Delta political leaders thrash three Ark. politicians for expressing racial and religious prejudice

A group of political leaders in the eight-state federal Delta region, stretching from southern Illinois to the mouth of the Mississippi, has condemned three Arkansas politicians for derogatory statements they made about Muslims and African Americans. The Mississippi Delta Grassroots Caucus, which supports and works with the federal Delta Regional Authority, said the statements "are the prejudiced views of a tiny minority and do not reflect the point of view of the vast majority of people in Arkansas." About 30 to 40 percent of the MDGC is African American, and the group says it has strong ties to the Muslim community.

The statements in question came from three state Republicans: Rep. Jon Hubbard, who said African Americans benefitted from slavery and criticized those who chastised him by saying "this reeks of Nazi-style political intimidation;" state House candidate Charlie Fuqua, who wrote in the book God's Law that all Muslims should be expelled from the U.S.; and state Rep. Loy Mauch, who said in a 2001 editorial that Abraham Lincoln was a terrorist. (Read more)

Southern Baptists enthusiastically elect first African-American president

Fred Luter Jr., left, and outgoing SBC
President Bryant Wright (AP photo)

Rev. Fred Luter Jr. has been chosen to lead the Southern Baptist Convention, the nation's largest Protestant denomination, the first time that an African-American pastor has been so honored. Travis Loller of the Associated Press writes that it is "an important step for a denomination that was formed on the wrong side of slavery before the Civil War and had a reputation for supporting segregation and racism during much of the last century. In a news conference after the vote, Luter said he doesn't think his election is some kind of token gesture. 'If we stop appointing African-Americans, Asians, Hispanics to leadership positions after this, we've failed ... I promise you I'm going to do all that I can to make sure this is not just a one-and-done deal.' " Luter was unopposed when he was elected by thousands of enthusiastic delegates at the SBC annual meeting in his hometown of New Orleans.

At that meeting, a controversial proposal was also put forth for the organization to adopt the alternative name of Great Commission Baptists, a move that was made in hopes of bringing in more believers. The organization, acknowledging a recent decline in membership,  its desire for greater diversity and the belief that some may have a negative associations with the current name, has put the optional name to vote. The result was set to be announced Wednesday.

Luter did speak Tuesday about the decline in SBC membership and his own efforts to grow his church, reports AP's Loller, "which included intensive outreach to men, and his concern that men in his inner-city neighborhood were not taking responsibility for their children."  (Read more)