The Progressive National Baptist Convention: the Progressive National Baptist Convention (PNBC) was founded in 1961, in the aftermath of several years of conflict within the National Baptist Convention, U.S.A., Inc. (NBC). The conflict centered on two issues: (1) the tenure of president Joseph H. Jackson, and (2) the civil rights activism of Martin Luther King, Jr. (1).

The Joseph H. Jackson presidency and controversy

Upon the retirement of David V. Jemison as NBC president in 1952, Joseph H. Jackson ran for president of the convention on a reform platform, calling for a constitutional amendment that would limit the service of the president to four consecutive terms. With the help of Martin Luther King, Sr., and Martin Luther King, Jr., Jackson was swept into office. Yet, by 1956, Jackson and his supporters overturned the tenure amendment that he had supported earlier, and the following year, he was reelected to a fifth term as president. (2)

An oppositional group, led by Gardner C. Taylor of Brooklyn, New York, included Martin Luther King, Sr.; Martin Luther King, Jr.; Ralph Abernathy, King's fellow Southern Christian Leadership Conference leader; Benjamin Mays, president of Morehouse College; and L. Venchael Booth, a Cincinnati pastor. This group filed suit against Jackson, (3) accusing him of violating the amended constitution. In its decision, the court sided with Jackson, and at the convention meeting in Philadelphia in 1960, Jackson was installed once again as president of the NBC, after the nominating committee presented him as the only candidate.

In response to Jackson's reelection, the Taylor group demanded a roll call, but the Jackson camp instead adjourned the meeting. While this political maneuvering was occurring, the convention delegates who remained in the hall elected Taylor as NBC president, by a margin of 1,864 to 536. The Jackson camp opposed the actions of these delegates, and when the dispute within the NBC was once again taken to court, the court decided in Jackson's favor. (4) He remained as president of the convention.

Controversy had already erupted earlier at the NBC meeting in Louisville in 1957, during which an embarrassing chair-throwing event occurred. As a result of that controversy, Jackson dismissed ten ministers from the NBC for questioning his tenure. (5) According to the article "Progressive National Baptist Convention: The Roots of the Black Church" by Wallace C. Smith, a large number of delegates sincerely appreciated Jackson's leadership. Jackson, a Mississippi native, was an outstanding preacher and scholar, spoke several languages, and held two graduate degrees. Because of his abilities, the majority of delegates at the meeting "desired" his "dynamic leadership" and were willing to accept the new tenure requirement. (6)

Martin Luther King, Jr., and Civil Rights Activism

In 1956, a year before the Louisville meeting, an NBC symposium was held on the civil rights theme of "National Baptists Facing Integration-Shall Gradualism be Applied?" Speakers included Charles K. Steele, a Tallahassee bus boycott leader, and Thomas J. Jemison, a Baton Rouge bus boycott leader. Jemison's father had earlier been president of the NBC, and the younger Jemison was one of the founders of Southern Christian Leadership Conference and would follow Jackson as president of the NBC. Following the symposium, Martin Luther King, Jr., gave a rousing sermon at the convention entitled "Paul's Letter to American Christians," and convention delegates were "crying and shouting for joy." In response to the passionate sermon, President Jackson asserted, "We must not crown our heroes too quickly." (7) For Smith, the response marked a struggle in "conscience" for black Baptists, with two choices emerging: the conservatism of Jackson and the "progressive liberalism" of King. (8)

Within the NBC, some leaders began calling for King to run for president against Jackson. Yet, according to Smith, while the King family's Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta was a strong church, it was not strong enough to produce an NBC president, and thus, King and his father chose to back Taylor as president. Taylor's church, the Concord Avenue Baptist Church in Brooklyn, had 11,000 members. (9)

Sociologist E. Franklin Frazier has written of political power and the importance of mainline black denominations during the period of national segregation. Frazier contended that being president of the NBC, the largest black religious organization in the world, was comparable to being the black president of the United States. He further noted that being a bishop in one of the black Methodist denominations was comparable to serving as a member in Senate or House of Representatives. Thus, a vote in the presidential election of the NBC was deemed as being of great importance (10)

Undoubtedly, King's plan was to attempt to take control of the NBC, which at that time had 10,000 preachers and some 5 million members. According to Taylor Branch, the plan was a ready-made "civil rights phalanx that could spring on a target upon demand." (11) Yet, King's ambitious plan was never to come to fruition, because Joseph H. Jackson, sometimes known as the "the Negro Pope," sidetracked it. In 1961, a near riot broke out at the NBC meeting in Kansas City, with Jackson supporters "out-shouting, out-shoving the King forces supporting his civil rights platform." (12) The Jackson camp managed to secure the podium before the arrival of the police, but in the struggle for control, A. G. Wright of Detroit was knocked from the stage and killed.

