The Rev. Dr. Harold T. Lewis, Author and Rector of Calvary, Pittsburgh
The Episcopal Church, which still makes the specious claim that it is the only denomination that did not split over the racial issue at the time of the Civil War, has had a checkered history when it comes to race relations. At times, it has rigorously defended the institution of slavery, deployed clergy along strict racial lines, and encouraged and condoned de facto segregation in its parishes, schools and other institutions. At other times, it has been a champion for the plight of racial minorities, and has fought on the front lines of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. Is racism still a problem in church and society, or is it a "back-burner" issue as the church is grappling with how it must deal with feminism, sexism, heterosexism and other "isms"? In this session, we will look at race relations and the church through the lenses of two publications --- Gardner Shattuck's Episcopalians and Race: Civil War to Civil Rights; and my book, Yet With a Steady Beat: The African American Struggle for Recognition in the Episcopal Church