Here's more about what was said at last week's OCR meeting at Martin Street Baptist Church.

Click here for an earlier post about the meeting. Most of the speakers and the crowd were opposed to the school board majority's elimination of the diversity policy.

The meeting kicked off with the Rev. Earl Johnson, pastor of Martin Street Baptist, getting laughs and applause from the crowd when he quipped that the church was "a very neutral site by the way." That was in response to the complaints from the school system about holding the meeting at the church.

The Rev. Earl Johnson, pastor of Martin Street Baptist Church, is defending holding tonight's OCR public meeting at his church.

In a letter to the editor published today, Johnson says the criticism from school board member John Tedesco and school board attorney Ann Majestic about meeting at Martin is "ill-advised." The meeting to give feedback to federal civil rights investigators probing Wake's elimination of the diversity policy will start at 7 p.m. at 1001 E. Martin Street in Raleigh.

Johnson touts Martin Street Baptist's "long history of involvement in the spiritual, social, economic and sometimes political health of Southeast Raleigh." He writes that a more neutral site isn't needed "because the essence of Martin Street has always been to open its doors to all citizens, regardless of race, color, class, gender or political affiliation."

The Wake County school board majority was essentially equated by diversity policy supporters to be demon possessed at this evening's prayer vigil at Pullen Memorial Baptist Church in Raleigh.

The Rev. Earl Johnson, pastor of Martin Street Baptist Church in Raleigh, asked the dozen clergy members in the audience to set aside one Sunday service in September for prayer. He urged them to pray for schools,  diversity in schools, student achievement and...

"Pray that this demonic presence that is trying to take over the school system will not prevail," Johnson said.

Supporters of Wake County's old diversity policy are calling for a day of mass prayer on Monday at Raleigh's Pullen Memorial Baptist Church to "promote school excellence, stop resegregation."

In a press release, the Rev. Nancy Petty, Pullen's senior pastor, announced  that the public prayer meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at her church. The meeting will be held after a 3 p.m. clergy summit at Raleigh's Martin Street Baptist Church that will be led by the Rev. Earl Johnson, that church's pastor, and Petty.

Monday was chosen because it's the 39th anniversary of when Raleigh began to aggressively integrate its schools.

The pretty strong implication coming from speakers at Monday night's rally is that God is on the side of those who support Wake County's old diversity policy.

As noted in today's article, God was repeatedly invoked by multiple speakers, many of whom are Christian ministers. God was used both to justify fighting the school board and to back any efforts at civil disobedience.

The Rev. Nancy Petty, senior pastor of Pullen Memorial Baptist Church, which hosted the rally, called for the crowd to engage in direct action. She also prayed for God to encourage them to act for social justice.