Banyard Disputes Concerns Over Collaboration with Openly Racist Levitt Corporation: A Letter to The Rev. Carter, on June 18, 1958

Rt. Rev. Alfred L. Banyard
(photo by J. Pruszinski of portrait at Diocese of New Jersey, Trenton, NJ)
& the Rev. Junius F. Carter, Jr.
(Detail of "NAACP Million Dollar Campaign" (2021). B. L. Hooks Papers images. 648.)

As protests over the proposed diocesan collaboration with the racist Levitt corporation began to grow, and the racist policies were reported in the national press,[1] Bishop Banyard responded to a letter of concern[2] from the Rev. Junius F. Carter, Jr. of St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church, Elizabeth to dispute the legitimacy of the concerns.

Firstly, in his greeting Banyard uses Carter’s first name with no honorific, unlike in the letter on the same subject[3] he had just written to a younger White priest he addressed as “Father Ralph.” Without preamble he delves straight into the matter at hand.

Banyard repeats the same arguments he had already rehearsed in that correspondence with the Rev. Ralph Lasher, “countless others who have written me,”[4] and apparently to the Rev. Kenneth MacDonald and Mr. J. Arthur Jones at a Board of Missions meeting the previous week. He claims that the policy of the diocese is only to have integrated churches, implying that any church built would thus inherently be integrated (ignoring the possibility of de facto segregation). In re-stating that the Levitt policy conflicts with state laws, he also suggests that the policy would not be possible to enforce, and was thus moot. And he further states that he will establish the church “if it is at all possible to administer to our people on an integrated basis.”

He goes on to suggest that because it has been difficult to garner support for the project across the diocese, that he believes that racial concerns will only be used as an excuse for non-cooperation by “recalcitrants.” He claims to be “just as indignant about segregation as… anyone else” but pointedly singles out “the colored” for the segregation he believes they practice themselves. He claims that he did not previously bring up this issue even though it “annoyed” him, but that now he brings it up in order to argue against what he claims is “an organized campaign… to oppose the establishment of a church in Levittown.” He asks that Carter “do something about that.”

He ends with further assurances that he cares about the issue and that Carter does “not need to worry about the stand of our Diocese of New Jersey and of your Bishop.” However, Banyard ultimately chose to cooperate with the Levitt corporation in spite of their policy of racial discrimination against Black people, worked to marginalize and de-legitimize protests against the collaboration, and denigrated those who had questioned the propriety of the partnership. In fact, contrary to his promise, he chose to establish the church even though the community it served was not integrated. The full letter to Carter[5] is presented below.

Jolyon G. R. Pruszinski, Ph.D.

Reparations Commission Research Historian

Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey

 

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[1] E.g. in Tom Barrett, “N.J. Levittown Started; Negro Exclusion Stands,” New York Herald Tribune, June 8, 1958.

[2] “Junius F. Carter, Jr. to Alfred L. Banyard,” June 16, 1958. MSS held at Diocese of New Jersey archives, Trenton, NJ. See also Jolyon G. R. Pruszinski "St. Augustine’s, Elizabeth hesitant to Fund Building a Segregated White Church in Levittown: A Letter from The Rev. Junius F. Carter, Jr. to Bishop Banyard, June 16, 1958," DNJRJR (August 3, 2026): https://dionj-racialjusticereview.blogspot.com/2026/08/st-augustines-elizabeth-hesitant-to.html. 

[3] “Alfred L. Banyard to Ralph C. Lasher,” June 16, 1958. MSS held at Diocese of New Jersey archives, Trenton, NJ. See also Jolyon G. R. Pruszinski, "Banyard’s Intent to Build a Church for the Segregated Levitt Co. Development, and Contempt for Concerned Black Leaders: A Letter to the Rev. Lasher, June 16, 1958," DNJRJR (July 21, 2026): https://dionj-racialjusticereview.blogspot.com/2026/07/banyards-intent-to-build-church-for.html. 

[4] This is likely a significant exaggeration.

[5] “Alfred L. Banyard to Junius F. Carter, Jr.,” June 18, 1958. Courtesy of the Diocese of New Jersey. MSS held at Diocese of New Jersey archives, Trenton, NJ.

