"A Christian Looks
At the Religious Right"
Blacks and the Religious Right
Author Roy Carlson writes about an interesting occurrence in Harlem just before the outbreak of World War II. Nazi spies were working Harlem to recruit sympathizers to Hitler's reign in Europe. Now, I know you are asking the same question I was. How could such an absurd recruitment take place by Aryan believers with their racist charts? It happens that some Negro leaders spoke openly on street corners convinced that this Nazi movement would be better for the plight of Blacks in America. One leader even went so far as to claim Japanese considered themselves black and would place Blacks in prominent places of leadership when they defeated the U.S. Carlson checked out such claims with Japanese leaders in the nation who laughed off such promises replying they did not consider themselves kin to Blacks and Black people would definitely not have any part of a Japanese controlled America.1
This is a little known historical event that Black people were patronized by racists into joining their ranks. To think that an empire that rated blacks at the bottom of the evolutionary order, far below Nordic tribes, found Black sympathizers is among other things, humorous.
I ran into a similar story in person a few months ago in Lufkin, Texas. To most readers the understanding of race and politics is long-standing in the nation. Blacks were connected in Reconstruction to Republicans. Whites in the South were historically Democrats. This was to change with the Civil Rights movement. Historians tell the story about Bill Moyers, one time aid to LBJ, coming in in jubilation over the Civil Rights legislative victory. Moyers was surprised at the cool reception he received from he President who had championed the effort. Johnson explained his sorrow by saying prophetically, "Bill, I've just handed the South to the Republicans for fifty years, certainly for the rest of our lifetimes."2 The late Black Congressman, Mickey Leland, once said Black people had about as much business being in the GOP as chickens did holding a rally for Colonel Sanders.
Leland's opinion is apparent by voter turnout, but there are some obvious exceptions in switch over. The Lufkin event was an attempt to entice Blacks to changing parties. The information shared was so controversial that the city of Lufkin had to send out an apology letter for hosting such an event. The event was supposed to be a racial reconciliation meeting, but turned into a partisan rally with Religious Right leader David Barton of THE MYTH OF SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE fame leading the campaign. His reason for Blacks abandoning the Democratic party were preceded by Black pastors bragging about how much influence they were having in the state GOP. Some had even been given special invitations to decision making boards.
Barton proceeded to tell the participants Demos stared the Civil War, opposed Civil Rights and led segregation efforts. David said Democrats started the Klan to kill Republicans and 4,472 lynchings took place by this group who opposed attempts to outlaw lynchings. David reminded the audience that the Democrats liked abortion since it was a common practice among Black people. He informed the listeners that actually Democrats are White and the Republicans are the Black party. He did, as imagined, fail to mention the facts that Strom Thurmond and David Duke were Republicans.
Democratic Party elected officials happened to be at the meeting and one would imagine their shock at such revisionism. It did raise a question that needs to be dealt with. Barton is going around the nation hosting Black history seminars. He is never available for rebuttal of his lectures, standing behind his PowerPoint, he departs quickly after the presentation. It would be a good idea for Blacks to look into the brief history of the Religious Right.
Early leaders of the movement, like Baptist pastor J. Frank Norris, were supported by the Klan and he actually brought them into his church. He often ridiculed the Democrats for bringing Black people into the voting booth.3 Actually the credited founder of the modern Fundamentalist movement in theology was an Old South segregationist named Gresham Machem.4 During the sixties torch bearers Billy Hargis and Carl McIntire traveled around the South telling audiences that integration was a Communist plot. This linking of Communism with Civil Rights was a common tactic of the John Birch Society which modern Religious right leader Tim LaHay was often an organizer for.5
Contemporary leaders like Memphis pastor Adrian Rogers have said, "Well, I believe slavery is a much maligned institution. If we had slavery today, we
would not have this welfare mess."6 TV pastors like Rogers are more subtle today and have moved away from public statements that are obviously offensive to contemporary audiences..but the history is still there. Jerry Falwell, who denounced the Supreme Court ruling on integration of public schools as a satanic plot and had called racial quotas not Christian, has toned down the rhetoric.7
Racism is one of the building blocks of the movement's past. Black people would never have been welcomed into the early Religious Right. The spin Barton and others put on such history cannot erase the embarrassing past. The GOP would do better with Black voters by distancing itself from the Religious Right community., They are hoping Black voters will not notice the history of the movement. The potential Black recruits would do well op check out the past of Bob Jones University and the remains of the White Citizens Council. They might be interested to find some of the names there.
Rice University historian Chandler Davidson and writer Michael Barkun, in his book RELIGION AND THE RACIST RIGHT, have written extensively on race and the movement.8 They have not been alone among many other authors who have stated such.
The German Bund, a group of German sympathizers in the U.S. during the thirties, was directly linked to the leadership of the Religious Right of the times. Their position on race provides a concise summary of Religious Right history."...to attempt to thwart the will of Nature by indiscriminately mixing the Races of the World to produce some artificial 'Standard Human Race', is Madness and Blasphemy."
Don Wilkey Oct. 18, 2004