A New Citizenry in an Old South: The Story of the First Black Church of Christ in Georgia

By LeRoy Butler Jr.

A New Citizenry In An Old South tells the story of the establishment and expansion of the first black congregation of the Church of Christ in the state of Georgia. Set in the middle of the Great Depression in the small rural town of Valdosta, Georgia, the author uncovers an extraordinary story of unparalleled achievement. The book describes the bitter irony that black preachers had to face as they implored their brothers and sisters to crown Jesus Christ Lord of their lives while living in a region of the country where Jim Crow was king.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Sep 10, 2015
• ISBN: 9781503588035

LeRoy Butler Jr.

Leroy Butler, Jr. is a spiritual shepherd and senior Minister of the Woodlawn Forrest Church of Christ in his hometown of Valdosta, Georgia. A fourth generation member of the Church of Christ, he has led the congregation where he and his four siblings grew up for more than 33 years. He is the youngest of five and the second of his mother's three sons to enter the ministry. He has inspired audiences with the gospel of God's grace from coast to coast, in 92 cities in 23 states and three foreign countries. He is an author, preacher, teacher, entrepreneur, life coach and host of the very popular "Back to the Bible" radio program which has aired in the South Georgia, North Florida area for over 30years. His extensive travels and long career as a gospel preacher has exposed him to many of the legendary people, places and events that have shaped the history of the Black Church of Christ in America over the last century. Among those legendary places is his hometown and home congregation, the West Adair Street Church of Christ. As he listened to his elders talk about the history of the church and the exploits of pioneer preachers his heart and mind was filled with impressions that would last a lifetime and eventually serve as the impetus to preserve those stories for generations to come. Growing up in the racially segregated south and being influenced by a great grandmother whose mother was a slave he is acutely and intimately acquainted with the oppressive forces that black people have had to face and the near impossible struggles they have had to overcome just to survive. He has witnessed first hand and through the testimonies of those he has written about, how the grace of God and faith in the eternal purpose of God can turn the negativity of such experiences into a positive motivation for achievement and success. In August of 2007, Butler was a guest lecturer at the Harley Langdale School of Business at Valdosta State University during the Summer Lecture Series on the subject of business Entrepreneurialship. His lecture was entitled: “Turning Trials into Trails: Wealth Building through Real Estate Investing.” He currently serves as an advisor to The National Lectureship of Churches of Christ and is Vice-Chairman for The Southeastern Lectureship of Churches of Christ. He also serves as Director of Finance and Registration for The Annual Southeastern Youth for Christ Conference. He is married to Gloria Ann Bythwood and they have two daughters, Tyrah Nichole Chatman (Evan) and Dr. Desdamona Marlana Butler; two granddaughters: Landyn Kai and Karsyn Lee Chatman.

Book preview

Copyright © 2015 by LeRoy Butler, Jr..

Library of Congress Control Number:   2015911700

ISBN:                        Hardcover               978-1-5035-8802-8

                                  Softcover                 978-1-5035-8804-2

                                   eBook                     978-1-5035-8803-5

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the Holy Bible, King James Version (Authorized Version). First published in 1611. Quoted from the KJV Classic Reference Bible, Copyright © 1983 by The Zondervan Corporation.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 08/26/2015

Xlibris

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

711482

Contents

Acknowledgements

In Memory of

Dedication

Introduction

Chapter I Race Relations in the Early Decades of the 20th Century

Chapter II The History of African American Churches of Christ in the 20th Century

Chapter III The Planting of the Black Church of Christ in Valdosta, Georgia

Chapter IV Growth and Expansion: 1930 – 2000.

Chapter V Pulpit Preachers

Chapter VI Assistant Ministers

Chapter VII Preaching Sons of West Adair

Chapter VIII Singing Sons of West Adair

Chapter IX Daughter Churches

Chapter X Interviews

Chapter XI The Woodlawn Forrest Era: 2000 to the Present

Bibliography



Keeble_Miller30

Pioneer Preachers Marshall Keeble and Luke Miller

Acknowledgements

T his is to acknowledge my profound gratitude to the West Adair Street/ Woodlawn Forrest Church of Christ which is the spiritual family into which I was born again in July of 1961. I want to acknowledge all those members both past and present for their untiring labor of love which has given birth to a legacy of enduring faith and unexcelled accomplish ment.