St. Augustine’s, Elizabeth hesitant to Fund Building a Segregated White Church in Levittown: A Letter from The Rev. Junius F. Carter, Jr. to Bishop Banyard, June 16, 1958

The Rev. Junius F. Carter, Jr. 
(Detail from "NAACP Million Dollar Campaign" (2021). Benjamin Lawson Hooks Papers images. 648.)

As reporting on the segregation policy of the Levitt Corporation became more widely known,[1] members of Black Episcopal Churches in the Diocese began to raise serious concerns about Bishop Banyard’s planned collaboration[2] with Levitt for a new Episcopal Church in Levittown, NJ. Among them was the leadership of St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church, Elizabeth, including the Rev. Junius F. Carter, Jr.[3] The Rev. Carter wrote to Banyard on June 16, 1958, noting recent press coverage of Levitt’s anti-Black policy, and expressing his and his congregation’s concerns over the issue. He specifically states that the church might find it hard to justify participating in the funding of what he says “would undoubtedly be a segregated church” for an overtly all-white development. Carter assumes that the diocese “cannot help but take a stand against this kind of flagrant and deliberate discrimination.” Banyard would respond,[4] seeking to allay Carter’s concerns, but would not in fact ultimately “take a stand against this kind of… discrimination.” The letter shows that the leadership of the diocese were well aware of the problems with the Levitt scheme. Carter’s letter[5] is presented in full below, along with the newspaper article[6] he forwarded to Banyard.

 

Jolyon G. R. Pruszinski, Ph.D.

Reparations Commission Research Historian

Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey

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[1] E.g. Tom Barrett, “N.J. Levittown Started; Negro Exclusion Stands,” New York Herald Tribune, June 8, 1958. Reporting also appeared in the New York Times.

[2] Including Banyard’s staff soliciting a donation of land from Levitt, and the announced plan to fund the building of what would be, at least de facto, an exclusively white church through a pressure campaign on all the churches (including the Black churches) of the Diocese to donate. See Gerald R. Minchin, “Presentation of Mission Program to the Diocesan Convention,” in The Journal of the 172^nd Annual Convention of the Church in the Diocese of New Jersey Held in the Crypt of Trinity Cathedral, Trenton, Tuesday and Wednesday May 8^th and 9^th, 1956; 146.

[3] Carter was a highly respected priest in the diocese and later went on to become the first Black priest made a Canon of the Cathedral. See Laurence Fish, “Honorary Canons,” first published June 2, 2009; republished at https://dioceseofnj.org/archives/articles/2009lfcanons/.

[4] “Alfred L. Banyard to Junius F. Carter, Jr.” June 18, 1958. MSS held at Diocese of New Jersey archives, Trenton, NJ (See also Jolyon G. R. Pruszinski, "Banyard Disputes Concerns Over Collaboration with Openly Racist Levitt Corporation: A Letter to The Rev. Carter, on June 18, 1958," DNJRJR [August 10, 2026]: https://dionj-racialjusticereview.blogspot.com/2026/08/banyard-disputes-concerns-over.html.

[5] “Junius F. Carter, Jr. to Alfred L. Banyard,” June 16, 1958. Courtesy of the Diocese of New Jersey. MSS held at Diocese of New Jersey archives, Trenton, NJ.

[6] Barrett, “N.J. Levittown Started.” Courtesy of the Diocese of New Jersey. MSS held at Diocese of New Jersey archives, Trenton, NJ.

