Billy Graham Evangelistic Association Cleared of Racial Discrimination Charges By Former Black Employee
A North Carolina federal district court has found that the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) did not discriminate against Kimberly McCallum, formerly the only African-American employee in the group's Global Ministries office, in terminating her employment as an administrative assistant.
The court held that the BGEA's ministerial exception
claim was inapplicable because McCallum's position was administrative,
not pastoral. However, the court also dismissed McCallum's Title VII
discrimination claim, finding no racial motivation in the BGEA's
dismissal.
McCallum sued the BGEA
after her position as an administrative assistant was eliminated. She
claimed that the BGEA fired her in 2007 after she complained that
African-American churches were not receiving equal invitation to
participate in BGEA programming.
According to Christianity Today, they previously reported an earlier ruling in the case in 2011, which found that the discrimination case could continue.
Christianity Today