I want to thank Dr. Luis R. Lugo who, during his tenure as pulpit minister put together a brief history and published it in a program booklet commemorating West Adair’s 50th Anniversary which became the starting point for this research.

I want to acknowledge Dr. Calvin Bowers of Los Angeles, California for his encouragement and support. Had it not been for his insistence that I not wait any longer, this book may not have been written. Unfortunately, due to his passing in 2014, he will not be able to see the final product.

I want to thank Dr. David Jones for his encouragement as well as Dr. Tony Roach who provided the perspective that gave me the courage to undertake a project that seemed overwhelming. Tony simply reminded me that creation came out of chaos.

In Memory of

Lee Roy Butler, Sr_Circa38

M y father, Lee Roy Butler, Sr. (1913 – 1992) was converted from the Christian church. During my formative years my father did not attend worship services but was restored to the church in 1981 during the first few months of my tenure as pulpit minister for the West Adair congregation. My father was a quiet man who didn’t say much but spoke very eloquently and forcefully through his actions. He was a kind, generous man and a hard worker who, for most of his life, worked seven days a week. Once restored my father remained faithful and served dutifully in the church until his tragic death in October of 1992.

Butler Willie Lee

My mother, Willie Lee Miller Butler (1920 – 2005), like her mother and grandmother before her, was a staunch advocate and supporter of the work and mission of the church. She was a gifted orator and lover of music, literature and poetry. For years she was known as the Obituary Lady because of the numerous funerals in which she participated. She loved to teach and expound upon the word of God. Mother knew the book! My brother Billy (W. F. Washington) credits her with writing his first sermon which he preached at nine years of age.

Simmons Irene Laws

My maternal grandmother, Irene Laws Simmons (1903 - 1998), was a quiet and saintly servant who was as faithful as the sunrise. Her prayers and persistent prodding during the wayward years of my life were instrumental in restoring me to the faith.

IMG69

My maternal great-grandmother, Fannie Dukes Laws (1876 – 1960), a convert from the Christian Church was noted for her great zeal for God and her considerable knowledge in the scriptures. A strict and stern disciplinarian, she is remembered as the undisputed maternal matriarch of my family.

Dedication

T o my wonderful wife of 38 years, in finding her I have truly found a good t hing.

To my two beautiful daughters, Tyrah Nichole Chatman (Evan) and Dr. Desdamona Marlana Butler who have been a delight to my heart since the day I first laid eyes on them. Tyrah has given us a fantastic son-in-law and two gorgeous granddaughters, Landyn Kai and Karsyn Lee who have taught me again what it means to be hopelessly in love.

38418.jpg

Edna Lockette Akins & Marie Nixon Smith

The information that constitutes the hub of this book was gathered in an interview with Edna (Aunt Coodie) Akins (1910 circa. – 2012) and Marie (Aunt Ree) Smith (1923 – 2012).

Edna was baptized in the second meeting conducted by Marshall Keeble in the summer of 1931. Her recollection of the people, events and circumstances of the church’s early beginnings has proven to be remarkably accurate. The same is true concerning Marie. She was baptized into Christ on a Thursday night in June of 1934, during a service conducted by the young men’s training class. A young aspiring preacher by the name of James Cooper was doing the preaching. These two women were faithful and loyal members who were intimately involved in the work and ministry of the West Adair Street Church of Christ. In addition to their common faith these two iconic figures shared a number of other things in common. They never were members of any other congregation and spent practically all their lives in Valdosta, Georgia. They both lived most of their lives within a two block radius of the church building and for the last decade of their lives they both lived on West Adair Street. They were widows for long periods of time. Although neither of them had any natural children, both had a deep love for children and were involved in nurturing and raising scores of children who loved them like a mother, grandmother or loving aunt. They had biological nieces and nephews that benefited from their benevolence and motherly affection. Both passed this life in the same year; Edna in March and Marie in October, 2012.

Introduction

I n June of 1930 the Central Avenue Church of Christ enlisted the services of the renowned black evangelist Marshall Keeble of Nashville, Tennessee to preach in a series of meetings under a tent on the west side of Valdosta, Georgia in Magnolia Park. Their goal was to evangelize the black community and to establish an African-American congregation in the city. The meetings lasted for two weeks and 163 people were converted and baptized into Christ. During the second series of meetings the following year in August, 166 people were converted. Alexander Bigby Lipscomb (1876 – 1940) , Central’s pulpit minister, reported the results of the meetings to The Christian Leader, a brotherhood publication. In the article he stresses the importance and benefits of evangelizing the African American community. He w rote:

Not only have hundreds of souls been converted to Christ; but as a further result of the meetings a new citizenry has been created among our Negro population.

