Black churches may no longer be at center of civil rights protest

Half a century after civil rights movement activists marched across the South, the black church is finding new routes for activism. But often, its clergy admit, churches are not leaders, and sanctuaries are no longer ground zero for the civil rights movement.

On December 14, which some churches dubbed “Black Lives Matter” Sunday, many people in the pews found themselves playing catch-up with the people who had already been on the streets.

Thousands of black churches—prompted initially by leaders of three historically black denominations and later joined by officials of mostly white and Hispanic faith groups—marked the day with black suits and dresses, litanies, and prayers to be counted among the throngs of Americans decrying recent grand jury decisions not to indict white police officers in the killings of unarmed black men.