The History of MIFA continued The Awakening of the Social Conscience Social religion arrived in the North in the nineteenth century in the wake of urbanization and industrialization. At the same time that their northern counterparts were preaching about social ills, the clergy in the South was primarily concerned about saving souls one by one. Even so, there was always a small kernel of concern by the southern church for social problems, especially by denominational officials and a few local clergymen. In addition to stands taken by a few churches and religious leaders in Memphis, there were organizations formed to promote the public good, using religion as a basis. As early as February 11, 1929, Rabbi Harry Ettelson of the Temple Israel called together for lunch at the Peabody Hotel eighteen ministers, priests, and rabbis to discuss the formation of a group of liberal-minded religious leaders and educators “for the interchange of ideas in a fellowship that would reach beyond sectarian and doctrinal differences.” Named the Cross Cut Club, it sponsored an annual Goodwill Conference among Catholics, Protestants, and Jews. In 1940, Dr. W.B. Selah, pastor of St. John's United Methodist Church in Memphis said that in Methodist philosophy “the personal and social gospels are two sides of the same coin.” The Presbyterian Church U.S. has publicly opposed racial segregation since 1950. Long before it was a popular stance, Dr. Paul Tudor Jones, pastor of Idlewild Presbyterian Church, preached from the pulpit for equal treatment of all races. The Memphis Interracial Commission was born in 1940 when the Reverend J.A. McDaniel, Chairman of the all-Black Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance invited Dr. Samuel E. Howie, president of the all-White Memphis Ministers Association, to meet with his group. The Race Relations Committees of the two groups joined together to charter the Memphis Interracial Commission. Its stated purposes were to promote harmony and justice between all races and creeds and to interpret for the public the conditions in the city of Memphis which defeat Justice for any one group. The Association of Church and Professional Social Workers was organized in December 1945, to provide a forum for the discussion of common problems of Black and White professionals and to familiarize each with the other's “ideals and programs.” Aiming to establish a working relationship between the groups, it was ecumenical with a membership consisting largely of clergy and lay members of congregations as well as representatives of social work organizations. Although little mention of it can be found, its purposes are noteworthy as predecessors of MIFA. In 1954 the decree of the United States Supreme Court outlawing segregation in public schools set off a storm of protest in many southern cities. In order to enforce the law of the land, federal troops traveled to cities like Little Rock, Arkansas, and New Orleans, Louisiana, where officials defied the ruling. In Memphis there was concern over the threat of racial strife. To deal with this situation, a group of politicians and a few clergymen formed the Memphis Greater Race Relations Committee to accomplish the court-ordered desegregation without federal interference. Their philosophy was: “Maybe this year the zoo; maybe next year the libraries. But let it start. Only then can gradualism really be justified and make sense.” By the late 50's racial tensions was beginning to surface. The Reverend Paul Carnes of the Unitarian Church moved to Buffalo, New York, to escape the friction that resulted when he invited a Black to appear at his church's services during Brotherhood Week. The Memphis Greater Race Relations Committee was unable to be effective in such an atmosphere. In the emotional climate of 1958 when a prominent banker, Arthur McCain, became president of the committee, he was threatened with dismissal by the Board of Directors of his bank. In the ensuing unpleasantness, the committee was dissolved. In the late 50's an ecumenical development was instigated by the Memphis Ministers Association who sponsored a meeting of thirty Protestant churches at Idlewild Presbyterian Church. Here the Memphis Council of Churches was organized “to express the fellowship of the Christian congregations of this city, acknowledging Jesus Christ as divine Lord and Savior, to bring these congregations into united service for Christ and the world.” Its last meeting was held in November 10, 1960. At that meeting, a prominent business man rose and spoke at length against the council, which then decided to cease operations for a while. In the early 60's some inter-faith sentiment was beginning to be expressed in the medical community. In an unusual step of ecumenical cooperation in Memphis, the University Inter-Faith Center was organized as a joint ministry to the University of Tennessee Medical Units. Its sponsors were Methodists, Episcopal, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, U.S., and reform Jewish. Worship facilities were located in the heart of the medical center in a building created and shared as a joint venture. Another ecumenical