It was his use of the term, new citizenry that prompted me to use it in the title of this book. Old South is based on the irony that emerges when details surrounding the meetings are taken into consideration.

Those who are familiar with the writings of the Apostle Paul might have anticipated that Lipscomb would go on to talk about the believers citizenship in the eternal kingdom of heaven which made them fellow-citizens with the saints of God and brothers and sisters in the house (family) of God. That might have been reasonably expected because the citizen motif was used by the apostle Paul in the epistle to the Ephesians (chapter 2:12) to describe the status of gentiles who had formerly been excluded from citizenship in Israel and the covenants that God had made with the Jewish people. According to the apostle Paul, the wall of separation between Jews and gentiles was broken down when Jesus Christ was crucified on the cross in Jerusalem and as a result all distinctions as to race, class and nationality were eradicated (Galatians 3:28). That was not the line of thinking followed by Lipscomb. He went on to explain:

We have better workmen, better porters, better farm hands, better cooks, better nurses, and better housemaids.

The we in Lipscomb’s statement, when juxtaposed with them in the next line of his explanation, makes it clear that in some sense the wall of separation was just as high and as broad as it had ever been. Distinctions as to class and economic status were somehow still to be considered. He went on to say, Verily it pays to preach the gospel to them and teach them how to think and work in terms of the grand old Book.

It would have been more appropriate to stress their citizenship in the kingdom of God rather than their temporal, earthly citizenship in rural South Georgia which was then defined by southern Jim Crow segregation and appeals to interposition and nullification. A new citizenry, thusly defined, would denote one who was assigned an inferior, second-class status in society. The gospel is not designed to make people more passive and compliant so that those who oppress them might be made to feel comfortable and safe. The gospel when faithfully preached and properly applied eradicates false distinctions such as race and class and destroys sinful ideas of racial superiority.

There are no housemaids in Christ. There are no porters and field hands in Christ. Paul of course said it this way: There is neither Jew or Greek, there is neither bond (slave) nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. Ironically, in the same article, Lipscomb quoted the same passage right after making similar distinctions of class and economic status. The bitter irony of this incongruity did not escape attention. Edna Akins, who was one of the 166 baptized in 1931, recalled that only one person was baptized in the pool at Central. According to her, It caused such a commotion, all the rest of them had to be baptized at the river out by the prison camp. It is a bizarre brand of oneness that baptizes white converts in the baptistery at the Central Avenue church building but requires black converts to be baptized in the river. The new converts were not welcomed into the fellowship of the Central Ave Church of Christ. They were assisted in finding their own place of worship. Again, it is a strange kind of oneness that segregates one member of the body of Christ from another member on the basis of his skin color. If, in fact, they were new citizens, they were quickly reminded that they were still in the old south where Jim Crow was king, not Jesus Christ.

Those familiar with history will perhaps recognize the irony implicit in the old south characterization. By 1930, the nation was thoroughly familiar with the concepts of old south and new south. Old South referred to the period of history when slavery was the social strategy and economic engine of southern society. New South is a term coined to euphemistically refer to a south in which slavery was abolished and industrialization was the key to prosperity. Slavery, the evil institution upon which the old south was built and maintained, was dead and gone by 1930 but the ideological pillars upon which it was built were still firmly in place.

The term New South was seen by blacks as just another way of disguising old hatreds and old schemes designed to disenfranchise blacks and foster a false sense of superiority and privilege in the hearts and minds of whites. Men like Henry W. Grady, editor of The Atlanta Constitution and Richard Hathaway Edmonds of The Baltimore Manufacturers’ Record had been popularizing the term New South in articles and speeches during the late 1880s and the early years of the 20th century. If blacks were suspicious to begin with, their suspicions were soon justified after Grady clarified what he meant by a new south in a speech he made in 1888. He said:

the supremacy of the white race of the South must be maintained forever, and the domination of the negro race resisted at all points and at all hazards, because the white race is the superior race…

From a black person’s perspective, the New Citizen motif as used by Lipscomb was not much different from the New South metaphor used by Grady. They both rested upon the same foundation: the evil and offensive idea that blacks were inferior to whites and their inclusion within the social and economic mainstream of southern society was to be resisted at all points, which apparently included the point of the front door and baptistery of the Central Avenue church building.

