J. Pius Barbour
Josephus Pius Barbour | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 8, 1894 Galveston, Texas,U.S. |
| Died | January 5, 1974(aged 79) |
| Resting place | Calvary Baptist Church,Chester, Pennsylvania,U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Pastor, executive director of the National Baptist Association, editor of the National Baptist Voice publication |
Josephus Pius Barbour(June 8, 1894 - January 5, 1974) was an AmericanBaptistpastor ofCalvary Baptist ChurchinChester, Pennsylvaniawho served as an executive director of the National Baptist Association and editor of the National Baptist Voice publication. He was the firstAfrican Americanto graduate fromCrozer Theological Seminaryin 1937, and later mentored a teenagedMartin Luther King Jr.,when King was a student there.
Early life and education
[edit]Barbour was born inGalveston, Texas.He received hisBachelor of Artsdegree fromMorehouse Collegein 1917 and aMaster of Theologydegree fromCrozer Theological Seminaryin 1937.[1]Barbour was the first African American to graduate from the Crozer Theological Seminary.[2]
Career
[edit]From 1919-21, Barbour was a faculty member atTuskegee Institute.In 1921, Barbour became pastor of the Day Street Baptist Church inMontgomery, Alabamaand served until 1931. While serving as a pastor in Montgomery, Barbour called for a gathering in response to efforts by the state to undermine black voting rights.[3]From 1931-33, he was pastor of Mt. Olive Baptist Church inFort Wayne, Indiana.He became pastor of the Calvary Baptist Church in Chester, Pennsylvania, in 1933 and served in that capacity until his death in 1974.[1]
Barbour was a member of the executive board of theNational Baptist Conventionand was the editor of its publication, the National Baptist Voice, for 17 years.[4]
Barbour was active in the local Chester civil right activism partnering withGeorge Raymond,the president of the NAACP Chester branch. He was the chief strategist of activism for twenty years and was well respected by blacks and whites within the community for his measured and pragmatic approach.[5]He supplemented his preacher salary by working in local politics as a representative of the African-American community in Chester.[2]
Mentoring of Martin Luther King Jr.
[edit]Martin Luther King Jr. attended Calvary Baptist Church while studying at Crozer Theological Seminary from 1948 to 1951.[6]King's father,Martin Luther King Sr.,knew Barbour for years through their affiliation with the National Baptist Association and asked Barbour to take the then-19-year-old King under his care and to monitor his studies and activities at Crozer.[7]
King served as a Sunday School teacher and youth minister at Calvary Baptist[8]and the church became his home away from home.[9]King was a frequent guest at the Barbour house for the southern cooking but also the academic debates and challenging ideas.[2]King and Barbour became "like father and son"[10]and King's biographer,Lawrence D. Reddick,stated that Dr. King credited Barbour as one of the single most influential forces in his life.[11]Barbour and King maintained frequent correspondedence throughout King's life.[1]
Personal life
[edit]Barbour was married to Olee Littlejohn Barbour and together they had three children.[4]
Barbour was a member of theNAACP,theMinisterial association,the Council of Churches, theAmerican Academy of Political and Social Science,theSociety of Biblical Literature and Exegesis,and theAlpha Phi Alphafraternity. He also served as a board member of the Chester Water Authority.[11]
Barbour died ofgastroenteritisfollowing acerebral hemhorrageatLankenau Medical CenterinWynnewood, Pennsylvania.[4]Barbour is interred on the Calvary Baptist Church grounds.[11]
References
[edit]Citations
- ^abc"Barbour, Josephus Pius".www.kinginstitute.stanford.edu.25 April 2017.Retrieved11 July2018.
- ^abcParr 2018.
- ^Leonard, Bill J. (2005).Baptists in America.New York: Columbia University Press. p. 197.ISBN0-231-12702-2.Retrieved11 July2018.
- ^abc"Rev. J. Pius Barbour".The New York Times.January 11, 1974.RetrievedJuly 11,2018.
- ^Mele 2017,pp. 78–81.
- ^Baldwin 1991,p. 167.
- ^Baldwin 2016,p. 43.
- ^Baldwin 2016,p. 127.
- ^Baldwin 2010,p. 40.
- ^Kopp, John."Chester church played pivotal role in King's development".www.phillyvoice.com.Retrieved4 July2018.
- ^abc"History".www.calvarybaptistchester.org.Archived fromthe originalon 2018-07-06.Retrieved4 July2018.
Sources
- Baldwin, Lewis V. (1991).There is a Balm in Gilead: The Cultural Roots of Martin Luther King, Jr.Fortress Press.ISBN0-8006-2457-2.
- Baldwin, Lewis V. (2010).The Voice of Conscience: The Church in the Mind of Martin Luther King, Jr.Oxford University Press.ISBN978-0-19-538031-6.
- Baldwin, Lewis V. (2016).Behind the Public Veil: The Humanness of Martin Luther King, Jr.Fortress Press.ISBN978-1-5064-0561-2.
- Mele, Christopher (2017).Race and the Politics of Deception: The Making of an American City.New York University Press.ISBN978-1-4798-6609-0.
- Parr, Patrick (2018).Seminarian: Martin Luther King Jr. Comes of Age.Lawrence Hill Books.ISBN978-0-915864-22-5.
- 1894 births
- 1974 deaths
- 20th-century Baptist ministers from the United States
- African-American activists
- Activists for African-American civil rights
- American civil rights activists
- African-American Baptist ministers
- Burials in Pennsylvania
- Clergy of historically African-American Christian denominations
- Crozer Theological Seminary alumni
- Morehouse College alumni
- National Baptist Convention, USA ministers
- People from Chester, Pennsylvania
- People from Galveston, Texas
- Religious leaders from Pennsylvania