Rev. Trinette McCray to speak at City-County King Observance
Faith and History
Faith and History
American civil rights movement, Historically Black Colleges and Universities *HBCUs), is crumbling. And it was the Black Church that supported them.
Many of the leaders of the civil rights movement such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Thurgood Marshall were products of HBCUs. And this breeding ground of
leadership is beginning to be threatened by the current economic catastrophe.
"They’ve been in jeopardy off and on as the years have gone on,” McCray said. “But today, with this economy, we are aware of many of the universities and
colleges who are facing financial crisis as many other institutions are. I think the call for us today is likewise how do we with the enormous amount of resources
that we have now within the Black community itself, how do we take responsibility today to preserve the right and presence of the HCBUs as educational
institutions in our country. Certainly we have privilege to attend any university of our choice. But there still is a needed presence and role for HBCUs. At the
American Baptist Historical Society, for example, some of those schools were started by persons, organizations and churches who have historical roots within the
American Baptist Churches USA. Many of our national mission organizations and our churches were a part of starting those colleges and universities. With that
perspective, it is very near and dear to our hearts and history and legacy that we leave as well. That’s a role that we have seen for the Black Church in yesteryears
and I think the role of the larger Black community today as we see those same HCBUs being faced with challenges given our current economic conditions in this
country.”
Among the threatened are Morris Brown College in Atlanta, which had its water shut off by the city of Atlanta over the Christmas break.
And in McCray’s view, the loss of HBCUs would affect all of America. “What we have to do is be very, very diligent about being engaged during this time and
going forward into the future so that the privileges and the sacrifices and the great resources that we have, which are at least available to the African American
community, but more broadly makes the United States of America the rich place it is because we have institutions of all kinds and makes it available to all
people,” McCray said. “We don’t want to loose this richness during times of great economic peril.”
Next Issue: Faith and action and the late Rev. Ralph Abernathy
Many of the leaders of the civil rights movement such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Thurgood Marshall were products of HBCUs. And this breeding ground of
leadership is beginning to be threatened by the current economic catastrophe.
"They’ve been in jeopardy off and on as the years have gone on,” McCray said. “But today, with this economy, we are aware of many of the universities and
colleges who are facing financial crisis as many other institutions are. I think the call for us today is likewise how do we with the enormous amount of resources
that we have now within the Black community itself, how do we take responsibility today to preserve the right and presence of the HCBUs as educational
institutions in our country. Certainly we have privilege to attend any university of our choice. But there still is a needed presence and role for HBCUs. At the
American Baptist Historical Society, for example, some of those schools were started by persons, organizations and churches who have historical roots within the
American Baptist Churches USA. Many of our national mission organizations and our churches were a part of starting those colleges and universities. With that
perspective, it is very near and dear to our hearts and history and legacy that we leave as well. That’s a role that we have seen for the Black Church in yesteryears
and I think the role of the larger Black community today as we see those same HCBUs being faced with challenges given our current economic conditions in this
country.”
Among the threatened are Morris Brown College in Atlanta, which had its water shut off by the city of Atlanta over the Christmas break.
And in McCray’s view, the loss of HBCUs would affect all of America. “What we have to do is be very, very diligent about being engaged during this time and
going forward into the future so that the privileges and the sacrifices and the great resources that we have, which are at least available to the African American
community, but more broadly makes the United States of America the rich place it is because we have institutions of all kinds and makes it available to all
people,” McCray said. “We don’t want to loose this richness during times of great economic peril.”
Next Issue: Faith and action and the late Rev. Ralph Abernathy
By Jonathan Gramling
Part 1 of 2
Rev. Dr. Trinette McCray, the keynote speaker for the 24th Annual City-County King Holiday Observance, knows a little
something about trailblazing and civil rights. Back in the early 1980s when she accepted he call to ministry, McCray was
eventually ordained by the late civil rights icon Rev. Dr. Ralph Abernathy at West Hunter Street Baptist Church in Atlanta,
Georgia in 1981. The road wasn’t easy.
“A group of Black pastors, Baptist particularly, had voted not to ordain or license any woman in any of their churches,”
McCray said in a phone interview with The Capital City Hues. “I approached Dr. Abernathy about my own call and asked him
if he would license and ordain me. He agreed that he would. He had to work hard to find pastors who would serve on my
councils. And he wouldn’t give up even though he had many who hung up on him, who said no because I was a woman. He
didn’t give up and he found five pastors who did agree. These were very noted pastors in the city. They agreed to serve on
my ordination council and I was ordained by virtue of his commitment, his belief in it being right and his working hard to see
it happen.”
Since that time, McCray has offered her own leadership to the Black church and the movement. In 1999, she became
the first clergywoman to be elected president of American Baptist Churches USA. Currently, she is the president of the
American Baptist Historical Society. And from her unique perspective, she currently feels that one of the cornerstones of the
Part 1 of 2
Rev. Dr. Trinette McCray, the keynote speaker for the 24th Annual City-County King Holiday Observance, knows a little
something about trailblazing and civil rights. Back in the early 1980s when she accepted he call to ministry, McCray was
eventually ordained by the late civil rights icon Rev. Dr. Ralph Abernathy at West Hunter Street Baptist Church in Atlanta,
Georgia in 1981. The road wasn’t easy.
“A group of Black pastors, Baptist particularly, had voted not to ordain or license any woman in any of their churches,”
McCray said in a phone interview with The Capital City Hues. “I approached Dr. Abernathy about my own call and asked him
if he would license and ordain me. He agreed that he would. He had to work hard to find pastors who would serve on my
councils. And he wouldn’t give up even though he had many who hung up on him, who said no because I was a woman. He
didn’t give up and he found five pastors who did agree. These were very noted pastors in the city. They agreed to serve on
my ordination council and I was ordained by virtue of his commitment, his belief in it being right and his working hard to see
it happen.”
Since that time, McCray has offered her own leadership to the Black church and the movement. In 1999, she became
the first clergywoman to be elected president of American Baptist Churches USA. Currently, she is the president of the
American Baptist Historical Society. And from her unique perspective, she currently feels that one of the cornerstones of the
Rev. Dr. Trinette McCray