Civil Rights Movement

Civil Rights March from Selma to Montgomery, 1965; Peter Pettus, Library of Congress

Civil Rights March from Selma to Montgomery, 1965; Peter Pettus, Library of Congress

“The Civil Rights Act of 1964, which ended segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin, is considered one of the crowning legislative achievements of the civil rights movement… In subsequent years, Congress expanded the act and also passed additional legislation aimed at bringing equality to African Americans, such as the Voting Rights Act of 1965.” (History.com, A&E Networks.)

“The 1960s retain a certain infamy for radical action and civil rights, spawning feminism, Black Power, the Chicano movement, and even Asian identity movements in the United States. What remains fascinating about Disciples history is that during the late 1960s, a time when even the greatest advocates of integration were beginning to despair of America’s capacity to overcome its divides–when integrationist movements were being replaced by separatist movements… –Black Disciples intentionally chose a path of merger, of uniting the body of Christ. Simultaneously, while Latino Disciples demanded their voice be heard, they also remained part of the predominantly White Disciples movement. … Asian ministry remained fairly dormant until a great wave of new immigrants from Asia came under the new Immigration Acts of 1965.” (Rev. Sandhya Jha, Room at the Table, p66-67.)

“In 1967, reconciliation was introduced to the wider church… At the 1969 General Assembly in Seattle (the same one that finalized the merger between the International Convention and the National Christian Missionary Convention), the Disciples passed a resolution about its failures in this area:

…We acknowledge that despite our resolutions and pronouncements, our churches have, with rare exception, failed to demonstrate a faceless Christianity, a community of once alienated persons reconciled and made one in Christ. We repent our racism, we pledge ourselves by God’s grace to bring forth the fruits of repentance.”

“Reconciliation became ‘a long range commitment of the church,’ with racial reconciliation still at the heart of the Disciples’ stated goals for the church today.” (Rev. Sandhya Jha, Room at the Table, p73-74.)