Thursday, September 12, 2019

Religious, education leaders stand against racism at Buffalo Athletic Club, 1968

From Buffalo-

For the last 39 years, heading to the Buffalo Athletic Club meant you were heading to the gym. After the original BAC fell on hard times, the club’s majestic E.B. Green-designed home was renovated into a modern health club with exercise facilities for both men and women.

For decades before it was just a gym, it was a private men’s social club. Very private.

When Episcopal Bishop Harold Robinson was given an award by the Erie County Bar Association at a banquet held at the club, a group of Episcopal priests signed a letter protesting the prelate’s attendance, saying in part, “We are … concerned that any of our church's leaders can allow themselves to be honored at a reception in a club that segregates by membership and from an association that meets in facilities segregated by membership. This situation is deeply confusing when religious leaders are expected to provide the leadership and personal example in the most pressing of the country's domestic crises — the breakdown of communication and relations between black and white citizens.”

More here-

https://buffalonews.com/2019/09/11/religious-education-leaders-stand-against-racism-at-buffalo-athletic-club-1968/

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