It’s interesting how the author makes it clear the National Baptist Convention, despite mostly agreeing with each other, doesn’t want to restrict how other members may feel about civil rights issues or how they want to achieve them. They made a point of adopting a philosophy they won’t use to control how individuals in their Convention act. This section also addresses the issue of racial “togetherness” being mistaken as participating in segregation. Segregation is the forced separation by an oppressor, and this racial togetherness is not that, but many members who (rightfully) hate segregation will call them by the same name. Their same hatred of segregation also leads them to disregard any important achievements under that system. These achievements shouldn’t be forgotten; it’s not their fault that segregation existed, and they still deserve to be recognized for what they fought for.

The reading also addresses that, after a certain point, you cannot rely on your oppressor to help you. If, after years, your oppressors mistreat you and refuse to listen to you, it falls on you to change the system against the will of the oppressors who run that system. The oppressors are not likely to change these laws or restrictions on their own.

The National Baptist Convention also teaches their members about economics and production so that they can support themselves instead of relying on white people to employ them. It argues that ending segregation just to rely on an oppressor to employ you and pay you shouldn’t be the end goal, and it isn’t why people should be protesting. They need to do more for each other instead and begin owning their own means of production in order to truly be equal.