When Wake Forest mayor Vivian Jones walked back her Pride Month proclamation in September, she did so at the request of leaders of what’s arguably the town’s most powerful institution: the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, which owns hundreds of acres of land in the northern Wake County municipality and occasionally partners with the town on development projects.
Public records from the Town of Wake Forest, initially reported by Wake Forest resident Tom Baker IV in a local Substack called Wake Forest Matters, show the seminary’s president emailing Jones on September 5—three days after Jones announced her intention during a town board of commissioners work session to make the proclamation in October—urging against the move.
“While I fully affirm the dignity and worth of every individual, including those in the LGBTQ+ community who are made in the image of God and deserving of love and respect, I must respectfully express my opposition to a government-sponsored celebration of sexual identity,” wrote Daniel L. Akin in an email with the subject line “Reaching out on a Concern” and addressed to “Vivian.”…