James T. Clemons, author of “Crisis of Conscience: Arkansas Methodists and the Civil Rights Struggle,” will speak on campus tomorrow at 1:40 p.m. in the UCA Student Center Ballroom.
Clemons’ lecture is timed to coincide with the activities commemorating the 50th anniversary of the desegregation of Little Rock’s Central High School.
Clemons is Professor Emeritus of Wesley Theological Seminary and a retired clergyman of the United Methodist Church. His book features personal stories by Arkansas Methodist pastors, laypersons, and community leaders — including former U.S. Senator Dale Bumpers, former U.S. Surgeon General M. Jocelyn Elders, and acclaimed poet Miller Williams — who lived through the struggles for civil rights in the 1950s and saw their congregations and other institutions rocked by the tumultuous events of the history-making era. The book also depicts the desegregation of Hendrix College, the prophetic role of Philander Smith College in civil rights activism, and the experiences of other Arkansas Methodist institutions in the great freedom struggle that caused many of the states church members to realize they could no longer reconcile their belief in God with participation in a segregated society.
