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Copyright Jonathan Chism 2014 Copyright Jonathan Chism 2014 ABSTRACT "The Saints Go Marching": The Church of God in Christ and the Civil Rights Movement in Memphis, Tennessee, 1954-1968 By Jonathan Chism Having assumed black Pentecostals are “otherworldly” or detached from politics and this-worldly concerns, many religious and civil rights scholars have ignored black Holiness-Pentecostals’ involvements in the Civil Rights Movement and instead focused on the roles of black Baptists and Methodists. Primarily guided by historical, sociological, theo-ethical, and hermeneutical methods, this dissertation examines Church of God in Christ (COGIC) members’ engagements in the Civil Rights Movement in Memphis, Tennessee, 1954-1968. I chose Memphis as the location to examine these assumptions because the most renowned Civil Rights leader, Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., delivered his last sermon at Mason Temple Church of God in Christ (COGIC), the headquarters of the largest and oldest black holiness-Pentecostal denomination. The dissertation argues that Memphis COGIC members were not divorced from the Memphis Movement but endeavored to combat racial injustice and inequality through a diversity of means, including through politics, nonviolent direct action, and spiritual quest. I contend that despite being marginalized and treated as outsiders on account of their race and religious faith, prior to the Civil Rights Movement early saints affirmed their identity as United States citizens, valued American democratic ideas of freedom and equality, and endeavored to advance democratic principles through participating in civic life. Additionally, when the Civil Rights Movement came to Memphis in the 1950s, COGIC members joined and worked alongside black church leaders from other denominations and engaged in nearly every aspect of the struggle, including political campaigns, desegregation efforts, and the Sanitation Workers Strike. Furthermore, I argue that Holiness-Pentecostal theology informed the activism of Memphis COGIC Civil Rights activists. Affirming his Holiness-Pentecostal heritage, Bishop J.O. Patterson Sr., a prominent Memphis Civil Rights activist, sought to persuade blacks in general and to remind black Christian activists in particular of the indispensability of spiritual presence and empowerment for social struggle. My research findings provoke scholars of religion to rethink the meaning and implications of otherworldliness. Additionally, this research indicates that there is greater complexity to black churches involvement in the Civil Rights Movement besides the contributions of black Baptists and Methodists. Acknowledgments This dissertation is dedicated to my wife, Courtney Miller-Chism, my companion and friend who has encouraged and supported me greatly during my years of graduate study; to my son, Jonathan Chism Jr., who was born as I began writing and who has provided me with smiles and inspiration; to my parents--Moses Chism Sr. and Forrestine Chism, who have given me a strong foundation rooted in love; my older siblings--Anthony, Felicia, Moses Jr., David, and Daniel, who have been positive role models; to my mother-in-law, Gloria Miller and my Aunt Charlotte for your support with childcare during these past few years; and to all of my sister-in-laws, brother- in-law, nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, and cousins. This dissertation would not have been possible without the many people who have contributed to my intellectual development and growth. First, I want to thank to my advisor, Dr. Anthony B. Pinn. Thanks for pushing me intellectually, for being a friend, and for patiently showing me the ropes. I appreciate each of the members of my dissertation committee who have helped me to grow during coursework. I appreciate Dr. Michael Emerson for providing tips for conducting qualitative interviews and for reading the full draft of the dissertation. I am thankful to all of my colleagues past and present in the Religious Studies Department and in the African American Religion concentration at Rice. I appreciate all of my professors in the Religious Studies Department, the History Department, Sociology Department, and Anthropology Department at Rice University. I am deeply grateful for the Rice University Fondren Library and the Interlibrary Loan Staff. I appreciate the Rice Humanities Research Center, the Religious Studies Department, and the Society for Pentecostal Studies (SPS) for conference travel assistance. The various academic presentations that I presented at conferences and the feedback I received from academic colleagues have undoubtedly helped sharpen the project. I appreciate Dr. David Daniels for critical engagement and encouragement. I am thankful to fellow COGIC scholars Dr. Raynard Smith, Dr. Frederick Ware, and Professor Eric Williams for conversing with me about my research. While the study has been largely self-funded, I am grateful to the COGIC Charities Scholarship Committee for providing some travel assistance for this project. The gathering of data for this project was a challenging undertaking, as COGIC archival materials are housed in locations from the West Coast to the East Coast. I am thankful to Evangelist Glenda Goodson, the director and founder of the Center for African Church History and Research, for providing me with access to several editions of COGIC newspapers and for giving me important COGIC contacts including Bishop David Hall of Memphis, Tennessee. I appreciate Dr. Hall for warmly welcoming me to Memphis and for allowing me to speak to the saints at Pentecostal Temple during a convocation meeting. I deeply appreciate Elder Theldridge Haley for connecting me with saints, for driving me around Memphis, and for your generous hospitality during my research visits. iv My upbringing in COGIC certainly provides a foundation for my research interest in African American Pentecostalism. I am thankful for my church family, East End Church of God in Christ, “The Little Church with the Big Heart,” in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. I appreciate the many saints, those living and those who have passed, who have inspired me during my life journey. I am thankful for my church family in Houston, St. John’s Downtown Church. Thank you Pastors Rudy and Juanita for allowing me to serve “the least of these” in the city of Houston with you and for your patience and understanding as I balanced academic and ministerial commitments. I appreciate fellow co-pastors who have served with me and conversed with me about my research—Pastors Keith, Simeon, Steven, Lanecia, Yvette, Tiffany, Lee Jones, and others. I am thankful to the Path to Freedom Prison and Reintegration Ministry for allowing me to lead you during these years. I especially appreciate Dr. Janis Hutchinson, Alicia Thomas, Regina McLemore, Kearn Ardoin, Danny Sneed, Ronnie Curry, Loretta Randolph-Thomas, the Blanks Family, Harold Jackson, and several others for your encouragement and prayers. Contents Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................ iii List of Figures ................................................................................................................. viii Chapter One: Introduction .............................................................................................. 1 Rationale and Scope of the Study ................................................................................ 2 Central Argument ........................................................................................................ 5 Research Methodology ................................................................................................ 6 Literature Review ...................................................................................................... 10 The Layout of the Argument ..................................................................................... 20 Contributions to the Study of African American Religion ........................................ 23 Chapter Two: Religion, Race, and Nationhood in African American Holiness- Pentecostalism ................................................................................................................. 25 The “Holiness” in African American Holiness-Pentecostalism ................................ 28 The Wesleyan Doctrine of Sanctification ............................................................... 28 The Holiness Movement ......................................................................................... 35 The “Pentecostal” in African American Holiness-Pentecostalism ............................ 46 Charles Parham’s Apostolic Faith Movement ....................................................... 46 William Seymour’s Azusa Street Revival ............................................................... 56 COGIC’s Synthesis of Parham and Seymour’s Doctrines ..................................... 67 The “African” in African American Holiness-Pentecostalism .................................. 69 The Nature of Africanisms in African American Religion and COGIC ................. 69 The Shout and the Holy Dance ............................................................................... 71 Spirit Baptism and the Tarrying Ritual .................................................................. 74 The Call and Response Tradition and Oral Spirituality ........................................ 77 The “American” in African American Holiness-Pentecostalism .............................. 80 Identity and Political Participation
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