Despite this violent outcome, Jackson won a lopsided victory and remained as president of the NBC. Following the meeting, he denounced the nonviolent civil rights movement, including the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and the Congress of Racial Equality. He also removed King from the vice-presidency of the Baptist Training Union and Sunday School Congress. (13)

The Founding of the Progressive National Baptist Convention

For Jackson opponents, Kansas City was the last straw. The "fiasco" at the convention meeting led L. Venchael Booth to call for a meeting to be held on November 14-15, 1961. At this meeting, Booth planned to organize a new convention. Thirty-three delegates from fourteen states came to Cincinnati and founded the PNBC. (14)

The formation of a new convention did not result from a theological controversy, but instead, from issues relating to the presidential tenure and to civil rights activism. Jackson, a political and social conservative, advocated the gradual civil fights approach of Booker T. Washington, a Baptist layperson who earlier had been president of Tuskegee Institute. Like most black Baptist pastors, Jackson adhered to the philosophy of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) that called for civil rights activities to be routed through the court system. Jackson, like most black Baptists, was also theologically conservative as well.

In his book, Parting the Waters: America in the King Years, 1954-63, Taylor Branch referred to Jackson as the "Negro Pope." The use of such a label was interesting given that the NBC has long been proud of its democratic structure, its extreme emphasis on local church polity, and its commitment to the priesthood of all believers. A good analogy for Baptists in general, and black Baptists in particular, has been the American political party system, in which democratic regional, state, and national conventions exist. Baptist polity has functioned in a similar manner.

The Problem of Autocratic Pastoral Leadership

Branch also noted that an autocratic leadership style was common among black pastors, who often have treated church members like children. In 1954, when Martin Luther King, Jr., accepted the call to serve as pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, his father was extremely critical of his son's acceptance of the call. Dexter Avenue had a reputation of being a deacon-controlled church, and while the elder King, like most black Baptist pastors, gave lip service to democratic polity, his leadership style was autocratic. After a short time at Dexter Avenue, the younger King wrestled the reins of leadership from the deacons. (15) The autocratic leadership of King, Jackson, and most other black Baptist pastors within the NBC was not unique, but commonplace in the churches as well as in the national convention.

In 1982, in an effort to bring clarity to the issue of autocratic leadership, Charles W. Butler, a former PNBC president, explained the convention's understanding of the presidency. He asserted that the PNBC was moving away from a president who administered on a daily basis to one "who was a 'presiding' person with a major public relations task." The president, therefore, should not be one who came with a program for the convention, but his role was to implement and supplement the convention's program. In black Baptist conventions, a major problem has emerged with regard to this issue. Presidents of the convention and pastors of local churches were not the same, and their roles needed to be clarified. While the pastor was elected by the congregation, the pastor was also "called" to a divine office that the congregation "certifies by its vote." The president of the convention, however, was not called to office but elected to it. In other words, the president "presides among peers." (16)

Early Program of the PNBC

In 1962, the first annual PNBC meeting was held in Philadelphia. The convention elected T. M. Chambers as president, and in 1967, the convention elected Gardner C. Taylor as president. A later PNBC president, Thomas Kilgore, noted the importance of this new convention's name:

   inherent in the progressive concept is progress. We are going
   somewhere in the PNBC.... Through with play prayers and circus
   sermons. True worship has a meaning for us. Orderly sessions mark
   our business deliberations. Tenure in office is our way of life,
   and a unified budget determines our expenditures. We are on our
   way in developing a valid and responsible convention. Progress is
   our theme word. (17)

By the late 1970s, the PNBC had 487 churches and over 500,000 members. In 1984, the PNBC recorded over 1 million members. The convention elects officers every two years and limits the president's term to eight years. Any member may hold office--male or female, clergy or lay--but no officer can serve "consecutively more than three times until one year has elapsed." (18)

The PNBC has always supported civil rights and additional social activities. According to Taylor, the convention stood with King through "trials and triumphs" and provided "him with a spiritual home, when cast from the house of the Fathers." The PNBC also has worked "for voter registration, economic improvement, educational equality and freedom of religion." The convention called for sanctions against the old apartheid government in South Africa. Prominent PNBC members include Jesse L. Jackson, Benjamin Hooks, and William H. Gray III, a former congressman and former director of the United Negro College Fund. (19)

The convention has numerous departments, including Adult, Women, Laymen, Ushers, Young Adult, Moderator's Council, Congress of Christian Education, and Health Care. The convention structure is organized by region: Eastern, Southern, Midwestern, Western, and International. The PNBC has two mission organizations: the Home Mission Board and the Baptist Global Mission Bureau. (20)

