William “Billy” Franklin Graham, Jr was born November 7, 1918 close to Charlotte, North Carolina to loving couple William and Morrow Graham. Billy grew up on a dairy farm and was always outside. He attended Wheaton College where he met his future with Ruth Bell. They married in 1943. Billy Graham was the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Western Springs, Illinois for a short time before he began his career as an evangelist. Billy Graham was an influential American in his evangelism, relationships with presidents, and involvement in civil rights. During his short time as a pastor Graham got an opportunity to take over a Christian radio show named Songs in the Night in 1944. However, a year later in 1945 he chose to move on to other endeavors
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In 1953, at a Crusade in Chattanooga Tennessee, he personally removed the ropes from the congregation that were used to segregate the audience by skin color. When the ushers questioned his actions Graham’s response was, “Either these ropes stay down, or you can have the revival without me.” A colored newspaper in New Orleans Louisiana proclaimed Grahams Gospel crusades were the first time in recent times that Negros have been allowed to attend a huge public gathering without racial restrictions. Billy was also very involved with Martin Luther King Jr. Billy and King first met during the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and became good friends. Graham was asked to just call him Mike, which was an honor given to few that made up King’s closest friends. Graham had even posted bail for King on several occasions. In New York, Graham invited Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr to pray for the Garden congregation and had two African American ministers, Thomas Kilgore and Gardner Taylor, serve on the crusades executive committee. Billy Graham called the church to fight segregation, claiming that if the church is a true church then it cannot separate the message of good racial relations from the message of regeneration. Graham got his hands dirty when it came to the civil rights movement and dove himself into it as a major influence on the white Christian world towards desegregation and racial equality. Billy Graham spent his
In 1953, at a Crusade in Chattanooga Tennessee, he personally removed the ropes from the congregation that were used to segregate the audience by skin color. When the ushers questioned his actions Graham’s response was, “Either these ropes stay down, or you can have the revival without me.” A colored newspaper in New Orleans Louisiana proclaimed Grahams Gospel crusades were the first time in recent times that Negros have been allowed to attend a huge public gathering without racial restrictions. Billy was also very involved with Martin Luther King Jr. Billy and King first met during the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and became good friends. Graham was asked to just call him Mike, which was an honor given to few that made up King’s closest friends. Graham had even posted bail for King on several occasions. In New York, Graham invited Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr to pray for the Garden congregation and had two African American ministers, Thomas Kilgore and Gardner Taylor, serve on the crusades executive committee. Billy Graham called the church to fight segregation, claiming that if the church is a true church then it cannot separate the message of good racial relations from the message of regeneration. Graham got his hands dirty when it came to the civil rights movement and dove himself into it as a major influence on the white Christian world towards desegregation and racial equality. Billy Graham spent his