W-79 BAPTISTS AND RACIAL IND FHNIC MINORITIES IN TEXAS DISSERTATION Presented to the Graduate Council of the North Texas State University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY By Joseph A. McLeod, B. A., M. A. Denton, Texas December, 1972 1973 JOSEPHii APA ivicLEtOJR ALL RIGHTS RESERVED McLeod, Joseph A., Baptists and Racial and Ethnic Minorities in Texas. Doctor of Philosophy (History), December, 1972, 333 pp., bibliography, 458 titles, This study examines the relations of white Baptists with racial and ethnic minorities in Texas from the begin- ning of organized Baptist work in Texas in the mid-nine- teenth century, through the United States Supreme Court decision in the Brown v. Topeka case in 1954, Emphasizing the role of attitudes in forming actions, it examines the ideas of various leaders of the chief Baptist bodies in Texas: the artist General Convention of Texas, the Bap- tist Missionary Association of Texas and the American Bap- tist Convention. The minorities included in the work are the Negroes, the Mexican-Americans, non-Anglo-Saxon Euro- peans, American Indians, Orientals, and Jews. Several factors tend to justify a study of this sub- ject. First, there is the prominence of race relations in the nation which has aroused interest in the effect which race relations have had upon affairs in Texas, Second, the widespread changes which have tacen place in Texas durin, the last two decades suggest the feasibility of a study of that phenomenon, and the fact that many con- issue sider the race problem to be a moral and religious indicates the relevance of the churches' relationships to these changes. As the largest religious denomination in the state, the Baptists offer a viable subject for study. Finally, since to date no study specifically relating to the Baptists of T exas and their role in race relations in the state has been made, it is felt that such a study will contribute to an understanding of the situation. The scope of this study, in point of tiae, extends from about 1850 to the early 1960's, in order to consider the reactions of Texas Baptists to the Brown decision of the United States Supreme Court. From the standpoint of Bap- subject, the study has been limited to leaders of the tist denomination. Their statements on the race issue as well as actions which may or may not have supported their statements have been studied, The term "Texas Baptists" has been used extensively, and usually refers to persons affiliated with the Baptist General Convention, although the context may indicate a use of the term in a wider sense. The materials consulted in this study included sec- ondary and general studies in order to provide background and perspective. These included histories, sociological studies, and contemporary studies of the topic, although a major portion of the work deals with primary materials. Such primary resources include sermons and articles written by the various church leaders, including 3. H. Carroll, J. 3. Gambrell, George W. Truett, T. B. Maston, W. A. Cris- well, and Billy Graham. The chief problem faced in the study was the lack of materials pertaining to the smaller groups of Saptists in the state. Several appeared to ignore the race question completely in publications produced for their constitu- encies. The study follows a chronological-topical plan of organization., The main divisions, except for the first two, are set within rather definite time periods; mater- ial is organized topically within each time period. The study concludes with the observation that al- though most Texas 3aptists have not yet reached the point of liberalization in racial attitudes which would satisfy the integrationist or civil rights advocate of the North, leaders of the 3aptist General Convention of Texas have made advances in recognizing the rights of minorities in matters political, economic, social and religious. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. GENERAL PERSPECTIVES . 1 II. BAPTISTS' BELIEFS AND THE RACE PROBLEM 28 III. BAPTISTS' ATTITUDES AND RACIAL PATTERNS BEFORE 1900 . * . * . ,. 56 IV. TEXAS BAPTISTS AND THE "WHITE MAN'S BURDEN" . V. TEXAS BAPTISTS AND EUROPEAN IMMIGRANTS DURING THE ERA OF THE "WHITE MAN'S BURDEN" . , . , 116 VI. TEXAS BAPTISTS' RACIAL ATTITUDES DURING THE PERIOD OF SOUTHERN POLITICAL RESURGENCE . 150 VII. THE PERIOD OF CONTROVERSY: THE . .. TWENTIES . ** , * * 189 VIII. "DEPRESSION AND HOPE" . 219 IX. WAR AND CONTINUING CONFLICT, 1940-1954.o 255 X. TEXAS BAPTISTS' REACTIONS TO THE BROWN DECISION . * . 295 EPILOGUE . * . 334 BIBLIOGRAPHY . 