Current Programs of the PNBC

PNBC was the first black Baptist convention to employ a full-time national executive secretary. (21) The executive secretary's office is located in the convention's national headquarters in Washington, D.C. (22) Yet, the PNBC continues to be the smallest of the four national black Baptist conventions. In 1989, the PNBC claimed 1,000 clergy, with 1.2 million members in 1,000 churches. That year, the average congregation had 1,000 members and an estimated budget of $1.2 million. The large size of most PNBC churches may be attributed to their urban locations. (22)

The PNBC was one of the earliest black groups to oppose the Vietnam War. The convention was also a supporter of the black power movement. In recent years, the PNBC has provided help in economic and educational training and has taken interest in strengthening the black family. Another recent trend is the formation by some PNBC churches of dual alliances with either the American Baptist Churches (ABC) or the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). (23)

The PNBC holds its annual meeting the week following the first Sunday in August. Member churches pay a fee equal to one percent of their previous year's annual budget. The number of delegates from each church is determined by church size. Individuals may purchase life memberships, including voting rights, for $5.00.

Historically, black Baptists have not required college and seminary as prerequisites for ordination. According to Lincoln and Mamiya, a recent survey indicated that the PNBC held a slightly higher rate of college-educated clergy than did the NBC. (24)

The Future of the PNBC

According to Smith, the PNBC faced several challenges in the latter years of the twentieth century. The convention was forced to deal with several critical issues within the black community. The younger generations of blacks, believing that the civil rights problems had already been solved, abandoned King's civil rights legacy. Some blacks in the last years of the twentieth century embraced the black nationalist teachings of the Nation of Islam. Other young people see integration as a "tool of the white power structure." The PNBC also has struggled with the growing trend of pentecostalism. Some National Baptist groups have responded to this trend by forming "Full Gospel" churches that emphasize gospel music, faith healing, and speaking in tongues. Another issue that the PNBC will have to address is the issue of female equality. Within the convention, women hold no genuine positions of authority, and some PNBC pastors are anti-women. (25)

According to Smith, the main principle upon which the PNBC was built has become its nemesis. That principle, presidential tenure, has over time led to problems within the convention. Leaders of the convention have discovered that having only three years in office limits the ability of the president in developing strategies and setting goals. (26)

Lincoln and Mamiya have listed important challenges that mainline black denominations in general and Baptists in particular are facing at the beginning of twenty-first century. These authors noted that a "widening class gap" exists within the churches. Mainline churches, including those of the PNBC, have become victims of their own prosperity, and as they have become more middle class, they have left the poor and disinherited far behind. Second, this vacuum is being filled by Islamic groups, including the Nation of Islam. Approximately two-thirds of the members of the Nation of Islam are Mack males, a segment of population that black churches have historically had problems recruiting. Because of the success of the Nation of Islam, a "bifurcation of black communities" is developing, with women preferring Christianity, and men preferring Islam. This increase in Mack membership within Islamic groups is, in part, attributed to the earlier work of Malcolm X. Another factor that has led to the increase is the work of the Nation of Islam in prisons and on ghetto streets. (27)

While Smith mentioned pentecostalism as a challenge to the future of PNBC, Lincoln and Mamiya referred to "neo-pentecostalism" as a challenge. Unlike earlier pentecostal movements, the current movement has its roots in the middle class and has trained and educated pastors. These pastors also are politically active and engaged in civil rights. Many of the new pentecostal churches are mega churches, with 3,000 or more members. (28)

Another problem affecting the future of mainline Mack denominations, including the PNBC, is "denominationalism in a changing society." In spite of a proud history and tradition of denominationalism, contemporary grassroots blacks are unconcerned with maintaining a connection of a denomination. What is more important to them is the preacher's ability to preach well and to elicit the "emotional response" associated with Mack religion. The scenario has led blacks to join churches with a "charismatic preacher, charismatic choirs and singers," regardless of denomination. (29)

Today, cooperation between the PNBC and other Baptists is growing. In the last thirty years, a partnership between the PNBC and the ABC has been established, and together the two conventions have worked on issues such as education, housing, and poverty. The partnership is also evident in the election of Thomas Kilgore as president of both the PNBC and ABC. In addition, several PNBC are now dually aligned with ABC or the SBC. In recent years, efforts toward reconciliation between the NBC and PNBC have been initiated, and William A. Jones, a former PNBC president, was invited to speak at a NBC function during the presidency of Thomas J. Jemison. (30)