venture was the Institute of Medicine and Religion, a training program to prepare religious personnel for pastoral care in a hospital setting. In this effort Methodists, Episcopalians, Catholics, Presbyterians, U.S. and Cumberland Presbyterians joined together. On January 26, 1959 the Memphis Committee on Community Relations (MCCR) was formed with the stated purpose of avoiding Black demonstrations and White violence. Convened by its first Chairman, Attorney Lucius Burch, MCCR was composed of a prestigious group of Memphians, one third of whom were Black. It planned “to provide a meeting place for calm discussion and such responsible action as could be agreed upon to preserve the order…peace, happiness and continued progress of a great and growing city and all its people.” Its goal was to achieve voluntary progress toward equal treatment for all citizens of Memphis rather than wait for court orders which would demand equal justice. It was to work without publicity to gain its ends, convinced that quiet, behind-the-scenes work could prove that desegregation could take place without dire consequences. Once desegregation was established, the members of the committee believed there would be a precedent upon which an equitable future could be built. Included on the Board of Directors were the Reverend Blair Hunt, Msgr. Merlin Kearney, the Reverend J.A. McDaniel, the Reverend H.C. Nabrit, Dean William Sanders, the Reverend S.A. Owen, Dr. Paul Tudor Jones, Dr. R. Paul Caudill, the Reverend Alexander Gladney, the Reverend J.E. Robinson, Carl Carson, Lewis Donelson, the Reverend James Lawson, Rabbi James Wax, Dr. Hollis Price, the Reverend James Elder, Frances Coe, Lt. George W. Lee, the Reverend J.C. Mickle, Msgr. Joseph Leppert, Edmund Orgill, Arthur McCain, A.W. Willis, Dr. Vasco Smith, Harry Wellford, Lester Rosen, Jesse Turner, and the editors of both newspapers, Frank Ahlgren of the Commercial Appeal and Ed Meeman of the Press Scimitar. MCCR tried to influence the City Commission to appoint some Blacks to city commissions and committees, and compiled a suggested list of qualified Blacks. MCCR tried to gain more jobs for Blacks, worked for their admission to private hospitals, and expressed concern about law enforcement and police brutality. In 1967, the Reverend James Lawson of Centenary Methodist Church tried to warn the MCCR that a serious situation was developing in Memphis, but his feeling of urgency was shared by only one of the White members, Lucius Burch, whose concern about the whole racial situation in the city had prompted his calling MCCR into existence in the first place. MCCR continued to approach the problem in its methodical, gradual way. Because of the efforts of these various groups, Memphis gained the reputation of a southern city which was surviving without turmoil the difficult days of desegregation which were creating violence elsewhere in the South. In 1967 Memphis adopted a new form of government, replacing the old mayor-commission form with a mayor and a thirteen-member city council. Seven members of the council were elected from districts to assure Black representation. Historically in Memphis there had been two primary ministerial associations-the all-Black Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance and the Memphis Ministers Association which, like most of White Memphis, had only a thin tradition of participation in social issues. Members could unite in support of prohibition, or for the passage of Sunday blue laws which mandated observance of the Sabbath, but rarely on issues of social importance. By 1968 the Memphis Ministers Association was desegregated. Though only 125 of the 700 Memphis ministers belonged to it, and of these, only fifteen were Black. After years of leaving race relations to politicians and economical leaders, the Memphis Ministers Association finally decided to organize its own Race Relations committee to work with the MCCR. Rabbi Wax was President of the Ministers Association, as well as an active member of the MCCR, and he appointed the Reverend Nicholas Vieron of the Greek Orthodox Annunciation Church to be Chairman of the newly formed committee. Rabbi Wax proposed to the committee that it issue a statement in the form of a paid advertisement in the two major newspapers. Adopted at a regular meeting of the Ministers Association on January 2, 1968, it was the first such public statement ever made by ministers as a group in Memphis. Called “An Appeal to Conscience,” it urged that “anyone who loves God must also love his brother…thus prejudice and discrimination are sinful according to the ethics of the Judeo-Christian tradition.” Further, it stated that brotherhood is a full-time occupation, requiring involvement rather than oratory, and needing actions, not words. The advertisement appeared in the Commercial Appeal on Sunday, February 4, 1968. Public reaction to the unusual involvement of Memphis ministers in social issues was generally unfavorable. They were advised to let the mayor run the city, while they attended to “religion.” Two months later, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis. Next: A New Approach