Today the first Convention of Colored Citizens of the State of Arkansas is gathered in Little Rock. Many Baptists are among those present. The purpose of the convention is to exert the rights of freedmen and ensure that white Southerners respect their freedom. The road thus far has been brutal, and a future of true…
Today’s edition of the Virginia Baptist Religious Herald continues efforts to reconstruct the Old Confederacy as a righteous slave regime that was overwhelmed by the military might of an ungodly Northern people. Upset that Missouri is requiring all ministers to sign an oath of allegiance to the United States, Southern Baptists lament that the mandate…
Although a mass exodus of black members from white-led Baptist churches of the South is well underway, many post-war Southern Baptist churches retain large numbers of black members. In instances where blacks vastly outnumber white members, the whites often are fearful that the majority black members will gain control of the church. Accordingly, many churches…