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Page 10 The Skanner August 31, 2016 News Divided America: Neighbor Churches, Split on Race Lines, Work to Heal Divide MACON, Ga.— There are two First Baptist Churches in Macon — one black and one white. They sit almost back- to-back, separated by a small park, in a hilltop historic district over- looking downtown. About 170 years ago, they were one congrega- tion, albeit a church of masters and slaves. Then the ight over abolition and slavery started tear- ing badly at religious groups and moving the country toward Civil War. The Macon church, like many others at the time, decided it was time to separate by race. Ever since — through Jim Crow, the civil rights movement, desegrega- tion and beyond — the division endured, be- coming so deeply rooted it hardly drew notice. Then, two years ago, the Rev. Scott Dickison, pastor of the white church, and the Rev. James Goolsby, pastor of the black church, met over lunch and an idea took shape: They’d try to ind a way the congre- gations, neighbors for so long, could become friends. They’d try to bridge the stubborn di- vide of race. They are taking up this work against a tumul- tuous backdrop, includ- ing the much-publicized AP PHOTO/BRANDEN CAMP By Rachel Zoll AP Religion Writer The Rev. James W. Goolsby, Jr., senior pastor of the First Baptist Church, left, and the Rev. Scott Dickison, senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Christ, right, pose for a photo at Dickison’s church in Macon, Ga., on Monday, July 11, 2016. There are two First Baptist Churches in Macon _ one black and one white. Two years ago, Dickison and Goolsby met to try to ind a way the congregations, neighbors for so long, could become friends. They’d try to bridge the stubborn divide of race. deaths of blacks at the hands of law enforce- ment and the rise of the Black Lives Matter move- ment. Next month, they will lead joint discussions with church members on racism in the history of the U.S., and also in the history of their congre- gations. “This is not a conver- sation of blame, but of acceptance and moving forward,” Goolsby said. Like many American institutions, houses of worship have largely been separated by race, to the point that the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. called Sunday mornings “one of the most segre- gated hours.” Recently, several denominations, from the Episcopal Church to the Southern Baptist Convention, have tried to look critically at their past actions going back centuries. In the early 1800s, in Baptist churches of the South, whites and blacks oten worshipped to- gether, but blacks were restricted to galleries or the back of the sanctuary. Eventually, black popu- lations started growing faster in many commu- nities. Whites, made un- easy by the imbalance, responded by splitting up the congregations. This was apparently the case for First Baptist in Macon, which built a separate church for blacks in 1845, then inal- ized the separation two decades later soon ater the Civil War ended. Goolsby and Dickison said their respective churches were enthusi- astic about plans to work together, under the aus- pices of the New Baptist Covenant, an organiza- tion formed by former President Jimmy Carter to unite Baptists. Yet excitement mixed with apprehension, since the efort would inevita- bly require “some chal- lenging conversations,” Dickison said, including a re-examination of the oicial church history, which had been recorded in mostly benign terms, with almost no recogni- tion of racism. “We need to go through this kind of conversion experience of confes- sion, of repentance and of reconciliation. We need to have that when it comes to race, not just in the country but with- in the church,” Dickison said. Goolsby recalled that ater the massacre last year at the historic black church in Charleston, South Carolina, he was outside a store, awaiting his wife, when Dickison called. “Scott shared how he felt, how he was strug- gling with what he would share with his congrega- tion,” Goolsby said. Dick- son asked how he could show support. “I said, ‘We’re already doing it,’” Goolsby said. “The mere fact he thought to call me was huge.” The stakes were even more personal months later, when the white church invited black church members for a youth trip to Orlando. Goolsby’s teenage son was among those invited. Read the rest of this story at TheSkanner.com OBITUARY: Eugene Hughes, Sr. aka Gene Diamond April 18, 1938 – August 13, 2016 Gene was born in land Southern Illinois. Af- Community College ter graduating from developed into what Douglass High School is now known as the in Mounds, Illinois, Mt. Hood Jazz Festi- where he was a “star val. He was a premier member” of the basket- performer with “Art ball team, he moved to Quake” and the “Cathe- Chicago and married dral Park” concerts. his high school sweet- Gene’s musical versa- heart. It was while liv- tility allowed him to Eugene Hughes, Sr. ing in Chicago that he move with ease from started his professional singing ca- sensitive love songs to funky blues reer. to country. His experience of singing in the To continue his legacy, Gene leaves Junior Choir of the family church his wife of 59 years, Leora Hughes, served as a natural induction to his two sons, Eugene, Jr. of New York, working with James Cleveland Gos- NY and Brian C. of Portland, OR and pel Chimes and Mahalia Jackson. his only daughter Beverly F. of Ow- His transformation to a jazz sing- ings Mills, MD. He also leaves two er occurred as he worked with The granddaughters, Briana Hemphill, Ramsey Lewis Trio, Gene Harris and a graduate of Temple University and the Three Sounds, The Bobby Bryant Nya Hughes, a second year student Quintet, Quincy Jones’ Orchestra, a Stanford University. Additionally, Gerald Wilson’s Orchestra, H.B. Bar- celebrating his life is his sister, num, and numerous others. Geneva Adams, his brother, Robert Ater moving to Portland, Ore- Earl Hughes, both of Illinois and a gon, he performed on television, in host of cousins, nieces, and neph- concerts, at intimate nightclubs, on ews. The family asks anyone who radio, and at jazz festivals. His work wishes to honor Gene’s life to make with the music department at Port- a donation to ‘’First Tee.”
