People who know me have asked, “How could you grow up in a segregated Evansville, Indiana, in the 1940’s and 1950’s without any racial prejudice?” After all, we were just across the Ohio River from Kentucky and the Klan kept tensions high between us. The short answer is, “By the grace of God.” But this is how I got to who I am today.
First, J never ever heard my parents say one negative word about any ethnic group. I was taught to respect my elders no matter what they may look like. (I still do, but it is getting harder to find any at the age of 81.)
In 1954, I became a born again follower of Jesus Christ and my hero of the faith was Billy Graham. That same year, Billy lamented the fact that Sunday morning was the most segregated time of the week. He integrated his team and then refused to hold any crusade meeting that was segregated, even in the deep south. I loved to hear him preach. He held large, nightly meetings in New York City the entire summer of 1957. He spoke to over two million people live, in addition to the vast TV and radio audiences. I still remember watching on TV as Dr. King and Billy Graham stood side by side in front of a packed Madison Square Garden proclaiming that there is only one race, the human race, and everyone in that race needs Jesus as their Savior. Later, when the invitation was given, thousands of people with every shade of skin imaginable came forward together to accept Christ. I will never forget that image.
Many years later, I visited Christian Life Center where I found different ethnic groups worshiping together and hearing God’s word preached clearly. I knew it was my spiritual home.