Next week, the Rev. Fred Luter Jr. may become the first African American president of the Southern Baptist Convention when the denomination’s delegates vote in New Orleans , the Associated Press reports. The denomination was founded in 1845 “out of a pre-Civil War split with northern Baptists over slavery and for much of the last century had a reputation for supporting segregation.” According to the article, Luter turned an inner-city church of 50 members into a church with the largest weekly attendance among Southern Baptist congregations in Louisiana.