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Faith and Race: One Church’s Response to the Civil Rights Movement
Author: Melynda Dovel Wilcox
Publication date: June, 2023
Publisher: Yellow Dot Publishing
Intended audience: Adult Education
Genre: American History,
Social Sciences
80 pages
Features: Sidebar quotes, Full color and Black & White photos
Thoroughly researched, footnoted, bibliography included
ISBN: 978-0-9763725-4-7
From the Publisher
This book, Faith and Race, talks about my grandfather’s role at the Church as pastor from the 1940s to 1970 when he died. Cliff Johnson came to Virginia with all the racial baggage that comes with being from Columbus, Georgia. Melynda writes about his struggle with the issue of race, which he had to confront as leader of a congregation. Melynda did a great job. I never would or could have written this book. Often books are best written by someone from outside of the family or culture being described.
Ellen Hamilton,
Book Designer and Publisher
Summary
Dr. Cliff Johnson grew up in Columbus, Georgia, steeped in the racism of the Jim Crow era. But as a young pastor of a new Presbyterian church just outside the nation’s capital, he felt called by his faith in the 1950s and 1960s to overcome the legacy of his upbringing. He embarked on a personal journey toward greater racial understanding, and through his deeply personal and honest sermons, invited his congregation to join him.
One member of Cliff’s congregation, Connie Ring, would play a key role in fighting back against Virginia’s “Massive Resistance” to the Supreme Court’s landmark 1954 decision declaring that separate was inherently unequal. Together, Cliff and Connie showed that it was not only possible for individuals to acknowledge and conquer their own prejudices, but also imperative for achieving a society in which everyone has equal standing.
Author
Melynda Dovel Wilcox
is a freelance writer and editor, having previously worked for Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine for nearly 20 years. Her blog, Port City Notebook (portcitynotebook.com), covers education and other topics of interest to residents of Alexandria, Va., where she resides with her husband.
How This Book Came About
In the wake of the George Floyd killing on May 25, 2020, and its aftermath, Westminster Presbyterian Church Session created the “Therefore Committee” to explore ways that our church could address the searing racial issues facing our country.
This Committee grew out of the charge included in the Response to Racism statement adopted by the Session:
“In the immediate days ahead, our community will define a plan to bring about more justice, equity, inclusion, safety, compassion, trust, and love. In the short-term, we will seek to strengthen our community by uplifting the disadvantaged and fearful and assist those in crises. We will not stop there, however. We commit to long-term empowerment and hope, so that we might one day effect true healing, absolution, and forgiveness. We will walk with any seeking constructive change and condemn those who would use violence to block progress.“