NPR reports that the Southern Baptist Convention is preparing to elect the first black president in the 167-year-old organization’s history. Fred Luter, a one-time street preacher who transformed a dying New Orleans church into a “powerhouse,” is running unopposed in today’s election for president of the country’s largest Protestant congregation. Richard Land, head of the SBC’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, said, “It’s as historic a moment as Southern Baptists have had, because the president of SBC is not just an honorific — it is a position of real power.”
Luter’s ascension mirrors the growing role of minorities in the SBC, who represent 20 percent of the congregants. The organization was once a staunch supporter of slavery, and certain members claim latent racism still exists within the denomination.