348 CHAPTER I GEIFRAL PERSPECTIVES Race relations, long a dominant concern in American society, have engaged the attention of members of the Bap- tist denomination in Texas since the early days of the state. Almost from the beginning of their organized exist- ence in the late 1840's, Baptists in Texas have expressed an interest in the topic of race and a concern for members of racial and ethnic minorities. For more than a century, various spokesmen, Baptists and others, in the state and in the nation, have emphasized the importance of the subject of race in American life. 1 Early in the twentieth century, William Hannibal Tho- mas, a former carpetbagger of racially mixed parentage, lfproceedings of the Baptist State Convention of Texas, Note:~ Designationsfor tiT source:Pro- ceedin s of the Baptist State Convention of Texas, 1-88_; Yrheeding Fthe BaptistGeneral AssocilatiWOnf Texas, 16 -16 ;trH esemerged to form eedins ofthe Baptist General a onvention of Texas, 1886-1912 and beiame~ni l6t of the Bptlst Geneiil Convention Fexas, beginnThiin fl13. flaceoofpl catInpublisher, an date of publication are seldom indicated. 1 2 declared: " . the negro Lsi) question embodies the most momentous problems that have ever engaged the atten- tion of the nation." In the 190O's, Gunnar Myrdal, the Swedish sociologist, conducted a study of American race re- lations and concluded that the racial situation in the United States presented the country with either its greatest oppor- tunity or its saddest tragedy.2 A decade after Myrdal's study, William A. Petzoldt, an American Baptist missionary, predicted that world and American affairs would soon be dominated by three "r's", race, religion, and revolution, and warned that Americans would do well to adjust to these prospects.3 A few years later, Russell B. Barbour, a white Protestant minister with no particular denominational af- filiation, observed the importance of race relations to all Americans, and especially to the white Christians, which seemed to lend a prophetic authority to Petzoldt's prediction. Barbour stw in the racial scene a revolution 2William Hannibal Thomas, The American gNegro (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1901), p.~~ix;TGunnarMyrdal, An American Dilemma: The Negro Problem and Modern Democracy (Newlork: Harper Ta Row, uSti1hrs, 1944)pp.71xix, lxx, lxxi. Note: Although Thomas' religious affiliation is not known, he expressed ideas which had found wide accep- tance among Baptists of that day. Likewise, Myrdal's re- ligious connection is not known, yet his study involved many Baptists, and has posed problems which most Baptists are forced to face. 3William A. Petzoldt, in an address to the Rotary Club, Shoshone, Idaho, 10 March 1954, attended by the author. in which the white American was being pushed into think- ing about the race problem by the cry of racial minorities, especially blacks, Mexican-Americans, and American Indians, at his door-step.4 Several factors recommend Texas Baptists and their racial attitudes as the subject of a special study. In the first place, because they comprise the largest evan- gelical denomination in the state, they have opportunities to exercise a unique leadership in religious affairs in Texas, although indications are that they have not fully availed themselves of their potential as leaders in the area of race relations. 5 Nonetheless, Baptists have a unique opportunity not only to influence their own people but also to serve as an example for other denominations as well. In addition to the potential influence within the churches of the state, Baptists of Texas have contributed leadership to the Southern Baptist Convention. A. C. Miller and Foy Valentine, both of whom served as directors of the Christian Life Commission of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, went to similar positions with the 4 Russell B. Barbour, Black and White To ether: Plain Talk for Whitee Christians TFrlaeIrpH : UnitedChuriW Press, 1967), p. 11; Barbara Harte and Carolyn Riley, Contemporary Authors, 30 vols. (Detroit: Gale Research Company, 1970)TT3-24:28. 5 The atist Standard, 24 July 1963, p. 3. 4 Southern Baptist Convention. The Christian Life Commis- sion is the agency in both the state convention and in the "South-wide convention which has the responsibility for race relations. In addition to Miller and Valentine, Tho- mas Bufford Maston, former ethics professor in Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, served as chairman of the Southern Baptist Advisory" Council, a committee organized for the purpose of guiding Southern Baptists' work with Negroes.6 Besides their potential for leadership in religious affairs, both in the state and beyond, Baptists of Texas are active in civic affairs, serving as officials, ranging from the precinct level to the governor's office. These officials help determine the laws enacted and the manner in which these laws, once passed, are enforced. Their racial attitudes naturally affect their legislative and enforcement policies, especially in such matters as relate to minorities. Although Baptists maintain autonomous organizations, from local churches to national conventions, and some tend to be religious isolationists, they are members of the so- cial structure. While they often seek to influence society, 6 Annual, Ba tist General Convention, Texas, pp. 144143 19, -173F9$iP7 170TTT TeFrtij Standard, 22 Wtaary 1955, VW5. 5 ele- the fact remains that non-Baptist and non-Christian ments have affected them, not infrequently leading them the to tWlte unchristian stands on public issues, one of 7 most common of which is race relations.