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Yet for all those who resonated with his convictions, there were many who did not. Segregationists continued to disparage his efforts, and then he had to factor in church leaders from the other side of the spectrum like Reinhold Niebuhr, who criticized him for not moving quickly enough.

Graham's 1957 New York City campaign illustrates just what he faced and the tactics he employed. During the first few nights, critics and supporters alike noticed a disturbing trend: The audiences looked more like a cross section of Middle America than the diverse streets of New York City. Especially notable was the absence of African Americans. Lamenting this fact, Graham called Cleveland pastor Howard Jones, an African American, and asked him how to reach the city's minorities. Jones pulled no punches and told Graham to go where the blacks lived—Harlem. Jones even left his job in Cleveland to organize this effort. Eight thousand people attended the first event there. One week later at a similar event in Brooklyn, Graham for the first time voiced his support for civil-rights legislation. Though Graham focused his efforts on spiritual change and emphasized the necessity of inward transformation, he also lobbied for institutional reform. Graham's leadership tactics reflected his belief that a variety of devices would be needed to coax change.

Jones later noted Graham's leadership with admiration. "When Billy approached me to join him in New York, it was more or less understood that white Christians worshiped with white Christians and black Christians worshiped with black Christians. Our evangelical churches seemed to believe that heaven too would be 'separate but equal.' We recited the Lord's Prayer and prayed: 'Thy will be done on Earth as it is in heaven' but then proceeded to bow at the altar of Jim Crow. Talk about being countercultural; what Billy did was radical. There's no getting around it. He weathered the barrage of angry letters and criticisms. He resisted the idea of pulling the plug on the whole thing and playing it safe. There was never any hesitation on Billy's part. He remained faithful to his convictions."

Graham's brief foray into Harlem produced the intended result of involving African Americans and marked the beginning of an important relationship. Two rally organizers were close friends and advisers of Martin Luther King Jr. Together with King, they huddled with Graham in private strategy meetings and even swapped dreams of conducting joint evangelistic crusades. But the union was not to be. King's approach was too political for Graham's taste, and they agreed to seek change in separate spheres.

Graham did invite King to give a prayer at the meetings, a symbolic move that further solidified his commitment to the movement toward racial equality. "A great social revolution is going on in the United States today," Graham said as he introduced King. "Dr. King is one of its leaders, and we appreciate his taking time out of his busy schedule to come and share this service with us tonight."

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June (Web-only) 2005, Vol. 49