The only black person in a white church service was an armed-guard-accompanied inmate.

Evidence

As the service began, our pastor rose to the pulpit, explained that we had a special guest, and introduced Sheldon Gooch. He did not introduce the other conspicuous guest: a prison guard who was required to accompany Gooch and ensure his return after the service. Both were easy to identify. Gooch was a muscular, dark-skinned African American man, and the white guard carried a sidearm; both wore uniforms: the easily identifiable blue pants with a darker blue stripe on the outside of the leg and matching denim button-up shirt for the inmate, and an ill-fitting tan and brown ensemble for the guard. — Robert P. Jones, White Too Long, 149

Categorization

• XREF: The image of black presence admitted to white sacred space only as shackled spectacle parallels how institutions tokenize rather than integrate.