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A.M.E. ZION CHURCH OFFICIALS MEET WITH PRESIDENT CARTER

Recently, a distinguished group of Bishops, Ministers and layity, led by the Right Reverend Aflead Gilbert Dunston, Jr., President of the Board of Bishops of the A.M.E. Zion Church met with President Carter.

Bishop Dunston spoke on behalf of the delegation. He stated that the A.M.E. Zion Church finds hope and comfort that the President is a churchman, truly dedicated and openly committed to the faith. He also indicated that it is good for this country and the world to know that the leader of the greatest Nation is a man who is devoted to religious precepts.

However, Bishop Dunston expressed concern to the President that the A.M.E. Zion Church is deeply concerned and disturbed by the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan overt activities throughout the Nation. He felt that there are those who are determined to nullify the Nation's achievements in the area of Civil Rights. Bishop Dunston went on to congratulate the President for his active opposition to the progress and passage of the Anti-busing Amendment, and his opposition to the lifting of sanctions against Zimbagque-Rhodesia.

This is an area of concern to the A.M.E. Zion Church. For over 100 years, it has been active in spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ in Africa.

The A.M.E. Zion Church is called the "Freedom Church." It was organized in 1796 in New York City. Today, it has over a million members, over ten thousand members in five continents throughout the world. Some of its outstanding members were Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, Bishop James Walker Hood, Harriett Tubman and Paul Robeson.

The Members of the delegation were:
Rt. Rev. Alfred Gilbert Dunston, Jr.
 President of the Board of Bishops
Rt. Rev. Herbert Bell Shaw, Senior Bishop
Rt. Rev. William A. Hilliard, Detroit, Michigan
Rt. Rev. Charles Herbert Foggie, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Rt. Rev. J. Clinton Hoggard, Indianapolis, Ind.
Rt. Rev. Clinton R. Coleman, Baltimore Md.
Rt. Rev. Arthur Marshall, Jr., Atlanta, Ga.
Rt. Rev. Ruben L. Speaks, Roosevelt, N.Y.
Dr. Lem Long, Secretary/Treasurer, Church Ext.
Mr. Gregory Robeson Smith, Sr., Director of Public Relations
Mrs. Alcestis Coleman, President of Woman's Home & Overseas Missionary Society
Dr. Cameron Jackson, President, Ministers' and Laymen's Association
Rev. James McCoy, Charlotte, N.C.
Rev. Frank Jones, Newburgh, N.Y.
Dr. Cecil Bishop, Washington, D.C.

[[image - black & white photograph of round table discussion with President Jimmy Carter and distinguished members of A.M.E. Zion Church]]