What was it like being a white minister in an African-American church?
Generally, they [congregations] were very gracious. There are two things I could add: the black Muslims were very active in Harlem, and occasionally when I tried to buy their literature, they asked me what I was doing here. Another thing is that I tried to go to Malcolm X meetings, and they would never let me in. I had a good experience in those churches. It was a big factor, probably, in getting involved in the civil rights movement because when I did, I had the backing of the congregation. DG: How did you become involved with the Dr. King and the Freedom Rides? In 1955, December 1st, Rosa Parks was arrested. I was still in seminary and we were very excited for that; it seemed like such a clear right and wrong thing. That really got a lot of us stirred up. By 1962, we’ve been in black churches for a few years. A few of us went to Dr. King’s trial in Albany, Georgia, and that’s where I really got into knowing Dr. King. I’d met him before but I’d never really gotten to know him personal