The Black Caucus Responds to the Steinke Report on Shortcomings of Doss’ Episcopate, June 14, 1997

The Rev. Cn. Dr. Leroy Lyons of the Black Caucus
(archival photo courtesy of the Diocese of New Jersey)

After a series of controversial and highly criticized actions taken by the newly installed Bishop Doss, the Diocese of New Jersey 

 

sought help from Peter Steinke, a Lutheran minister and consultant to troubled church communities. In May, after conducting more than 160 interviews with diocesan leaders and reading more than 100 letters and other submissions, he said he had found widespread mistrust and extensive criticism of the Bishop, including assertions that he “manipulates people,” is “arrogant” and “condescending,” and “doesn't consult others.”[1]

 

However, a number of early allegations against the Bishop involved charges of racism, and Steinke’s report resulting from his research[2] mentioned nothing whatsoever on that subject. As a result, on June 14, 1997 the Black Caucus published their own response to Steinke’s report entitled “A Response to the Steinke Report From the Black Caucus, The Diocese of New Jersey.”[3]

            The response relies heavily on careful biblical exegesis, disputing the value of Steinke’s use of 1 Corinthians 1:10-13 as a relevant text and drawing instead on Paul’s letter to Philemon.[4] The Black Caucus response notes how Paul’s argumentation in Philemon requires that the previous relations of hierarchy and subjugation that had defined Philemon’s relationship to Onesimus be transcended by what should be their new relations of brotherhood in the family of faith, based on love (agapē).

            The letter suggests that one of the shocking findings of the Steinke report is that none of those interviewed noted a gift of agapē in Bishop Doss. The Black Caucus claim that no repentance for wrongdoing leading to reconciliation is possible without agapē, and that, as such, the Bishop may not possess the necessary qualifications for his office.

            The letter also notes that even as racism existed in the diocese before the Doss episcopate, they cannot in good conscience be “tolerant with racist behavior.” They write 

 

We will not sit idly by and be passive or complacent about racism. Racism demeans us; it destroys our humanity; it is contrary to the will of God; it is very, very evil. No real fellowship can exist where racism abounds, for the power of the church is nullified and the Holy Spirit is spurned. If we are truly and fully committed to agapē, we will be fully committed to the eradication of racism. We are all victims of this deadly disease. The members of the Black Caucus stand ready to join with the bishop and the diocese to work together. We have expressed this sentiment before; we do it again. But we will not desist until our leaders, among whom we include the bishop, develop a passion and a conscience for this issue. To those well-meaning bigots who continue to attack us for withholding funds, but refuse to recognize the pain of racism and our desperate call for redress to this human tragedy, we point out that you continue to deepen the wounds and increase the pain that we daily endure.[5]

 

The letter ends with a commitment to engagement and a call to agapē for all involved, including, above all, Bishop Doss. Doss would not go on to win over those within the diocese who had viewed his leadership as too flawed to continue in office, and he would ultimately be removed as instances of inappropriate behavior continued to come to light. The full letter[6] from the Black Caucus responding to the Steinke report can be found below. It appears that the document was widely circulated within the Diocese of New Jersey at the time.

 

Jolyon G. R. Pruszinski, Ph.D.
Reparations Commission Research Historian
Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey

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[1] David M. Herszenhorn, “An Embattled Episcopal Bishop; His Ouster Is Sought by Leaders of the New Jersey Diocese,” New York Times (December 7, 1997): Section 1, page 45.

[2] Which he delivered to diocesan officials on May 16, 1997.

[3] MSS held in the private collection of Rev. Cn. Dr. Leroy Lyons, Plainfield, New Jersey.

[4] It is likely that the response of the Black Caucus was mostly authored by Rev. Cn. Dr. Leroy Lyons, as his doctoral dissertation was written on Philemon.

[5] The Black Caucus, “A Response to the Steinke Report From the Black Caucus, The Diocese of New Jersey,” 5.

[6] Courtesy of the Rev. Cn. Dr. Leroy Lyons.

Increasing Criticism of Racism in the Doss Episcopate Appears in Black Clergy Caucus Open Letter: Rev. Cn. Edward Geyer “Open Letter to Chris,” February 8, 1996

The Rev. Cn. Edward Geyer
(from Edythe Greene et al., eds., The History of St. Augustine’s
Episcopal Church, 1709 Arctic Avenue Atlantic City, New Jersey:
The First 100 Years [Norfolk, VA: Hill Printing Co., 2001], 103)

