AP: Bob Jones Univ. apologizes for racist policies
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Bob Jones University is apologizing for racist policies that included a one-time ban on interracial dating and its unwillingness to admit black students until 1971.
In a statement posted Thursday on its Web site, the fundamentalist Christian school founded in 1927 in northwestern South Carolina says its rules on race were shaped by culture instead of the Bible.
The university says president Stephen Jones decided to issue the apology because he still receives questions about the school’s views on race.
The school, which has about 5,000 students, banned interracial dating until 2000.