Race and Civil Rights

Abstract

Abstract Fundamentalists have had and continue to have a difficult relationship with the concept of race. As initially a group of predominantly white Protestant ministers, they racialized their definition of fundamentalist to exclude African Americans from fellowship. Instead, white fundamentalist leaders consistently tried to speak for and at African Americans, often couching their discourse as a necessary safeguard against presumed black naiveté. This chapter charts that discourse, provides background on the historic segregation of American churches, and explores the ways in which African Americans responded to fundamentalist tenets. Moreover, it discusses the history of fundamentalists and the American civil rights movement, notes the continued presence of racial division among evangelicals today, and offers potential avenues for further discussion.