In the wake of racist incidents with Bishop Joe Doss, and further condescending and racist treatment by his staff, in early 1996 the Rev. Cn. Edward Geyer,[1] the Convener of the Black Clergy Caucus of the Diocese of New Jersey, penned an open letter on behalf of the organization to “Chris,” a member of Doss’ staff. The letter responds specifically to a letter from Chris from January 14, 1996 which had apparently made a series of accusations against the Black Clergy Caucus for behaving in a way that Bishop Doss did not like. Geyer disputes the legitimacy of many of these accusations in his open letter, suggests that these accusations themselves indicate racist attitudes, and insists that the Caucus was simply bringing concerns to the Bishop, and had a right to expect a timely response to their very serious concerns. Among these concerns was the fact that there was inadequate Black representation on the diocesan staff and in diocesan governance. The letter provides evidence of the pedantic way Doss and his staff treated Black leaders in the diocese, and shows a fracturing relationship in advance of the 1996 Diocesan Convention, when the Black Clergy Caucus made many of their concerns highly public by publishing their “Vision Statement.”[2] The, increasingly acrimonious, disputes stemming from Doss’ episcopate would gain national press attention.[3] Ultimately Doss would be ousted years later after a wide variety of inappropriate behaviors came to light, including racist incidents. The entire open letter of February 9, 1996 from Cn. Edward Geyer is presented here, courtesy of Rev. Cn. Dr. Leroy Lyons.[4]

 

Jolyon G. R. Pruszinski, Ph.D.

Reparations Commission Research Historian

Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey

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[1] Of Lawnside, New Jersey. Rev. Cn. Geyer had a national reputation, having served in various dioceses, as the executive assistant to Presiding Bishop Allin (See Harold T. Lewis, “Racial Concerns in the Episcopal Church Since 1973,” Anglican and Episcopal History 67.4 [1998]: 472 n. 16) and as the executive for “National Mission in Church and Society” at the Episcopal Church Center in the 1980s (See “Urban Caucus to Hold 5^th National Assembly,” ENS [August 23, 1984]: https://digitalarchives.episcopalarchives.org/cgi-bin/ENS/ENSpress_release.pl?pr_number=84169). The Diocese of New Jersey invited Geyer to the diocese in 1988 to serve as the “urban missioner in Atlantic City” (See Robert K. Stuhlmann, “No Obvious Villain,” The Living Church [March 11, 1990]: 5-6: https://d7u3dh9x9blzp.cloudfront.net/1990/3.11.1990.pdf; See also Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey, Journal of the 227^th Diocesan Convention, [March 5, 2011], 143: https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/dioceseofnj/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/227thConvJournal.pdf). 

[2] “Vision Statement Presented by the Black Clergy and Delegates, Diocesan Convention-March 1996,” MSS held in the private archive of Rev. Cn. Dr. Leroy Lyons, Plainfield, New Jersey. See also Jolyon G. R. Pruszinski, “Black Clergy and Delegates Vision Statement: 1996 Diocesan Convention,” DNJRJR (November 4, 2025): https://dionj-racialjusticereview.blogspot.com/2025/11/black-clergy-and-delegates-vision.html. 

[3] A long series of articles appeared in the Episcopal News Service (ENS), and multiple articles appeared in other publications, including the New York Times. See, for example, David M. Herszenhorn, “An Embattled Episcopal Bishop; His Ouster Is Sought by Leaders of the New Jersey Diocese,” New York Times (December 7, 1997): Section 1, page 45. See also “Bishop Doss of New Jersey Deflects Calls for His Resignation,” ENS (November 13, 1997): https://digitalarchives.episcopalarchives.org/cgi-bin/ENS/ENSpress_release.pl?pr_number=97-1997; “Bishop of New Jersey Confronts Polarization of Diocese in Reconciliation Meeting,” ENS (December 4, 1997): https://digitalarchives.episcopalarchives.org/cgi-bin/ENS/ENSpress_release.pl?pr_number=97-2033; “Study Finds Destructive Patterns and No Grounds for Removal of Bishop in New Jersey,” ENS (June 23, 1998): https://digitalarchives.episcopalarchives.org/cgi-bin/ENS/ENSpress_release.pl?pr_number=98-2186. 

[4] MSS held in the private archives of Rev. Cn. Dr. Leroy Lyons, Plainfield, New Jersey.