Falwell opposed Brown and founded a segregated academy in 1967

Evidence

Although he later repented of it, Jerry Falwell denounced the landmark Brown v. Board of Education ruling, which mandated the desegregation of public schools. “If Chief Justice Warren and his associates had known God’s word and had desired to do the Lord’s will, I am quite confident that the 1954 decision would never have been made,” Falwell preached. “The facilities should be separate. When God has drawn a line of distinction, we should not attempt to cross that line.” Integration, Falwell warned, “will destroy our race eventually.” Falwell referred to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as “civil wrongs,” and in 1967, the same year the Commonwealth of Virginia finally mandated the desegregation of the state’s public schools, Falwell formed his own segregated school, Lynchburg Christian Academy, which the Lynchburg News described as “a private school for white students.” When asked by a local minister if blacks would be admitted, Falwell said no. — Randall Balmer, Bad Faith, 153

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Falwell preached Christian non-involvement in politics only while defending segregation before it became costly — Katherine Stewart, The Power Worshippers: Inside the…, 246; Falwell’s political awakening was a defensive move to preserve segregation — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne: How White…, 226; Black students demanded antiracist overhaul of universities in 1967 — Ibram X. Kendi, Stamped from the Beginning: The…, 1004

Related

• Falwell’s political awakening was a defensive move to preserve segregation (similarity 0.89)
• Falwell preached Christian non-involvement in politics only while defending segregation before it became costly (similarity 0.84)

Broader Connections

• Falwell’s political awakening was a defensive move to preserve segregation #corroborates (0.92) — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne, 226
• Black students demanded antiracist overhaul of universities in 1967 #complicates (0.72) — Ibram X. Kendi, Stamped from the Beginning, 1004