Donny Reagan: A Case Study of Racism in Branham Cult Leadership

Donny Reagan was the pastor of the Happy Valley Church of Jesus Christ in Johnson City, Tennessee, who went viral after a rant against interracial marriage spread on social media [1]. After the public was aware, he moved and renamed the church to Word of Life Church. Though Reagan later apologized for the racist statements [2], he continued to promote William Branham and his doctrine, including Branham’s cult rules against racial equality [3].

In 2014, one of Reagan’s sermons preaching against interracial marriage went viral, with nearly 40,000 views in less than two weeks. The racially charged subject matter was controversial, which Reagan himself admitted [4], and many social networks began spreading awareness of Reagan and his views. After some commenters noticed similarities between Reagan’s statements and white supremacist hate groups, The Young Turks examined the sermon’s content in a video on YouTube. This caused awareness to spread even further, with the video, "Is God Racist? Pastor Rants Against Biracial Babies At Happy Valley Church", racking up over 500,000 views [5].

In The Young Turks’ video, footage of Reagan’s sermons highlighted his support of William Branham as he promoted Roy E. Davis’ agenda against the integration of African Americans and whites in the public school system. Reagan read the racial slur “mulatto,” as well as Branham’s condemnation of the advancement of civil rights, which he claimed would “hybreed” the people.

There's a move in the message of blacks marrying whites and whites marrying blacks.  And folks think it's alright.  but you know what?  My God has nationalities outside the city.  Now watch this, Brother Branham says, "Hybreeding, hybreeding, oh how terrible, hybreedings.  They hybreed the people.  You know it's a big molding pot.  I've got hundreds of precious colored friends that's borned again Christians.  But on this line of segregations and things they're talking about, hybreeding the people.  What, tell me what fine cultured, fine Christian colored woman would want her baby to be a mulatto by a white man?  No, sir, it's not right."
Donnie Reagan. 

After a flurry of responses from the Christian [6], secular [7], and legal [8] communities, as well as the Southern Poverty Law Center [9], Reagan removed all videos from public access [10] and refused to let the general public hear the “gospel” being preached in his recordings. An escapee of his church also pointed out that his sermons contained misogynistic and insulting comments in response to the Johnson City Press article, raising questions about Reagan’s affiliation with the Ku Klux Klan.

"View the website. He preaches against homosexuality much more than mixed marriages. He doesn't think women should vote from what I have read. Called women "dogmeat" in one sermon I viewed. Who does this? I thought we were somewhat passed all of this. It's as if we have traveled back 50 years. Maybe we do need to bring back "linching" and start with Mr. Reagan. I can't bring myself to call him pastor or preacher. Maybe Grand Wizard but not a man of God!"
Daily Kos

Reagan, apparently aware of the critical information concerning William Branham’s affiliation with high-ranking members of the Ku Klux Klan such as Roy E. Davis and William D. Upshaw, argued that Branham himself was not racist because he called “colored” women “beautiful.” His argument, however, included Branham’s racial slur “mulatto,” and the quote selected to support his claim that Branham was not racist was a segment of Branham’s speeches supportive of Davis’ Original Knights of the Ku Klux Klan position against integration. Reagan described Branham as stating, “Many things the colored people has is far beyond the white man.”

Tell me what smart, intelligent, beautiful colored woman... and you tell me what KKK guy would call a black woman beautiful. You tell me what white supremacist would call any a black woman beautiful. This is not from a white supremacist, this is not from a racist, this is from a prophet of God. Watch him honor and respect, not putting the white above the other or the black above the other. ... beautiful colored woman would want to have a baby by a white man to make it mulatto. Not sense! Many things a colored ... listen white folks! Many things the colored people has is far beyond the white man. This is not a white supreme that's saying this. This is not a racist saying this. This is a man who loves truth!
Donny Reagan, 2014

During the era from which Branham’s quote was selected, Branham began claiming that African Americans should not fight for equal rights concerning public schools and took a public position against Martin Luther King. According to Branham, the “colored person” should be “satisfied in the state he [or she] is in.”

Long time ago…I was just looking around over the audience to see if I could see one of the people, and that’s some of our colored friends, the Negro. You know, a long time ago, down here in the South, they used to make slaves out of them. Now, I’m a Southerner. And there is one thing I’d like to say about them, I wish I could talk to Martin Luther King. That man, being a Christian, don’t know he is leading his people right into a death trap, where there is going to be millions of them killed. See? He is wrong. I love my brethren, my colored brethren. I wouldn’t be in Africa and around, preaching to them, if I didn’t love them. They’re God’s people, the same as we are. But I don’t believe that…That man, under this, is only going to cause many, many, many more of them to be killed. Then it’ll start a revolutionary again, that’ll never wade out of the people down here. So they’re not slaves. They have as much freedom as anybody else. They, if they were slaves, I would be on that side. But they’re not slaves. It’s just because they want to go to school. They got schools. Let them go to school. That’s right. Was there, remember that old colored brother standing up, that morning, in that riot. He asked the militia if he could speak. He said, “I never was ashamed of being a black man. My Maker made me a black man. But this morning, I’m ashamed the way my race is acting. What’s them people doing to us? Only been good to us.” “The white woman,” raised up and said, “I don’t want my children schooled by a white woman,” said, “because they…she won’t pay the—the interest, take interest in my children like a colored woman was in my own race.” Said, “There, look at our schools. They got swimming pools. They got better schools and everything. Why do we want to go to their schools?” That’s right. I believe God is a God of—of, well, I’d say He is a God of variety. He makes big mountains and little mountains. He makes deserts. He makes forests. He makes white man, black man, red man. We should never cross that up. It becomes a hybrid. And anything hybrid cannot re-breed itself. You are ruining the race of people. There is some things about a colored man that a white man don’t even possess them traits. A white man is always stewing and worrying; a colored man is satisfied in the state he is in, so they don’t need those things.
Branham, William. 1963, Jun 28. O Lord, Just Once More. 63-0628