Albert Cleage
Encyclopedia
Albert Cleage was a Christian religious leader, political candidate, newspaper publisher, political organizer and author. He is founder of the Shrine of the Black Madonna Church and Cultural Centers in Detroit and Atlanta. Cleage, who changed his name to Jaramogi Abebe Agyeman in the early 1970s, played an important role in the civil rights movement in Detroit during the 1960s and 1970s. He increasingly became involved with Black Nationalism
during the 1970s, rejecting many of the core principles of racial integration
. He founded a church owned Beulah Land Farms in Calhoun Falls, South Carolina
and spent most of his last years there, dying in 2000.
, the first of seven children. During much of his later life, his light skin color would become a common feature of discussion. His first biographer, Detroit News reporter Hiley Ward said it left him with a life long identity crisis. Grace Lee Boggs
would later describe Cleage as "pink-complexioned, with blue eyes, and light brown, almost blond hair.". His father graduated from Indiana School of Medicine
in 1910 and moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan
to practice before taking a position in Detroit. Dr. Cleage help found Dunbar Hospital
, Detroit's only hospital that granted admitting privileges to Black doctors and trained African-American residents
. Dr. Cleage was a major figure in the Detroit medical community, even being designated as City Physician by Mayor Charles Bowles
in 1930.
Upon graduation from Detroit's Northwestern High School
, Albert Cleage had a peripatetic post-secondary education. He attended Wayne State University
beginning in 1929, finally graduating in 1942 with his BA in sociology
, but he also studied at Fisk University
under Sociologist Charles S. Johnson
. He worked as a social worker for the Detroit Department of Health before commencing seminary studies at Oberlin College in 1938, finally earning his Masters of Divinity
from Oberlin Graduate School of Theology in 1943. He married Doris Graham in 1943 and he was ordained in the Congregational Church
during the same year. He had two daughters and later divorced Graham in 1955. Cleage's final encounter with formal education was at the University of Southern California's film school
in the 1950s. He was interested in creating religious films, but withdrew after a semester to take a position in a San Francisco congregation..
During the 1960s, Cleage became more active in other areas of the community. He became involved with black political leadership and education. In 1964 he help found a Michigan branch of the Freedom Now Party and ran for Governor of Michigan
as a candidate in a "Black slate" of candidates. He was editor of a church published weekly tabloid newspaper called the Illustrated News that was widely circulated throughout African-American neighborhoods in Detroit during the 1960s. He was an original member of the New Detroit Committee founded by Max Fisher
, an organization formed during the 1967 Detroit riot designed to heal racial and economic divisions in the city that were exposed by the civil disorder. Cleage later renounced his participation and returned a grant of $100,000 to the organization. In 1967, he began the Black Christian National Movement. This movement was encouraging black churches to reinterpret Jesus's teachings to suit the social, economic, and political needs of black people. In March 1967, Cleage installed a painting of a black Madonna
holding the baby Jesus in his church and renamed the church The Shrine of the Black Madonna.
In 1970, the Shrine of the Black Madonna was later renamed Pan African Orthodox Christian Church, the black Christian nationalist movement. More shrines were made in Atlanta and Houston. The mission of the shrines was, and is, to bring the black community back to a more conscious understanding of their African history, in order to affect positive progression as a whole.
Cleage then changed his name to Jaramogi Abebe Agyeman, meaning "liberator, holy man, savior of the nation" in Swahili
. Agyeman did not believe in integration
for the blacks. He thought that it was important for them to be able to obtain and maintain an economic, political, and social environment of their own. He founded the City-wide Citizens Action Committee to help with black business. He promoted the education of the black children by black teachers.
.
Black nationalism
Black nationalism advocates a racial definition of indigenous national identity, as opposed to multiculturalism. There are different indigenous nationalist philosophies but the principles of all African nationalist ideologies are unity, and self-determination or independence from European society...
during the 1970s, rejecting many of the core principles of racial integration
Racial integration
Racial integration, or simply integration includes desegregation . In addition to desegregation, integration includes goals such as leveling barriers to association, creating equal opportunity regardless of race, and the development of a culture that draws on diverse traditions, rather than merely...
. He founded a church owned Beulah Land Farms in Calhoun Falls, South Carolina
Calhoun Falls, South Carolina
Calhoun Falls is a town in Abbeville County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 2,303 at the 2000 census.The Calhoun Falls State Recreation Area is located nearby. Lake Richard B. Russell, which straddles the Georgia-South Carolina border, is approximately 3 miles west of Calhoun...
and spent most of his last years there, dying in 2000.
