One  of the largest Evangelical denominations in the country, the Southern  Baptists, split from traditional Baptists in 1845 over the issue of  slavery. Southern Baptists believed that slavery was biblically  justified unlike their northern cousins who were against one human  owning another.

The  Southern Baptist Convention offered a formal apology in 1995 "to all  African-Americans" and repented for its role in slavery and racism. The  Convention has now moved farther down the road of brotherhood and  acceptance of the command of Jesus Christ to "Love one another, even as I  have loved you."

It is expected that the Reverend Fred Luter Jr. will be elected the denomination's firstAfrican-American President today.

Luter  is the 55-year-old pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in the  Katrina-ravaged Lower 9th Ward in New Orleans, Louisiana.

"It's a new day in the Southern Baptist Convention," Luter told PBS earlier. "Our doors are open to each and every body."

From the Cornfield, this is an important step in healing the rifts that still divide our country along racial lines.

It's time to put the past behind.

It's time to build toward a future where all men and women are brothers and sisters.

I applaud the SBC and its membership for putting the sins of the past under the blood.

http://commercialappeal.com/news/2012/jun/19/colorblind-faith/