First Baptist Church Pastor Steve Walter issued a public apology last Tuesday after a black woman claimed she and her family experienced racial discrimination from two unidentified white members for allegedly calling them "coloreds."
Walter acknowledged the incident and offered his apologies to Mac and her family on behalf of their congregation in a statement. The pastor emphasized in his statement what the Scripture says on the value of every human being and the call of Jesus Christ to love one another. However, he said that it was sad to know that Mac and her family were not treated fairly and with respect.
The pastor indicated that the church was committed to working toward healing and repentance. Walter pleaded for prayers for everyone's unity under God's reign and their reconciliation with one another through Christ and His atoning love.
Mac And Her Family Halted Attending Church
In her viral Facebook post, the 34-year-old woman Donna Mac narrated her first and worst experience of being turned down by a church because of her color. Upon entering the church, an old white man asked her what she come in for which she responded "Church." While other members were going inside the church, the man told him that the service wasn't starting yet until 11 am.
Mac asked an older white lady "Is everyone not welcome here?" Then the lady answered her "We've had COLOREDS here before." She asked again if she meant coloreds for black people. Then the lady said "No coloreds! When I was growing up we always called them COLOREDS!" According to her, they had just look them and left.
She wrote in her post that she was hurt by the racial incident she and her family experienced and posted the picture of First Baptist Church.
In her follow-up statement on Facebook, Mac addressed some commenters saying that she must go to a Black Christian Church available in her community. In her defense, she stood her ground with her constitutional rights and cited that the church was the nearest church she can attend in the area.
She also addressed people invalidating her concern because they experience a different approach from the church. Mac said that she's not speaking at the entirety of the church but just calling out those individuals she encountered.
She expressed her loyalty to her roots and she publicly defended her race on social media. Mac noted that she will not be like other people who remained silent about racial discrimination they experienced but will actively fight for it. She wrote, "I believe in CHRISTIANITY and I will never give up on the power of God and His unchanging hand."
Calling People 'Colored' Offensive
In his op-ed article, Dahleen Glanton, a former columnist for the Chicago Tribune, explained the difference between "colored" and "people of color." He explained that in the year 2020, the term "people of color" has been associated with a collective group of non-white Americans whereas the term "colored" was associated with the painful segregationist history during the mid-1960s.
According to him, there were still traces of the Jim Crow South laws in America including "colored-only" references which Black people fight and die to eliminate from American culture.
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