Dallas pastor speaks on taking CEO role of Rev. Jesse Jackson's Rainbow PUSH Coalition

Rev. Frederick Haynes III is taking over as the CEO of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition. He hopes to expand his mission in Texas. Here is his full interview here.

Speaking up for those without voice has always been the mission of Haynes.

"I got to be loud because so many are suffering in silence," he said, seated in the pulpit of Friendship-West Baptist Church, a congregation he's lead for over 40 years.

He'll now get to use his voice in a new way, reaching a much wider audience.

For the first time since its inception in 1971, the Rainbow PUSH Coalition has a new leader in Haynes, who was officially sworn in last Thursday, the first day of Black History Month.

"My first reaction was, 'Wow,'" Haynes added as he remembers hearing the news for the first time.

No stranger to the spotlight, Haynes recognizes the power of using his voice.

“I want people to feel heard, served," he added. "If it ain't about people, what are you here for?"

From behind the mic for many years at Radio One's 94.5 to the last 40 years leading his church, he doesn't need a script when his message is crystal clear.

"If this country is to be true to what it said on paper, then everybody should have both voice opportunity, possibility to live up to their potential and not be held back by something they have no control over," Haynes said.

In the community, leading protests, speaking at the capitol and beyond often with his family by his side, the pastor turned social justice activist doesn't shy away from what some might consider controversial topics, even discussing his view on the push to alter how some subjects are taught in schools.

"The sad reality is that Black history - and I'll just go there - becomes problematic because it counters a narrative that is really a myth that too much of education has been built on. So the chopping of the cherry tree never telling a lie. And all of a sudden, Black people show up here on the shores singing 'Swing Low, Sweet Chariot', you know. it's just not telling the truth about our history," he said.