President Obama released a kind and thoughtful statement after Graham’s passing, but there is good reason for him to choose not to attend the funeral. Graham was not America’s pastor, he was white Protestant America’s pastor.

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. electrified the nation when he gave his "I Have a Dream" speech, but there was another famous American pastor who was not impressed.

Billy Graham, who had refused to participate in the 1963 March on Washington, dismissed King's belief that protests could create a "Beloved Community" in America where even "down in Alabama little black boys and little black girls will join hands with little white boys and white girls."
"Only when Christ comes again will the little white children of Alabama walk hand in hand with little black children," Graham said after King's speech.
Graham's response to the epic march raises a question about his legacy that some scholars and activists have asked for years: How can anyone call Graham a great pastor when he refused to take a clear, unequivocal public stand against the greatest moral evil America faced in his day: racial segregation?

Graham occasionally preached racial tolerance and held integrated crusades during the civil rights era. But even some of his biggest supporters say Graham accepted segregation at some of his crusades, criticized marches and sit-ins, and would not risk his popularity by confronting segregation head-on.
One Graham biographer says he even tried to sabotage the civil rights movement.

"There wasn't a major Protestant leader in America who obstructed King's Beloved Community more than Billy Graham did," says Michael E. Long, author of "Billy Graham and the Beloved Community: America's Evangelist and the Dream of Martin Luther King, Jr."
"Graham was constantly making statements opposing King and his dream," says Long, an associate professor of religion at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania. "Graham's legacy is definitely tarnished by the way he approached racial justice."

President Obama released a kind and thoughtful statement after Graham’s passing, but there is good reason for him to choose not to attend the funeral. Graham was not America’s pastor, he was white Protestant America’s pastor.

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. electrified the nation when he gave his "I Have a Dream" speech, but there was another famous American pastor who was not impressed.

Billy Graham, who had refused to participate in the 1963 March on Washington, dismissed King's belief that protests could create a "Beloved Community" in America where even "down in Alabama little black boys and little black girls will join hands with little white boys and white girls."
"Only when Christ comes again will the little white children of Alabama walk hand in hand with little black children," Graham said after King's speech.
Graham's response to the epic march raises a question about his legacy that some scholars and activists have asked for years: How can anyone call Graham a great pastor when he refused to take a clear, unequivocal public stand against the greatest moral evil America faced in his day: racial segregation?

Graham occasionally preached racial tolerance and held integrated crusades during the civil rights era. But even some of his biggest supporters say Graham accepted segregation at some of his crusades, criticized marches and sit-ins, and would not risk his popularity by confronting segregation head-on.
One Graham biographer says he even tried to sabotage the civil rights movement.

"There wasn't a major Protestant leader in America who obstructed King's Beloved Community more than Billy Graham did," says Michael E. Long, author of "Billy Graham and the Beloved Community: America's Evangelist and the Dream of Martin Luther King, Jr."
"Graham was constantly making statements opposing King and his dream," says Long, an associate professor of religion at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania. "Graham's legacy is definitely tarnished by the way he approached racial justice."

Those humble servants really fill up thier bank accounts.

Much is unknown about the famous evangelist’s wealth. According to the wealth-tracking site TheRichest.com, Billy Graham’s net worth was an estimated $25 million at the time of his death.

That would rank Graham as one of America’s eight richest pastors, Beliefnet.com reported. Graham’s estimated $25 million net worth is equal to that of Rick Warren, but lower than pastors such as Joel Osteen ($40 million) and Kenneth Copeland ($760 million). Forbes has reported that two nonprofits associated with Billy Graham are among the biggest charities in the U.S. Samaritan’s Purse posted revenues of $635 million in 2016, while the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association had $101 million in revenues in 2010. Both organizations are now run by Billy Graham’s son William Franklin Graham III, who is paid well for his leadership roles. Better known as Franklin Graham, he received a whopping total of $1.2 million in 2008 and $880,000 in compensation in 2014 for running the two charities, according to the Charlotte Observer.

Those humble servants really fill up thier bank accounts.

Much is unknown about the famous evangelist’s wealth. According to the wealth-tracking site TheRichest.com, Billy Graham’s net worth was an estimated $25 million at the time of his death.

That would rank Graham as one of America’s eight richest pastors, Beliefnet.com reported. Graham’s estimated $25 million net worth is equal to that of Rick Warren, but lower than pastors such as Joel Osteen ($40 million) and Kenneth Copeland ($760 million). Forbes has reported that two nonprofits associated with Billy Graham are among the biggest charities in the U.S. Samaritan’s Purse posted revenues of $635 million in 2016, while the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association had $101 million in revenues in 2010. Both organizations are now run by Billy Graham’s son William Franklin Graham III, who is paid well for his leadership roles. Better known as Franklin Graham, he received a whopping total of $1.2 million in 2008 and $880,000 in compensation in 2014 for running the two charities, according to the Charlotte Observer.