degenerating into hatred and contempt for whites or blacks who failed to share one’s views.23 He also argued that the failure of white theologians24 and white churches to denounce white racism and their condemnation of black rioting in response to it made them effectively racist even when not overtly so. The black church in turn had mediated an empowering faith in Jesus Christ and produced leadership and resources for the civil rights struggle but had sometimes fallen into political conservatism