Been Working for During the 1880S. One Setback Was the U.S. Supreme

been working for during the 1880s. One setback was the U.S . Supreme Court's ruling that the 1875 Civil Rights Act was unconstitutional. This legislation had been established to improve public accommodations for blacks and outlaw other forms of racial discrimination. *Furthermore, during the Jim Crow years, election laws were designed to prevent blacks from voting, and many black candidates were unable to obtain city posts. Vandavall died in 1898, but othe_r learned African Americans served as preachers at First Baptist East Nashville, such as the Reverend Sutton E. Griggs. During this time of transformation, black Nashvillians both gained and lost ground in their fight for equality. Newly freed blacks established business, opened schools, and worked to achieve equality in civil rights. A new black elite emerged--a group who worked with prominent Nashvillians to establish a solid, flourishing African-American community. According to Lovett, . blacks who previously had served white customers as barbers, merchants, or contractors, were replaced by a new elite class of African Americans who instead served the black community through their associations with institutions such as Fisk University or Meharry Medical College.25 These were just some of the demoralizing conditions that faced Griggs when Dr. R. H. Boyd, a leading Baptist minister in Nashville, selected him in 1901 to lead First Baptist Church East Nashville. Born in 1872 in Texas, Griggs graduated from Bishop College and attended the Richmond Theological Seminary, now known as Virginia Union University. He served as Pastor of First Baptist East Nashville between 1901 and 1908, and was known for his frequent publications and radical political ideals. His views softened as he aged and became more conservative, but shortly before serving at First Baptist East Nashville, he blished Imperium in Imperio, subtitled "A Study of The Negro Race Problem, A Novel." According to Grig.gs' novel, the 'cringing, fawning, sniffling, cowardly Negro which slavery left, had disappeared," replaced with the "new Negro, self-respecting, fearless, and determined in the assertion of his rights."26 His characters debated issues facing blacks at this time, such as racial war, emigration, and political protest. Much to his surprise and frustration, Griggs' book was not a financial success, but he was still able to convey some of his ideas when he served as a preacher in Nashville.27 Griggs strove to redirect his congregation's attention away from the afterlife and toward the here and now. As one scholar points out, "Ever since its formation, back in the days of slavery, when hopeless blacks turned their thoughts to 'the death bed, the funeral, the grave, the world to come,' the ethnic church had 'continued its morbid dwelling on anticipated worlds;' and Griggs' organization would now redirect black religion's otherworldly emphasis by stressing the new conceptions of Christianity which applied the ethical teachings of Jesus to life in the here and now. "28 In his work as a social activist, Griggs hoped to strengthen black organizations, such as schools and churches. In addition to his support for the development of the NAACP, he was President of the Governing Board of the American Baptist Theological Seminary as well as secretary for the National Baptist Convention's Educational Board. He was also an organizer ofthe Human Brotherhood, whose goal was to improve the living standards of the Black community. In 1901, Griggs established and operated the Orion Publishing Company where he published, promoted, and sold his work to the African-American community. Overshadowed (190 1), the first novel 25 Lovett, The African-American History ofNashville , Tennessee, 129. 26 David Tucker, Black Pastors and Leaders: Memphis, 1819-1972 (Memphis: Memphis State University Press, 1975), 73. 27 Tucker, 74. 28 Tucker, 75 . .

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