Religion: Moving into the Mainstream

A progressive leader for the nation's largest black church group

The stalwarts of the civil rights movement were there. Coretta Scott King, evoking her husband's memory; Atlanta Patriarch Benjamin Mays, delivering a soul-stirring speech from a wheelchair; and the Rev. Jesse Jackson, still undecided about when, or if, he will announce his candidacy for President. Comedian Dick Gregory exhorted the huge audience: "You're the strongest, biggest, blackest organization there is. Use it!"

The scene at the Los Angeles Convention Center last week was the annual assembly of the National Baptist Convention, U.S.A., Inc. (N.B.C.U.S.A.),...

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