According to Smith, "the new spirit of ecumenism has helped" the PNBC. The growing trend away from "rigid" sectarianism has allowed for more cooperation with other denominations, and the increasing number of discussions pertaining to racial "understanding and cooperation" and to "intradenominational" cooperation have allowed for all denominations, including the PNBC, to have open dialogue and to work together. (31)

Conclusion

Recently, the PNBC joined with other African American organizations to aid displaced people in Haiti. On March 19, 2004, the convention announced that it would participate in the Haiti Support Project, which aids Haitians who have lost homes or loved ones during the recent civil unrest. The coalition of groups involved include the American Urban Radio Network, the Black World Today On- Line Newspapers, the Rolling Out Urban Style Weekly, the National Congress of Black Women, the Muslim American Freedom Foundation, and Antioch Baptist Church in North Atlanta. (32) Ron Daniels, Haiti Support Project chairman, noted that it is important for the Haitian people to know that other black people are willing to provide aid.

As part of this project, the PNBC is responsible for all administrative functions and will distribute funds to families. The PNBC has also established church relationships in Haiti, and is currently operating fifty projects there, including providing educational opportunities for more than 15,000 children. Since 1995, the Haiti Support Project has collected more than $500,000 for projects in Haiti. (33)

The current president of the PNBC is Major L. Jemison, an Oklahoma City pastor. Jemison also serves as an adjunct professor at Oklahoma Baptist University. (34) Thomas H. Peoples, Jr., PNBC historian, asserted that Jemison exemplifies the positive direction in which the convention is headed. Jemison is a well-educated pastor of a prominent church and has the confidence of his constituents. According to Peoples, the PNBC is still worthy of the name "progressive." Among African American Baptists, an educated ministry, educational programs, and community based social programs are still important needs that must be addressed. Among PNBC pastors, these needs are a far greater priority than is the ability on Sunday morning to deliver an emotional sermon and for the choir to raise a stirring gospel song. (35)

(1.) Bill J. Leonard, Baptist Ways: A History (Valley Forge: Judson Press, 2003), 276-77.

(2.) Ibid. See also Taylor Branch, Parting the Waters: America in the King Years, 1954-63 (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1988), 101-02.

(3.) Ibid.

(4.) Ibid., 277. See also Wallace C. Smith, "Progressive National Baptist Convention: The Roots of the Black Church," American Baptist Quarterly 19, no. 3 (September 2000): 249. Benjamin Hooks, a Baptist minister serving as Taylor's lawyer, would later become executive director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

(5.) C. Eric Lincoln and Lawrence H. Mamiya, The Black Church in the African American Experience (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1990), 36; J. Cad Mitchell, "Origin: The Origin of The Progressive National Baptist Convention," http://www.pnbc.org/indexmain.htm, accessed 3 June 2004.

(6.) Smith, "Progressive National Baptist Convention," 248.

(7.) Ibid.

(8.) Ibid., 248-49.

(9.) Ibid.

(10.) E. Franklin Frazier, Negro Church in America (New York: Schocken Books, 1964), 47-49.

(11.) Taylor Branch, Pillar of Fire: America In The King Years, 1963-65 (New York: Touchstone, 1998), 25.

(12.) Ibid.

(13.) William D. Booth, The Progressive Story: New Baptist Roots (St. Paul, MN: Braun Press, 1981), 36-42, 80.

(14.) Ibid., 60-61.

(15.) Branch, Parting The Waters, 3-4, 111-12, 115.

(16.) Charles W. Butler, "The Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc.: A Fellowship of Partners," The Crisis 89 (November 1982): 44.

(17.) Quoted in Smith, "Progressive National Baptist Convention," 253.

(18.) Smith, "Progressive National Baptist Convention," 254.

(19.) Ibid.

(20.) Ibid.

(21.) Lincoln and Mamiya, The Black Church in the African American Experience, 37-38.

(22.) Ibid., 130.

(23.) Ibid.; Louisville American Baptist, 17 June 2004, 2 and 6.

(24.) Lincoln and Mamiya, The Black Church in the African American Experience, 130.

(25.) Smith, "Progressive National Baptist Convention," 255.

(26.) Ibid.

(27.) Lincoln and Mamiya, The Black Church in the African American Experience, 382-91.

(28.) Ibid.

(29.) Ibid.

(30.) Smith, "Progressive National Baptist Convention," 256-57.

(31.) Ibid., 258.

(32.) See http://www.cruisingintohistory.org/press/press18.htm, accessed 19 June 2004.

(33.) Ibid.

(34.) The Progressive National Baptist Website, http://www.pnbc.org/President%20Bio.htm, accessed 19 June 2004.

(35.) Thomas H. Peoples, Jr. interview by author, 8 July 2004.