The title A New Citizenry In An Old South is meant to communicate the bitter irony thus described. It sets the backdrop against which the West Adair Street Church of Christ had its beginning. It also offers the reader a set of circumstances in which to measure and appreciate the faith, courage and sheer determination of those maids and porters and field hands who went on struggling against overwhelming odds and damaging insults to their dignity to build a renowned congregation that is known throughout the African-American brotherhood of Churches of Christ as the incubator of successful gospel preachers and the congregation that has produced more distinguished preachers than any other congregation in the entire country.

In this book we identify some fifty men who began their preaching careers at West Adair Street Church of Christ. Through the efforts of its pulpit preachers and their apprentices and song leaders, 15 congregations were planted in the states of Georgia, Florida and Alabama; most of which are still going strong today. The largest churches among African Americans in several large cities throughout the southeast have been led by preachers who got their start at West Adair Street. Nashville, Tennessee (John O. Williams), Saint Petersburg, Florida (Robert V. Simmons), Fort Lauderdale, Florida (W. F. Washington), and Atlanta, Georgia (Alonza Z. Rose), just to name a few.

It has now been 85 years since the congregation was planted. After 70 years and 7 months on Adair Street, the congregation moved to its current location on 17.3 acres of land on North Forrest Street (on the eastside of the city) and is now known as Woodlawn Forrest Church Christ. It continues to be a viable and vibrant congregation with an active membership of over 400. Though it’s full and equal status as new citizens in an old south may be debatable, its status as citizens in the kingdom of God is undeniable. With that assurance from God’s word, we press on toward the mark of the high calling of God which is in Christ Jesus.

http://www.therestorationmovement.com/images2/lipscombab00.jpg

Alexander Bigby Lipscomb (1876 – 1940)

Alexander Bigby Lipscomb was born in Franklin County, Tennessee, May 1, 1876. He was the son of Granville and Mary Annie Swift Lipscomb. He served as editor of the Gospel Advocate from 1912-1920. He preached for the Russell Street Church in Nashville for a number of years and served as president of David Lipscomb College for a short time. His last years were spent in Valdosta, Georgia, where he preached for the Central Avenue Church of Christ, and served as president of the city’s board of education. He also was a staff writer for The Christian Leader and The World Traveler. He died in Nashville, Tennessee, October 4, 1940.

Chapter I

Race Relations in the Early Decades of the 2⁰th Century

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way …

—The opening paragraph of A Tale of Two Cities

O ne cannot accurately or fairly assess the contributions and sacrifices that great men and women make to the betterment of society without examining the times in which they lived and forces against which they struggled. There is an old adage which says, Success cannot be measured by how far one has come but by the obstacles they’ve had to overcome to get to where they are. That is certainly true of African-American pioneer preachers such as Marshall Keeble and Luke Miller who had to overcome tremendous challenges on their way to becoming two of the greatest black preachers of the 20 th Century within the African American community of Churches of Christ. These men are recognized respectively as the planter and first ministering evangelist of the West Adair Street Church of Ch rist.

In many ways, economically, politically, socially, and morally, the early decades of the 20th century presented some of the most challenging obstacles to progress men have ever seen in modern times. The decade of the 30s has been called by some the worst time in our country’s 235 year history. It is certainly not a hard case to make for most people who know history and were around during the 30s. It was hard to make it in the 30s especially for blacks. The Great Depression had started a year earlier when the stock market crashed. Hundreds of banks became insolvent overnight and a large number of ordinary people lost their entire life’s savings. People were driven to commit suicide while hopelessness and despair blanketed the country like a dark cloud.

Race relations in America during the early twentieth century were charged with racial animosity and vigilante violence. There were a number of race riots in various cities across America. In 1908 there was a bloody riot in Springfield, Illinois; in 1917, riots occurred in East St. Louis which killed 40 to 200 people and 6,000 people had to leave their homes (Ploski & Marr, 1976).

The year 1919 was particularly noted for the large number of riots in the urban areas of the North where returning white veterans of World War I competed with Southern Blacks for jobs during the post-war depression. Again, in 1923, a racial confrontation erupted in Rosewood, Florida. There eight blacks and two whites died during the destruction of the Black community of Rosewood. However, the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921 was perhaps the costliest incident of racial violence in American history. According to an official estimate, ten whites and 26 blacks were killed. However, later reports which were never verified, raised that number to 300 killed (Bennett, 1982).

