Gaye Clark's handy guide on what to do 'When God Sends Your White Daughter a Black Husband' was deleted two days after it was published to Christian lifestyle site The Gospel Coalition.
Gaye Clark's handy guide on what to do 'When God Sends Your White Daughter a Black Husband' was deleted two days after it was published to Christian lifestyle site The Gospel Coalition.
A blogger who wrote about her struggle to come to terms with her daughter's decision to marry a black man has gone into hiding after receiving death threats.
The threats are not from people offended by the weird and jaw-droppingly racist essay titled "When God Sends Your Daughter a BlackHusband" but from white supremacists angered by the interracial union.
The article by American Christian blogger Gaye Clark went viral on Facebook after it was published on religious lifestyle website The Gospel Coalition (TGC) on Monday.
By Wednesday, the piece had generated so much outrage and ridicule that Clark requested its removal from the site, tweeting a remorseful apology in which she asked readers to send her "prayers".
In the supremely tone-deaf piece, Clark wrote that she had "asked the Lord" to send her daughter Georgia a husband who was "godly, kind, a great dad, and a good provider".
But she "hadn't counted on God sending an African-American with dreads named Glenn".
Clark went on to explain she was not "prejudiced" against interracial marriage but then launched into a eight-step survival guide for parents that suggested Glenn's blackness had in fact sent her into nothing short of an existential meltdown.
Gaye Clark's daughter Georgia and her husband Glenn. Photo / Facebook
"Remember your daughter's ultimate loyalty is not to you or your family, but to the Lord."
Clark continued: "As you pray for your daughter to choose well, pray for your eyes to see clearly, too.
"Glenn moved from being a black man to beloved son when I saw his true identity as an image bearer of God, a brother in Christ, and a fellow heir to God's promises."
Readers responded with a mixture of disgust, disbelief and repulsion. One woman was "so frustrated by the potential this article could have had" that she rewrote it. A shocked Clark requested the post be deleted.
"I have asked TGC to remove my article from their website," she tweeted on Wednesday morning.
"I am profoundly grieved over the hurt and harm it has caused. Would covet prayers."
The website went into damage control, inviting readers "to listen to a follow-up conversation in which three African-American leaders - including one TGC editor - reflect on the article, the ensuing backlash, and lessons to be learned."
I have asked TGC to remove my article from their website. I am profoundly grieved over the hurt and harm it has caused. Would covet prayers.
The Gospel Coalition went into damage control, revealing Clark had received death threats from white supremacists. Photo / Supplied
"The article has been removed from TGC's website at the request of the author, who regrets hurting many readers," it said in a online statement.
"An article intended to celebrate God's work in this family's life also became an occasion for hurt and pain."
Since her apology, Clark has been swamped with messages of support, including many from African-Americans, some of whom shared their own stories of struggling to accept their son or daughter's relationship with a person of a different race.
