Belton, Texas – On Tuesday, November 13, Dr. Michael Evans, president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas (BGCT), offered a special lecture on race relations in the Baptist denomination during a Christian Studies Forum at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. The title of Evans’ lecture was “Race Matters: Where Are We Now, And Where Do We Go From Here?”
“What I’m talking to you about is being a generation that can look beyond my melanin and see giftedness,” Evans said.
Evans’ lecture traced the history of African American Baptist churches and conventions from the days of slavery. He referred to the earliest efforts to establish worship communities within or parallel to white churches as being “interesting partnerships.”
“As we saw early on, even when we were an insulated people, you have to have individuals who know in their heart of hearts that something is not quite right,” Evans said, “who can see that [black] people really are human.”
