Black History Month: 7 pioneering African American clergy

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Twitter

Fred Luter

Fred Luter, outgoing Southern Baptist Convention president, delivers a message on Tuesday, June 10, 2014, in Baltimore, Maryland for the Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting.
Fred Luter, outgoing Southern Baptist Convention president, delivers a message on Tuesday, June 10, 2014, in Baltimore, Maryland for the Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting. | (Photo: The Christian Post/Sonny Hong)

In 2012, messengers of the Southern Baptist Convention gathered in New Orleans, Louisiana and voted Fred Luter, Jr. as the first African American president of the denomination.

The vote was especially significant given that the SBC was originally founded in 1845 by pro-slavery Baptists who opposed the abolitionist sentiments of their northern peers.   

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David Crosby, the pastor of First Baptist Church in New Orleans, nominated Luter to the position, giving a speech justifying his decision that was interrupted by applause on multiple occasions.

“We need Pastor Fred at the head of the table, helping us understand our mission field and our mission. It is time to tap the great resource of his experience, wisdom and passion for this wider purpose,” stated Crosby in 2012.

This year, Luter nominated Alabama Pastor Ed Litton to become SBC's next president. 

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