, Florida, United States, George Zimmerman fatally shot Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old African-American boy. Zimmerman, a 28-year-old man of mixed race, was the neighborhood watch coordinator for his ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

."New York Post's Trayvon Martin Front Page Calls Hooded Lawmakers 'Race Hustlers'
'' Huffington Post,'' March 27, 2012 Bryant is the founder of "One Nation Back to God." In 2012, he produced and released the independent documentary, ''

Runaway Slave In the United States, fugitive slaves or runaway slaves were terms used in the 18th and 19th century to describe people who fled slavery. The term also refers to the federal Fugitive Slave Acts of 1793 and 1850. Such people are also called freed ...

.'' Bryant commented that the film was "a movie about the race to free the black community from the

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

tyranny A tyrant (), in the modern English usage of the word, is an absolute ruler who is unrestrained by law, or one who has usurped a legitimate ruler's sovereignty. Often portrayed as cruel, tyrants may defend their positions by resorting to ...

and

progressive Progressive may refer to: Politics * Progressivism, a political philosophy in support of social reform ** Progressivism in the United States, the political philosophy in the American context * Progressive realism, an American foreign policy pa ...

policies." In 2010, Bryant penned the non-fiction book, ''Lead Us to Temptation, Deliver Us to Evil''. On January 19, 2016, Bryant endorsed Senator

Ted Cruz Rafael Edward "Ted" Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States Senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz served as Solicitor General of Texas from ...

of Texas for the Republican presidential nomination.

KEEL (AM) The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

Radio, January 19, 2016 He then endorsed the eventual nominee and election winner, President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of ...

and defended Trump against allegations raised by his critics on the radio program.

Personal life

Bryant is married to the former Jane Carline Pruitt. They live in Grand Cane, Louisiana. The couple has four children and eleven grandchildren. The couple formerly resided in Tampa, Florida.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bryant, C. L. 1956 births Living people Baptist ministers from the United States African-American Baptist ministers People from Shreveport, Louisiana Fair Park High School alumni Louisiana State University Shreveport alumni Bishop College alumni People from DeSoto Parish, Louisiana People from Tampa, Florida People from Longview, Texas People from Garland, Texas Tea Party movement activists Texas Republicans Louisiana Republicans American radio personalities American non-fiction writers NAACP activists Activists from Texas Baptists from Louisiana 21st-century African-American politicians 21st-century American politicians 20th-century African-American people

Background

Career

Personal life

See also

References