The Last Segregated Hour: The Memphis Kneel-Ins and the Campaign for Southern Church Desegregation

On Palm Sunday 1964, at the Second Presbyterian Church in Memphis, Tennessee, a group of black and white students began a "kneel-in" to protest the church's policy of segregation--a protest that would continue in one form or another for more than a year and eventually force the church to open its doors to black worshippers. In The Last Segregated Hour Stephen Haynes tells the story of this dramatic yet little studied tactic adopted by protesters in the struggle for civil rights. "Kneel-ins" were the strategy of choice for bringing attention to segregationist policies in Southern churches. These protests involved surprise visits to targeted churches, usually during Easter season, and often resulted in physical standoffs. The spectacle of kneeling worshippers barred from entering the church made for a powerful image, and invited both local and national media attention. Drawing on a wide range of sources, including extensive interviews with students who led the kneel-ins and church members who opposed them, Haynes tells an inspiring story that will appeal not only to scholars of religion and history, but also to pastors and church people concerned about the Church's witness in a racially divided society.