Early life
Albert Cleage Jr. was born in 1911 in IndianapolisIndianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
, the first of seven children. During much of his later life, his light skin color would become a common feature of discussion. His first biographer, Detroit News reporter Hiley Ward said it left him with a life long identity crisis. Grace Lee Boggs
Grace Lee Boggs
Grace Lee Boggs is an author, lifelong social activist and feminist. She is known for her years of political collaboration with C.L.R. James and Raya Dunayevskaya in the 1940s and 1950s. She eventually went off in her own political direction in the 1960s with her husband of some forty years, James...
would later describe Cleage as "pink-complexioned, with blue eyes, and light brown, almost blond hair.". His father graduated from Indiana School of Medicine
Indiana University School of Medicine
The Indiana University School of Medicine is a leading medical school and medical research powerhouse connected to Indiana University. With several teaching campuses in the state, the School of Medicine has its predominant research and medical center at the Indiana University – Purdue University...
in 1910 and moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan
Kalamazoo, Michigan
The area on which the modern city stands was once home to Native Americans of the Hopewell culture, who migrated into the area sometime before the first millennium. Evidence of their early residency remains in the form of a small mound in downtown's Bronson Park. The Hopewell civilization began to...
to practice before taking a position in Detroit. Dr. Cleage help found Dunbar Hospital
Dunbar Hospital
Dunbar Hospital was the first hospital in Detroit, Michigan for the black community. It is located at 580 Frederick Street, and is currently the administrative headquarters of the Detroit Medical Society. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.- Building construction...
, Detroit's only hospital that granted admitting privileges to Black doctors and trained African-American residents
Residency (medicine)
Residency is a stage of graduate medical training. A resident physician or resident is a person who has received a medical degree , Podiatric degree , Dental Degree and who practices...
. Dr. Cleage was a major figure in the Detroit medical community, even being designated as City Physician by Mayor Charles Bowles
Charles Bowles
Charles E. Bowles was a politician from Michigan, and served as Mayor of Detroit in 1930.-Biography:Charles Bowles was born on March 24, 1884 in Yale, Michigan, the son of Alfred and Mary Lutz Bowles...
in 1930.
Upon graduation from Detroit's Northwestern High School
Northwestern High School (Michigan)
Northwestern High School is a secondary education facility in Detroit, Michigan. The most recent enrollment figures for Northwestern indicate a student population of approximately 2,000. Northwestern High School features numerous extracurricular activities; including: Debate, US Army JROTC,...
, Albert Cleage had a peripatetic post-secondary education. He attended Wayne State University
Wayne State University
Wayne State University is a public research university located in Detroit, Michigan, United States, in the city's Midtown Cultural Center Historic District. Founded in 1868, WSU consists of 13 schools and colleges offering more than 400 major subject areas to over 32,000 graduate and...
beginning in 1929, finally graduating in 1942 with his BA in sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
, but he also studied at Fisk University
Fisk University
Fisk University is an historically black university founded in 1866 in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. The world-famous Fisk Jubilee Singers started as a group of students who performed to earn enough money to save the school at a critical time of financial shortages. They toured to raise funds to...
under Sociologist Charles S. Johnson
Charles S. Johnson
Charles Spurgeon Johnson was an American sociologist, first black president of historically black Fisk University, and a lifelong advocate for racial equality and the advancement of civil rights for African Americans and all other ethnic minorities...
. He worked as a social worker for the Detroit Department of Health before commencing seminary studies at Oberlin College in 1938, finally earning his Masters of Divinity
Divinity
Divinity and divine are broadly applied but loosely defined terms, used variously within different faiths and belief systems — and even by different individuals within a given faith — to refer to some transcendent or transcendental power or deity, or its attributes or manifestations in...
from Oberlin Graduate School of Theology in 1943. He married Doris Graham in 1943 and he was ordained in the Congregational Church
Congregational church
Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing Congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs....
during the same year. He had two daughters and later divorced Graham in 1955. Cleage's final encounter with formal education was at the University of Southern California's film school
Film school
The term film school is used to describe any educational institution dedicated to teaching aspects of filmmaking, including such subjects as film production, film theory, digital media production, and screenwriting. Film history courses and hands-on technical training are usually incorporated into...
in the 1950s. He was interested in creating religious films, but withdrew after a semester to take a position in a San Francisco congregation..
