A church that shunned blacks in 1964 apologized for the racist acts and honored two women who were turned away as children.
"We regret our actions," said Pastor Pat Turner-Sharpton of First United Methodist Church said Sunday at a "service of reconciliation." "We regret the hurt we caused you. We ask your forgiveness."
An elderly white woman had walked Audrey Willis and Janice Boles, both child civil rights activists, to the church in 1964. A church leader told the woman the girls were not welcome, Boles said.
"The deacon said, 'You can come in, but the little monkeys have to stay outside,'" Boles said. "I would like to say to all of you that I forgive you because I am a Christian."
Willis described being arrested when she tried to enter the church.
"If I had it to do over again, I would," she said.
The church voted to accept all worshippers shortly after the girls' arrests, but the memory of that incident has resurfaced yearly, Turner-Sharpton said.
"If we could, we'd go back and undo it," he said.