Mississippi Civil Rights Veterans on the Role of Churches - Then and Now

Civil Rights Pioneer Reverand Baron Banks

During the turbulent 60's the black church was an integral part of the civil rights movement. MPB's Lawayne Childrey examines it's role four decades later.

As a 19 years old voting rights organizer. Hollis Watkins was the first Mississippi student to join the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee. And even though many of the meetings were held in churches he recalls how difficult it was to get people involved.
“Because the same fear that the pastor had was also among the community. So when we began to reach out in the community and the numbers began to grow.”
“Get on board children children, get on board children children get on board children. Let’s ride children ride.”
Through the church, blacks began to organize demonstrations against white suppression. And in the tradition of many African American Church's lifted their voice with songs that stirred the soul.
“There’re coming round the square, to catch those freedom fighters, but we gone meet them there.”

“Even though churches was being bombed at that time and burned, it still was our safe place.”

Reverend Baron Banks Pastors the New Hope Missionary Baptist church in Meridian, He explains how the role of the church has always been about more than just religion.

“A lot of people probably don’t realize that the three civil rights workers before they was murdered in Philadelphia had just come from a church meeting in Holmes County. So the church has played a vital part. Education for voting, at 18 years of age I had to have federal registrars to go with me to vote in Lexington Mississippi. The church was a movement of that.”

The Civil Rights Pioneers talked with students at Jackson State University in observance of Black History Month. For MPB News, I'm Lawayne Childrey.