Justified by Her Children: Deeds of Courage Confronting a Tradition of Racism

by Roy G Pollina, The Right Reverend A. Heath Light (Foreword)

In May of 1958, Virginia newspapers were reporting that the Christ Church, Martinsville, Virginia congregational leadership had declared that their bishop’s plan to integrate the summer youth camp “is both illegal and ill-advised” and that they would oppose any “intermingling of the races.” Amid this controversy, a quiet revolution stirred among that congregation’s young people, uplifted by their youthful, energetic priest, The Reverend Philip Gresham. When these brave young people stood with their bishop in favor of an integrated youth camp their opinion was derided as youthful naïveté. It was suggested that they focus on their studies and leave such problems to the adults. Rather than discouraging them, their church leadership’s humiliating dismissal inspired them to devise a more tangible expression of their position. They would acquire and present a gift, a “peace offering”, as a token of their solidarity with their bishop. Racism will not be finally eradicated by one large divisive victory. The wall of racism will be undone brick by brick by the brave deeds of little known men, women, and young people doing the right thing. Justified by Her Small Deeds of Courage Confronting a Tradition of Racism reminds us that evil often masquerades as the accepted way of doing things – and that confronting evil is often seen as opposing the good order of society. Justified by Her Children is written in the hope that readers will gain a better understanding of “how it was,” and from that understanding, know better how to deal with “how it is” today. In easy to read, clear and concise terms, Justified navigates the tradition of racism from the Virginia colonial enslavers to the Massive Resistance of Virginia segregationist of the 1950s. Justified by Her Children is ultimately a story of grace and forgiveness, but not before it wends its way through the trial and execution of the African American “Martinsville Seven,” past the whispers about the sexual orientation of the young, single priest, and a congregation in conflict over letting its white children eat a box supper with black children at a church mission event to benefit hungry brown children. Unless and until you understand “how it was” when racism was legally and culturally accepted then you will not understand how it is that white privilege still exists or why Black Lives Matter.

Genres: Religion

217 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 20, 2021

Reviews

[Chet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thought-provoking and thoroughly researched, an important book for our time.

As a microcosm for historic racism in the USA, ‘Justified by Her Children’ studies the complex chain of events in the 1950s embroiling an Episcopal parish and diocese in Martinsville, VA, as a result of the Supreme Court ruling (Brown v. Board of Education) that outlawed segregation in this country. As church fathers in Southwestern Virginia began to look into appropriate ways to execute the new law, they found opposition arising from unexpected places and in unanticipated forms.

Normal daily practice (“the way things were”) worked powerfully against change. And mired deeply within those days’ societal norms, even good people were unable to see evil when staring it in the face.

This is a colorful story, packed with interesting historic detail and vivid descriptions of key players like the energetic, idealistic young priest at the center of this controversy; powerful “movers and shakers” from the local business community who controlled Martinsville and the Christ Church vestry (generally like a parish council, but with more authority); and the quietly strong bishop whose orders set all this into motion.

The lynchpin to the story is the decision to integrate a new conference center, where summer religious study camps were held for Martinsville area youth. But this launches years of fruitless struggle and heartache that rends the community and the church, pitting clergy versus parishioners.

The Rev. Roy G. Pollina has exhaustively researched this subject through numerous official records and news accounts, Episcopal Church documents, and interviews with key participants in this particular story. You can almost see him wading through the dusty archives and driving all day to meet with a particular subject to interview. Various photos provided also help bring the story to life.

Stories about church conflict and racial strife can make for difficult reading, but overall this an enjoyable book …and clearly factual, all the way. The Rev. Pollina relates this comprehensive historical account in dispassionate prose. During the historical narrative, he neither judges nor condemns people on both sides of the divide, allowing the reader to draw his/her own conclusions. (The author saves his judgment for the end of the book, when he wraps up.)

Adding charm to the work is the autobiographical framework used – the story of his early days in ministry are enjoyable to read. But more important, before his recent retirement, Rev. Pollina came to lead the parish being studied, and was then inspired to research and reveal this tale of racial bias, fear and ignorance.

“Justified by Her Children” also includes a 21-page study guide at the end, which highlights key issues and questions raised. This makes it an excellent candidate for selection by book clubs or courses on social interaction, the history of racism, or 1950s American culture.

Anyone interested in the concept of systemic racism in the USA, as we see non-stop in media nowadays, should read this book since, as Rev. Pollina notes, only by understanding the past can we understand the present.

[Tammy · Rating 3 out of 5]

My brother gifted me this book after I expressed an interest in hearing his brief synopsis. Realizing that this true story was set in the town of Martinsville which is a mere 50 miles from where I live and because I recognize that my own life has been strongly influenced by systemic racism, I desired to discover this story for myself.

The author presents a well-documented case of an Episcopal Church in Martinsville, Virginia that struggled to accept the integration of people of color within their denomination. Everything came to a head for this particular church when their young, single, newly hired priest along with the church's youth group broke from the general will of the local church leaders who did not want the Southwestern Diocese to integrate their newly built summer camp. The overwhelming majority of the church members wanted to have separate dates for blacks and whites to attend; they voted to withhold much-needed funding from Christ's Church in Martinsville for the camp as a way to show their disapproval. The internal conflicts of this church were magnified by the news media, both locally and on a national level, as the division coincided with the Supreme Court Ruling on Brown vs. Board of Education. (This Supreme Court ruling made segregation illegal.) In many places, including Southwest Virginia, organizations went to great lengths to find ways to circumvent the law. Such was the case with Christ Church.



This is an important and well-researched book, but it is not a light read. The author draws upon minutes from church meetings, notes from regional conferences, newspaper articles, and interviews with church members to gather the facts of this story. In many ways, the book reads like a textbook as these facts are presented. A list of discussion questions for each chapter at the back of the book reinforces the concept that this would be an excellent book to read in a group and for group discussions. While this book takes the approach of sharing the facts in a textbook fashion (in my opinion) I believe the story of a young priest and his youth group standing up against systemic racism in the south could be made into a much more dramatic story without compromising the facts. I can even envision an award-winning dramatization of this story in cinema form. My unsolicited advice would be to adapt this story for YA readers and capture the hearts of a younger generation who can continue to change the course of systemic racism in our country.



I read the paperback version of this book and I gave the book a three-star rating on Goodreads.

[John Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

While not perfect (some points get repeated, as the non-chronological retelling is confusing at times), this narrative of the fight over integration in a southern Virginia Episcopal Church (by their recent priest) is very readable and serves as an excellent example of the kind of honest examination of the past encouraged by the Episcopal Church's Sacred Ground initiative.