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Southern Baptist Convention Redeemed
African-American
leader represents
new era
by J udge
G reg M athis
166 years ago the
Southern Baptist Con­
vention was strongly
opposed to its northern
c o llea g u es’ desire to
abolish slavery and established its own pres­
ence. In the years following, the church spoke
out in favor of preserving slavery and, during
the Civil Rights movement, firmly planted
against itself on the side that supported racial
segregation.
Knowing the convention’s history, it’s no
understatem ent to say that Fred Luter Jr.’s
election to first vice president represents a
il,f JJnrtianb O bserver
new era for the church: He is the first African-
American elected to the church’s high office.
The Southern Baptist Convention is 16
million m embers strong and is the country’s
largest Protestant denom ination. And al­
though L uter’s election sym bolizes a real
change in the church’s behavior towards
people of color, getting to this point didn’t
happen overnight.
As recently as 30 years ago, the church was
- intentionally - a predominantly all white reli­
gious organization. In 1995, however, the church
publicly apologized for its racists and oppres­
sive past. It also sought to aggressively diver­
sify its membership and leadership. Black, His­
panic and Asians now account for 19 percent of
the convention’s churches.
Luter’s election is a total and complete depar­
ture from the Southern Baptist Convention of
the past. The Church has confessed to its
sins...in this case, racism ...and is working
proactively to redeem itself in an organization.
Established 1970
USPS 959-680 ____________ _____________________
47 47 NE Martin Luther King. Jr. Bivd., Portland, OR 97211
Charles H. Washington
EDiroR.Michael Leighton
E ditor - in -C hief , P ublisher :
D istr ibu tio n M anager :
C reative D irector :
M ark W ashington
Paul Neufeldt
O ver the years, w e’ve seen many A m eri­
can institutions - from big name com panies
that grew their profits on the backs o f slaves,
to governm ent agencies that discrim inated
against black workers - try to move away
from their racist pasts.
T he S o u th e rn B a p tist C o n v e n tio n ’s
change is especially im portant because it’s a
religious organization, one that bases its very
actions on theology and the laws o f God.
As the people o f the United States have
learned, sim ply electing a black man to high
office w on’t wipe away generations o f o p ­
pression, but it is a sign that minds and hearts
are opening up.
Only time will tell if the Southern Baptist
Convention is truly com m itted to diversity
and cultural acceptance. It seems as if they
are on the right track.
Judge Greg M athis is a form er M ichigan
D istrict Court judge and current syndicated
television show judge.
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