Religious leadership
He was pastor in an integrated church in San Francisco, but that didn't work out for long. He soon returned to Detroit in 1951. Upon returning, he served at an integrated church, St. Marks United Presbyterian mission. However, some of the white leaders of the church disagreed with the way Cleage was leading his Black congregation. In 1953, Cleage and group of followers left the church and formed the Central Congregation Church. Their mission was to minister to the less fortunate and they offered many programs for the poor.During the 1960s, Cleage became more active in other areas of the community. He became involved with black political leadership and education. In 1964 he help found a Michigan branch of the Freedom Now Party and ran for Governor of Michigan
Governor of Michigan
The Governor of Michigan is the chief executive of the U.S. State of Michigan. The current Governor is Rick Snyder, a member of the Republican Party.-Gubernatorial elections and term of office:...
as a candidate in a "Black slate" of candidates. He was editor of a church published weekly tabloid newspaper called the Illustrated News that was widely circulated throughout African-American neighborhoods in Detroit during the 1960s. He was an original member of the New Detroit Committee founded by Max Fisher
Max Fisher
Max Martin Fisher was a businessman, philanthropist, and benefactor/alumnus of the Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University. He spent much of his life raising money for philanthropic and political endeavors and was a supporter of charitable and civic organizations...
, an organization formed during the 1967 Detroit riot designed to heal racial and economic divisions in the city that were exposed by the civil disorder. Cleage later renounced his participation and returned a grant of $100,000 to the organization. In 1967, he began the Black Christian National Movement. This movement was encouraging black churches to reinterpret Jesus's teachings to suit the social, economic, and political needs of black people. In March 1967, Cleage installed a painting of a black Madonna
Madonna (art)
Images of the Madonna and the Madonna and Child or Virgin and Child are pictorial or sculptured representations of Mary, Mother of Jesus, either alone, or more frequently, with the infant Jesus. These images are central icons of Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodox Christianity where Mary remains...
holding the baby Jesus in his church and renamed the church The Shrine of the Black Madonna.
In 1970, the Shrine of the Black Madonna was later renamed Pan African Orthodox Christian Church, the black Christian nationalist movement. More shrines were made in Atlanta and Houston. The mission of the shrines was, and is, to bring the black community back to a more conscious understanding of their African history, in order to affect positive progression as a whole.
Cleage then changed his name to Jaramogi Abebe Agyeman, meaning "liberator, holy man, savior of the nation" in Swahili
Swahili language
Swahili or Kiswahili is a Bantu language spoken by various ethnic groups that inhabit several large stretches of the Mozambique Channel coastline from northern Kenya to northern Mozambique, including the Comoro Islands. It is also spoken by ethnic minority groups in Somalia...
. Agyeman did not believe in integration
Racial integration
Racial integration, or simply integration includes desegregation . In addition to desegregation, integration includes goals such as leveling barriers to association, creating equal opportunity regardless of race, and the development of a culture that draws on diverse traditions, rather than merely...
for the blacks. He thought that it was important for them to be able to obtain and maintain an economic, political, and social environment of their own. He founded the City-wide Citizens Action Committee to help with black business. He promoted the education of the black children by black teachers.
Writings
Cleage's book "The Black Messiah", which depicted Jesus as a black revolutionary leader, was published in 1968. Cleage thought it was important to change the idea of a "white" Jesus to a "black" Jesus to help the African American population. The book may be based on the book "Ethiopian Manifesto" by Robert Young. His second book was published in 1972; "Black Christian Nationalism". It was focused on the idea that Jesus was black and that he was to save the black population. He stated that if blacks believed this then they would be able to correct their economic and political issues. This book taught that it was the black population as a whole that mattered not as an individual as Christianity taught. Cleage wanted to save the black people as a whole. This book introduced the Black Christian Nationalist Movement as its own denominationChristian denomination
A Christian denomination is an identifiable religious body under a common name, structure, and doctrine within Christianity. In the Orthodox tradition, Churches are divided often along ethnic and linguistic lines, into separate churches and traditions. Technically, divisions between one group and...
.
Selected bibliography
- "The Death of Fear" The Negro DigestThe Negro DigestThe Negro Digest was a popular African American magazine founded in November 1942 by John H. Johnson. It was first presented locally in Chicago, Illinois. The Negro Digest was quite similar to the Reader's Digest; however, it was aimed to target positive influences in the African American...
. "Focus on Detroit" edition. Nov 1967. Vol. 17, No. 1. Johnson Publishing Company. - The Black Messiah . New York: Sheed and Ward, 1968. (Reprint: Africa World Press, 1989.)
- Myths about Malcolm X: Two Views (with George Breitman). University of California: Merit Publishers, 1968.
- Black Christian Nationalism: New Directions for the Black Church New York: W. Morrow, 1972
External links
- Shrine of the Black Madonna Bookstore and Cultural Center
- Jaramogi Abebe Agyeman
- Albert Cleage
- http://www.daahp.wayne.edu/biographiesDisplay.php?id=50
- http://eblackstudies.org/intro/chapter10.htm
- http://www.blackpast.org/?q=aah/cleage-albert-jr-jaramogi-abebe-agyeman-1911-2000