Tom Miller

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Article in the Religious Herald about Brooks Hays' future autobiography Brooks Hays: 'Politics Is My Parish' by Tom Miller His highest honor came in his church relationships, but the greatest moral dilemmas were in the political arena. That was the description given by Brooks Hays of a long career in government and a lifetime of relationship with Southern Baptist churches. The former president of the Southern Baptist Convention and 16-year veteran of the U.S. Congress, spoke in Richmond April 9, as part of a series of conferences at Grace Church. A native of Russellville, Arkansas, Hays represented his home district in Congress for eight terms until his religious and moral convictions on race relations ran counter to public opinion. In the election of 1958, while he was president of the Southern Baptist Convention, he lost his seat in Congress and gained a larger place in history. Speaking on "A Christian's Responsibility to the Political System," Hays told of a letter he received from a Baptist missionary in Nigeria: "I'm not glad you lost the election," it said, "but you will never know how much good it has done our work to be able to say, 'The president of the Southern Baptist Convention considers a Christian stand on race relations more important than his seat in Congress.' " Hays was a victim of his time. He was caught in the emotionalism surrounding the introduction of federal troops to desegregate Little Rock Central High School. He has lived to see a majority...

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Brooks Hays Materials

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University of Arkansas