A thank-you to the person who recommended When the Church Bell Rang Racist by Donald E. Collins. The book describes the Methodist Church's attempt to integrate in the 1950s and 1960s. It centers on events in Alabama and Florida, but my guess is similar problems occurred in other parts of the country—although they were probably not as blatant. The scariest sentence in the book IMHO was "the church officials assigned men to stand guard at the church each Sunday to make certain that no black could enter." (page 104) Won’t it be justice if those officials and guards arrive at the gates of heaven only to find their entrance blocked by people of color? I sure hope that god, whoever he/she may be, has a sense of irony.
I was the one, Martha. I haven't read it yet, but my aunt told me about it and said that it mentions my uncle, the Reverend Samuel Curtis Shirah who lost his church in Birmingham because he dared pray for the 4 little black girls killed in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in 1963. Uncle Sam and his son Sam Junior feature prominently in a book called Freedom Walk: Mississippi or Bust written by Mary Stanton.
EmmaG
