The Rev. Billy Graham, who transformed American religious life through his preaching and activism, becoming a counselor to presidents and the most widely heard Christian evangelist in history, died Wednesday. He was 99.
Graham, who long suffered from cancer, pneumonia and other ailments, died at his home in North Carolina, spokesman Mark DeMoss told The Associated Press.
Billy Graham’s first integrated crusade was in Chattanooga in 1953, according to the Association of Religion Data.
After the ropes cordoning off the black section of the Warner Park Fieldhouse were removed, Graham told the ushers who threatened to put them back up, “Either these ropes stay down or you can go on and have the revival without me.”
From then on, Graham permanently adopted the policy of holding only integrated revivals.