Organized following the Civil War to educate people newly freed from slavery, the [Freedmen's Aid Society] helped to establish more than 70 schools in the south and southwest regions of the United States. Eleven of those institutions remain (some because of mergers). They are supported by the tithes, offerings and donations of United Methodists across the connection.

Celebrating and acknowledging the accomplishments of African Americans during Black History Month extends beyond history and the second month of the year. Many people are making history right now, or seeing their earlier contributions multiply in ways they never imagined. 

A landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision this month establishes that The United Methodist Church and other religious groups are free to set their own rules for choosing and dismissing leaders without government interference.

The high court on Jan. 11 for the first time recognized a “ministerial exception” to U.S. employment anti-discrimination laws, a rare unanimous decision many legal analysts are calling the most significant in many years regarding religious liberty.

One likely result is that church leaders will face fewer lawsuits related to employment. However, the ruling also puts more responsibility on The United Methodist Church to prevent discrimination and do justice in its hiring practices, say denominational leaders. 

Racial inclusiveness would be such an essential, core value of the Church, that a statement on “Inclusiveness” would be made a part of the Constitution. But more importantly, for the next 25 years, inclusiveness remained a United Methodist characteristic. 

"We, the general secretaries of the church's general agencies, pray that God's intended future for The United Methodist Church will be embodied in the actions of the 2012 General Conference. As the Church seeks to discern the movement of the Holy Spirit, we offer this statement."

The United Methodist Church is taking a page from the tech startup world, and the resulting initiative enables young adults to be leaders in ministry.

Immigration rights groups were split on President Obama’s succinct remarks on immigration reform in his State of the Union address on Jan. 24, with some applauding them and others calling for more action.

From the highest honor that is dedicated to principles of peace, to the absolute lowest level of hate, the year 2011 had its share of examples depicting the conflicting strata of our social and moral center.

The General Commission on Religion and Race joins with other United Methodists in applauding recent decisions by the General Board of Pension and Health Benefits to discontinue its policy of investing in private prison corporations.

Remembering Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in video and voice.

“I don’t want to make black peoples’ lives better by giving them somebody else’s money,” Mr. Santorum said. “I want to give them the opportunity to go out and earn the money and provide for themselves and for their families.”

Tucson's Mexican American studies program violates state law, an Arizona administrative law judge ruled Tuesday, paving the way for the program's possible demise. Judge Lewis D. Kowal affirmed a prior decision by the state's schools chief that the Tucson Unified School District's program violates a new law prohibiting divisive ethnic-studies classes.

A Massachusetts man convicted of burning down a black church out of anger over the election of President Barack Obama was sentenced to nearly 14 years in federal prison on Thursday.

The National Federation of Asian American United Methodists expresses deep concern about the death of US serviceman Army Private Danny Chen, a Chinese-American soldier in Afghanistan, after being subjected to a steady stream of racial slurs, unabated hazing and incessant harassment by an officer and fellow soldiers.

Early-stage, high-growth firms have been shown to create the bulk of new jobs in the United States. But who creates all those companies that create all those jobs? Evidently, immigrants play an enormous role. Nearly half of the top 50 venture-backed firms in the country were founded at least in part by an immigrant, according to a new study by The National Foundation for American Policy.

GCORR's Christmas greeting is inspired by the work of artist Jeanne Marklin, who created a quilted art piece for the General Commission on Religion and Race titled "More than Skin Deep2." Click below to view the greeting and learn more about Marklin and her work.

In this season of Advent, we commemorate International Migrants Day on December 18, recognizing the efforts, contributions and rights of migrants worldwide. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the United Nations (U.N.) migrant rights convention.

In a recent post, former New York Times executive editor Bill Keller, currently an op-ed columnist for the paper, answered readers who have repeatedly criticized him and the paper of record for their incessant use of derogatory term "illegals." Keller shared a handful of emails from readers, including from one who noted that the term "reduces human beings to a status label, and a morally loaded one at that."

The Supreme Court on Monday said it will rule for the first time on one of several tough, new state immigration laws, with a decision coming in the middle of the 2012 presidential election campaign. Potentially deepening political divisions over the contentious immigration policy issue, the court will decide if key parts of an Arizona crackdown can proceed. The ruling could have implications for similar tough laws adopted recently in other states - including South Carolina, Alabama, Utah, Georgia, and Indiana.

Concerned that Alabama’s immigration law will criminalize their ministries, four Alabama bishops from three denominations, including Bishop William H. Willimon of the North Alabama Annual Conference, filed a lawsuit in August. The lawsuit is the third suit filed in the state, following a lawsuit by the Obama Administration and the American Civil Liberties Union.

Fox News host Bill O'Reilly challenged GOP presidential candidate Michele Bachmann in an interview Monday on her recent campaign promise to deport all undocumented immigrants, claiming that the human and fiscal cost of the task could make it extremely difficult.

The General Commission on Archives and History recently announced award recipients for multiple grants, awards and scholarships, including The Asian, African, Hispanic, and Native American History Research Grant, which is intended for research in the history and heritage of ethnic/racial groups in the United Methodist tradition, and the Josephine Forman Scholarship, which is awarded to a person of color pursing graduate work in archival studies. The Commission also awarded additional grants and prizes for work in the field of archival research and United Methodist history.