To the Point
Southern Baptist Convention Elects Its First Black President
Formed to support slavery before the Civil War and resistant to civil rights, the nation's largest Protestant denomination is about to choose its first black president.
By Warren Olney • • 50m ListenThe Southern Baptist Convention was formed to support slavery before the Civil War. It resisted integration and opposed the civil rights movement until it officially "apologized" for racism in 1995. Now the nation's biggest Protestant denomination is about to choose its first black president. Also, the dismissal of Pakistan's Prime Minister leaves the government in disarray, and Yankee Pitcher Roger Clemens has been acquitted of lying to Congress, but the sports pages are still full of suspicion about performance-enhancing drugs. What about the Hall of Fame?
Banner image: Rev. Fred Luter, who is expected to become the next president of the Southern Baptist Convention
In this episode
3 storiesPakistani Prime Minister Dismissed, Leaving Government in Disarray
Pakistan, one of the world's nuclear powers, is in a state of "constitutional uncertainty" after the Supreme Court dismissed Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani for refusing to pursue a corruption case against the name who appointed him, President Asif Ali Zardari. That's according to Declan Walsh in Islamabad for the New York Times .
Read the story7 minThe Southern Baptist Convention Makes History
The Southern Baptist Convention , born before the Civil War in defense of slavery, was a bastion of white supremacists through the civil rights movement and into the 1990's. It was only twenty years ago that America's largest Protestant denomination apologized for "institutionalized racism" and resistance to civil rights.
Read the story35 minClemens and Armstrong: Who Cares about Doping?
A jury deliberated for just a day and a half before acquitting former Yankee pitcher Roger Clemens of lying to Congress when he denied using performance enhancing drugs. As the Wall Street Journal pointed out, the federal government offered no excuse for its failed prosecution. What about Lance Armstrong ? Do sports fans really care?
Read the story8 min
