Hays, Brooks

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Speech reflecting on recent Congressional election defeat -7- Of the many church leaders in the South who have labored valiantly to reduce race tensions, I should like to discuss briefly what has happened to me since November 4 in my capacity as president of the 9-million member Southern Baptist Convention. I have spoken throughout the South to the various State Baptist Conventions and received a welcome that was the most heartwarming I have ever had. Everywhere I was encouraged to continue in my work as was assured that my support was solid. Among the many state conventions throughout the country passing resolutions of confidence in my leadership were six in the South. In Mississippi, a laymen’s group, with no official status, urged that I resign, but even these men were respectful of my position and only feared controversy within the Convention. I was pleased, in a way, to see that the Baptist dissents with the Convention. I was pleased, in a way, to see exercise their prerogatives, although I was even more pleased to learn that this small group was in no way representative of the Mississippi Baptist Convention’s feelings. The greatest inspiration of all to me was the meeting of the Arkansas State Convention on November 20. According to the Arkansas Gazette, “Baptists attending this final session of the State Convention gave Hays two standing ovations – unprecedented in the memory of the convention veterans – one when introduced to speak and one when he had finished.” My voice...

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Brooks Hays Materials

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University of Arkansas