Mississippi praying: southern white Evangelicals and the civil rights movement, 1945-1975 PDF
Preview Mississippi praying: southern white Evangelicals and the civil rights movement, 1945-1975
Mississippi Praying This page intentionally left blank Mississippi Praying Southern White Evangelicals and the Civil Rights Movement, 1945–1975 Carolyn Renée Dupont NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS New York and London NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS New York and London www.nyupress.org © 2013 by New York University All rights reserved References to Internet Websites (URLs) were accurate at the time of writing. Neither the author nor New York University Press is responsible for URLs that may have expired or changed since the manuscript was prepared. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Dupont, Carolyn Renée. Mississippi praying : southern white evangelicals and the Civil Rights movement, 1945–1975 / Carolyn Renée Dupont. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978–0–8147–0841–5 (alk. paper) 1. Mississippi—Church history—20th century. 2. Evangelicalism—Mississippi—History— 20th century. 3. Civil rights movements—Mississippi—History—20th century. I. Title. BR555.M7D87 2013 277.62'0285—dc23 2013009417 New York University Press books are printed on acid-free paper, and their binding materials are chosen for strength and durability. We strive to use environmentally responsible suppliers and materials to the greatest extent possible in publishing our books. Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 To Greg, Julianne, Daniel, and Elise This page intentionally left blank Contents List of Illustrations ix Acknowledgments xi Introduction: History, White Religion, and 1 the Civil Rights Movement 1 Segregation and the Religious Worlds of White Mississippians 15 2 Conversations about Race in the Post-War World 39 3 Responding to Brown: The Recalcitrant Parish 63 4 “A Strange and Serious Christian Heresy”: Massive Resistance and the Religious Defense of Segregation 79 5 “Ask for the Old Paths”: Mississippi’s Southern Baptists and Segregation 105 6 “Born of Conviction”: The Travail of Mississippi Methodism 127 7 The Jackson Church Visits: “A Good Quarter-Time Church with a Bird Dog and Shotgun”155 8 “Warped and Distorted Reflections”: 181 Mississippi and the North 9 Race and the Restructuring of American Religion 199 Conclusion: A Theology on the Wrong Side of History 231 Notes 241 Index 285 About the Author 290 >> vii This page intentionally left blank Illustrations 1.1 First Baptist Church, Jackson, Mississippi. 19 2.1 Members of the Woman’s Division of the Methodist Church 51 singing at the 1950 Women’s Assembly in Cleveland, Ohio. 4.1 When the Reverend Alvin Kershaw of Ohio openly 89 supported the NAACP, Mississippians challenged the authenticity of his Christianity. 7.1 Tougaloo College students and northern ministers 163 turned away from Capitol Street Methodist Church, October 27, 1963. 8.1 White ministers in the picket lines at the Forrest County 189 Courthouse during the early months of 1964. 9.1 Baptist College students plead with the SBC to offer a 208 “relevant response to social issues” in 1968. >> ix
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