Religious Turmoil in Mississippi Burning Anonymous College

A Response to “Mississippi Burning”

To say that religion has affected nearly every aspect of life in the South is to state the obvious. The history of racial strife is no exception. Historically, racists have used Biblical scriptures to buttress their ideas of white supremacy and racial separation. In “Mississippi Burning,” Frances McDormand even quotes Genesis 9:27, which basically states that the descendants of one of Noah’s sons would always be the slaves of the descendants of another. This scripture and others admonishing slaves to love and obey their masters were often used to justify slavery and, later on, segregation of the races.

During the times of slavery, slaves were reminded of these scriptures. Religion was a means of both oppression and encouragement: on one hand, the white power structure used scripture to deny the slaves’ humanity, but on the other, slaves and their eventual descendants could find solace and power in a community of African American believers. Church and religion had been used for centuries to prove that people of color were ordained by God to be slaves and outcasts. These institutions also offered the hope of a kingdom to come, if the down-trodden could just keep working at their rightful social...