Kimberly McCallum Sues Billy Graham Evangelistic Association Over Race

Kimberly McCallum has sued the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, saying she was abruptly fired after she complained that the organization was not reaching out to African-American churches. The organization has since denied the allegations and said that it does extensive outreach and works extensively with African-American and other diverse churches. McCallum said she was the only black employee working in the executive offices in Charlotte, NC, when she started in February 2007. She, in a media interview, that she complained to her superiors later that year when she was asked to recruit congregations to a camp program but discovered that a list of 635 prospective churches had only three memberships that were primarily black.
McCallum said it was apparent that black churches were excluded.

A week after raising her concerns, McCallum said she was told her job with global offices was cut because of downsizing. Her boss never raised concerns about the quality of her work, according to the lawsuit filed in June in a local court, which has since been moved to federal court. McCallum said she tried to get other jobs at the association, based in Minneapolis, but that she was blocked from other positions and had a later job offer revoked.

"Subsequent to her discharge, plaintiff learned that the global offices had not been downsized and that the only job that was eliminated there was the one occupied by the plaintiff," the lawsuit says. She wants a job reinstated, back pay and damages for what she describes as discrimination because of her race.

Billy Graham, 90, founded the association in 1950 and it is now headed by Graham's son, Franklin. Graham began his ministry when segregation was still accepted, but he later integrated his crusades and made efforts to draw diverse crowds to his U.S. rallies. The fact is that many churches in the United States remain segregated, while there some that are very integrated, such as Northpoint Community Church in Atlanta, and led by Andy Stanley.