Black Baptists for 1st time in History Unite & Oppose Smirk Policies

[merh]

Black Baptist leaders put demands to Bush
Groups unite on opposition agenda

By Manya A. Brachear
Tribune staff reporter
Published January 29, 2005

NASHVILLE -- Leaders of 15 million black Baptists on Friday called on President Bush to pay as much attention to democracy at home as democracy abroad, issuing a list of demands that they say better defines America's moral values.

After an unprecedented assembly of four historically divided Baptist groups, presidents of each denomination declared their opposition to the war in Iraq and to the nomination and expected confirmation of Alberto Gonzales as attorney general.

They also called for a higher minimum wage, discontinuation of recent tax cuts, investment in public education and reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, some provisions of which are up for review in 2007.

"We have power in terms of black registered voters across the country to impact who sits in the White House," said Rev. Stephen Thurston, president of the 3 million-member National Baptist Convention of America and pastor of the New Covenant Missionary Baptist Church on Chicago's South Side.

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http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0501290142jan29,1,2052254.story?coll=chi-news-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true