Download The Last Segregated Hour: The Memphis Kneel-Ins and the Campaign for Southern Church Desegregation AudioBook Free
On Palm Sunday 1964, at the Second Presbyterian Church in Memphis, several black and white students started a "kneel-in" to protest the church's insurance plan of segregation, a protest that would continue in one form or another for more than a year and eventually force the church to open its entry doors to black worshippers. In The Previous Segregated Hour, Stephen Haynes explains to the story of the remarkable yet little studied technique which was the strategy of choice for bringing attention to segregationist policies in Southern churches. "Kneel-ins" involved surprise goes to to targeted churches, usually during Easter season, and frequently resulted in physical standoffs with protected church people. The spectacle of kneeling worshippers barred from stepping into churches made for a robust image that invited both local and national press attention. The Memphis kneel-ins of 1964-65 were unique for the reason that the protesters included white students from the local Presbyterian college (Southwestern, now Rhodes). And because the protesting students offered themselves in groupings which were "mixed" by competition and gender, white church members noticed the visitations as a hostile provocation and responded with unprecedented work to end them. But when Church officials pressured Southwestern chief executive Peyton Rhodes to "call off" his students or risk financial reprisals, he responded that "Southwestern is not for sale." Drawing on a variety of sources, including extensive interviews with the students who led the kneel-ins, Haynes explains to an inspiring story that will appeal not and then scholars of religious beliefs and history, but also to pastors and church people concerned about fostering racially diverse congregations.
