THE LAST WORD
OUR HISTORY IS OUR PRESENT A CONVERSATION WITH THE REV. AMOS C. BROWN BY LOIS M. COLLINS
T
he Rev. Amos C. Brown is an icon of the American civil rights movement. As a young man he was arrested alongside Martin Luther King Jr. at a lunch counter sit-in and belonged to the Freedom Riders, a group of activists who took bus trips through the South in 1961 to protest segregation. Last year, Brown signed a joint op-ed with President Russell M. Nelson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who Brown has called “a brother from another mother and a brother from another faith tradition,” calling for “racial harmony” in the wake of the George Floyd killing and protests across the nation. Brown has been a pastor of San Francisco’s Third Baptist Church since 1976 and has served as chairman of religious affairs for the NAACP. This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Our nation is so divided right now, what can we do to find common ground with those who see the world differently than we do?
We need to seek engagement and social justice. The world would be a better place if we just follow the original tenets, teachings and examples of Jesus of Nazareth. That’s what I learned in Mississippi. My parents knew that and that is the basis of everything I have done. Dr. King was no politician. He was a prophetic preacher who took the ethic of Jesus and connected it with the high-sounding principles of this nation. It comes down to following Jesus. Only Jesus. If we would only follow Jesus, we would not be in this situation.
What did you learn from Dr. King about standing for principle while
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still seeking goodwill and cooperation with those who see the world differently, and may even oppose the cause you’re engaged in? The notion of personalism. It’s the idea that every human being is a per-
son created in the image of God. And that regardless of how different they may be, they should be respected.
Earlier this year you joined with leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to call on parents and families to be the first line of defense against hate and prejudice and discrimination. Why does it start with the family, in your opinion?
Because we are fashioned on the basis of what we meet in that nuclear
family setting. Family is that primary network in which children begin to learn and to model those principles and ethical girds. The goals are the making of beloved community. That’s it. Tennyson said in Ulysses, “I am a part of all that I have met.” I am. I am a part of all that I have met. We become who we are based on our meetings in life. It’s very unfortunate that too many children, too many persons in the early developmental stages of life meet hate, meet racist, biased attitudes. So if you want a better society, start with family and with the spiritual family.
You’ve had a very challenging, interesting and rewarding life. Is there a moment that stands out for you as especially difficult or that was a learning moment?
I would say when I saw a magazine cover of the mutilated head of Em-
mett Till. That really shook me. And when I ran to Mr. Medgar Evers, who was the newly appointed field director of the NAACP and told him how PORTRAIT BY RANDY GLASS
