Mississippi Baptist clergy publicly defended racial segregation in explicitly white supremacist terms

Evidence

Then the Hedermans went to work. In addition to prominently covering Hudgins’s statements, the Jackson Daily News carried a front-page story with extensive quotes from a number of deacons at First Baptist and included an editorial calling the SBC’s affirmation of Brown “a deplorable action.” One of the most blatantly white supremacist statements came from FBC deacon and assistant to the state attorney general Alex McKeigney, who asserted that “the facts of history make it plain that the development of civilization and of Christianity itself has rested in the hands of the white race.” He went on to declare that integration of any kind would ultimately result in racial intermarriage, “a course which if followed to its end will result in driving the white race from the earth forever, never to return.” On the editorial page of the same issue, the paper reassured its readers that Jackson’s Baptist clergy and lay leaders were aligned in opposition to Brown and would ensure that nothing would “change the complexion of Baptist congregations in this city.” FBC itself maintained its official policy barring attendance by nonwhites beyond Hudgins’s tenure, repealing it only in 1973. — Robert P. Jones, White Too Long, 122

Categorization

• SHARE: A white churchman argued white supremacy underpinned Christianity itself — worth sharing with anyone interested in the religious defense of segregation.
• XREF: Connects to Annihilation of Caste’s account of how religion sanctifies social hierarchy, and to the broader pattern of religious institutions legitimating racial orders. — connects to: A prominent American fundamentalist preached that God authored racial segregation — Katherine Stewart, The Power Worshippers: Inside the…, 247; Mississippi’s leading segregationist newspapers ran openly racist headlines during civil rights era — Robert P. Jones, White Too Long: The Legacy of White…, 116; Mississippi governor Ross Barnett fused segregationist politics with Baptist Christian theology — Robert P. Jones, White Too Long: The Legacy of White…, 118 (+9 more)

Broader Connections

• White churches morally legitimized and protected white supremacy through state power #exemplifies (0.90) — Robert P. Jones, White Too Long, 125
• Mississippi’s legislature acted to guarantee churches could stay segregated after Brown #corroborates (0.85) — Robert P. Jones, White Too Long, 127
• White churches actively produced white supremacy rather than merely tolerating it #exemplifies (0.85) — Robert P. Jones, White Too Long, 102
• White churches historically functioned as agents upholding racist social structures #exemplifies (0.80) — Nikole Hannah-Jones et al., The 1619 Project, 1055
• Defending a Christian nation has meant defending the racial order #exemplifies (0.78) — Andrew L. Whitehead, American Idolatry, 476