In 1922 an Anti-lynching bill passed in the United States House of Representatives but the bill failed to pass in the United States Senate. In June of 1930 the New York Times reluctantly agreed to capitalize the ‘n’ in Negro. That same year the U.S. government and a private charity began a program in Macon County, Alabama, to test and treat sharecroppers for syphilis. When funds grew tight the program turned into a medical experiment [1932-1972] and developed into a long term study under various government agencies. 399 black men involved in the study were denied real treatment even after the wide availability of penicillin in 1947. The infamous study has become known as the Tuskegee Experiment. The story was leaked in 1972 and survivors brought suit against the government and settled out of court in 1975. In 1997 President William Jefferson Clinton offered an apology to the victims and their families (Presidential Apology for the Study at Tuskegee).

On August 7, 1930, in Marion, Indiana, a mob broke into a jail and fatally beat two young black men and hung them from a tree in the courthouse square. Tommy Shipp and Abe Smith and a third teenager had just been arrested for a botched robbery that left Claude Deeter, a white man, dead. James Cameron (16) was saved from hanging, even as a noose was on his neck. This incident would inspire Cynthia Carr to author a book in 2006 entitled: Our Town: A Heartland Lynching, a Haunted Town and the Hidden History of White America.

It was in November of 1930 that Elijah Mohammad formed the Nation of Islam in Detroit, Michigan largely as a reaction to white racism and the deplorable conditions that blacks were forced to live under in America (Nation of Islam).

As one can see, the early 20th century leading up to and including the decade of the 30s was, for many, and blacks in particular, the season of darkness and the winter of despair. These were the times during which Marshall Keeble and Luke Miller did their greatest work. In the midst of this economic, social and political turmoil, God sat in motion a movement that would become a season of light and a spring of hope. It would become one of the most significant expansions of His kingdom to take place in the 20th Century. The decade of the 30s was to become a decade that saw a great moving of the Holy Spirit upon the hearts of thousands across the country who heard the gospel preached by great African American preachers like, Marshall Keeble, Luke Miller, John Vaughner, G. E. Steward, G. P. Bowser, Levi Kennedy and R. N. Hogan. These stalwart black preachers were directly responsible for the conversion of tens of thousands of souls through their fearless preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ. This was achieved in spite of rampant racism and the terrible economic and social conditions that characterized their era.

Like the great apostles of Jesus Christ, they were confronted with perils from without and perils from within; dangers and threats from the authorities outside the church and from dignitaries and false brethren within the church who seemed to care more about preserving man-made customs and traditions than they did about making sure the will of God was given expression not only in their words but also in their deeds.

Jesus was challenged on one occasion by the Scribes and Pharisees who demanded to know why His disciples were allowed to transgress the tradition of the elders by eating with unwashed hands (Matthew 15:3). Jesus did not deny the charge but In His response He points out a much more serious offense of which they were guilty. They had made the commandments of God of non effect by their traditions (Matthew 15:6).

It is undoubtedly a grave offense to elevate the traditions of men above the Law of God. Jesus labels all who would do such as hypocrites and warns in verse 9, but in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandment of men.

When faced with the choice of obeying the commandments of men versus the commandments of God, there must be no doubt or hesitation in deciding which course to take. One must choose to obey God. Peter and the apostles were hauled before the high council of Jerusalem and told not to preach anymore in the name of Jesus. Their response was: We must obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29).

Jesus came to usher in a new era of relations between God and men and between men and other men. It was to be an era where social distinctions and racial and religious discriminations were eliminated. He came to set up a kingdom in which the middle wall of separation is broken down and all within the kingdom are fellow-citizens and members of the family of God. He prayed in His high priestly prayer in John 17: "Neither pray I for these (apostles) alone but for them also which shall believe on me through their words; that they all may be one […]." Obviously that prayer has not been fully achieved in all its implications and aspects but it is the duty of every sincere child of God to pursue its fulfillment in their own personal lives and in the life of the corporate body of Christ so that there will be no second-class citizens in God’s kingdom and that no member of God’s family feels estranged from any other member.

In the decade of the 30s in the south, Jim Crow segregation was not only the tradition but it was the Law of the land. These statutes were conceived and passed into law by various southern legislatures and city councils with one mission in mind and that was to disenfranchise African Americans and relegate them to a permanent status of second-class citizenship.

Blacks did not have