Alma Bridwell White
Encyclopedia
Alma Bridwell White was the founder, and a bishop of the Pillar of Fire Church
. In 1918, she became the first woman bishop in the United States
. She was noted for her association with the Ku Klux Klan
and her feminism
, anti-Catholicism
, antisemitism, antipentecostalism, racism
, and hostility to immigrants.
to William Moncure Bridwell (1825–1907) of Virginia; and Mary Ann Harrison (1832–1921) of Kentucky.
William Baxter Godbey
converted her to Wesleyan Methodism
in a Kentucky schoolhouse revival meeting in 1878. She wrote that "some were so convicted that they left the room and threw up their suppers, and staggered back into the house as pale as death." By 1880, the family was living in Millersburg, Kentucky
.
She studied at the Millersburg Female College in Millersburg, Kentucky
. An aunt invited one of the seven Bridwell sisters to visit Montana Territory, Alma was her last choice. Each of the others was afraid to make the journey, but in 1882, nineteen-year-old Alma took the chance and went to Bannack, Montana
. She stayed to teach, first in public school, and later in Salt Lake City's Methodist seminary. In 1887 she married Kent White (1860–1940), who at the time was a Methodist seminarian. They had two sons, Ray Bridwell White
and Arthur Kent White
.
Alma and Kent started the Methodist Pentecostal Union Church in Denver, Colorado
in December 1901. She led hymns and prayers and at times preached sermons. In 1907 Caroline Garretson, formerly Carolin Van Neste Field, widow of Peter Workman Garretson, donated a farm for a community at Zarephath, New Jersey
. In 1918, White was consecrated as a 'bishop' by William Baxter Godbey
, an ordained Methodist evangelist. She was now the first 'woman bishop' in the United States.
, she also promoted antisemitism, white supremacy
and intolerance of certain immigrants.
Under White's leadership in the 1920s and 1930s, the Pillar of Fire Church
developed a close and public partnership with the Ku Klux Klan
that was unique for a religious denomination. She saw the Klan as a powerful force that could help liberate white Protestant women, while simultaneously keeping minorities in their place. Her support of the Klan was extensive. She allowed and sometimes participated in Klan meetings and cross burnings on some of the numerous Pillar of Fire properties. She published The Good Citizen
, a monthly periodical which heavily promoted the Klan and its agenda. Additionally, she published three books, The Ku Klux Klan In Prophecy
, Klansmen: Guardians of Liberty
, and Heroes of the Fiery Cross
, which were compendiums of the essays, speeches and cartoons that had originally been published in The Good Citizen
.
White expressed her racism
against African Americans most vocally when speaking at Klan gatherings. On "Patriotic Day" at the 1929 annual Camp Meeting at Zarephath, NJ she preached a sermon titled "America---the White Man's Heritage” and published the sermon in that month's edition of The Good Citizen
. She said:
While her association with the Klan waned in the early 1930s, she continued to promote her ideology of intolerance for religious and racial minorities. She even republished edited versions of her three Klan books in 1943, three years before her death and 22 years after her initial public association with the Klan. The books were published as a three volume set under the name Guardians of Liberty
. Notably, the word Klansmen was removed from the title, reflecting the Klan's diminished status, as White continued to promote the dogma that initially drew her to partner with the Klan. Volumes two and three of Guardians of Liberty
have introductions by Arthur Kent White
, her son and the Pillar of Fire
's second general superintendent.
in Westminster, Colorado
to promote the college based in the Westminster Castle
. By June 1929, the call letters had been changed to KPOF
and the station was broadcasting regular sermons from Alma Temple, the Pillar's Denver Church. In March 1931, WBNY was sold to White and the Pillar of Fire Church
for $5,000. The call letters were changed to WAWZ
(the letters standing for Alma White, Zarephath. In its initial broadcast, she told listeners, "The station belongs to all regardless of your affiliation." In 1961 Pillar of Fire
also started WAKW
in Cincinnati. The AKW represents the name of Arthur Kent White
, Alma's son.
Pillar of Fire Church
The Pillar of Fire International is a Christian organization founded in Denver, Colorado in 1901 by Alma White, with headquarters in Zarephath, New Jersey. The Pillar of Fire was originally incorporated as the Pentecostal Union, but changed its name to distance itself from Pentecostalism in 1915...
. In 1918, she became the first woman bishop in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. She was noted for her association with the Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
and her feminism
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
, anti-Catholicism
Anti-Catholicism
Anti-Catholicism is a generic term for discrimination, hostility or prejudice directed against Catholicism, and especially against the Catholic Church, its clergy or its adherents...
, antisemitism, antipentecostalism, racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
, and hostility to immigrants.
Birth and early years
She was born as Mollie Alma Bridwell on June 16, 1862 in Kinniconick, Lewis County, KentuckyLewis County, Kentucky
Lewis County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2000, the population was 14,092. Its county seat is Vanceburg. The county is named for Meriwether Lewis.Lewis County is part of the Maysville Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
to William Moncure Bridwell (1825–1907) of Virginia; and Mary Ann Harrison (1832–1921) of Kentucky.
William Baxter Godbey
William Baxter Godbey
-Biography:He was born June 3, 1833 in Pulaski County, Kentucky. He converted Alma White in a Kentucky schoolhouse revival in 1878. She wrote that "some were so convicted that they left the room and threw up their suppers, and staggered back into the house as pale as death."-References:...
converted her to Wesleyan Methodism
Methodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
in a Kentucky schoolhouse revival meeting in 1878. She wrote that "some were so convicted that they left the room and threw up their suppers, and staggered back into the house as pale as death." By 1880, the family was living in Millersburg, Kentucky
Millersburg, Kentucky
Millersburg is a city in Bourbon County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 842 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Lexington–Fayette Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Millersburg is located at ....
.
She studied at the Millersburg Female College in Millersburg, Kentucky
Millersburg, Kentucky
Millersburg is a city in Bourbon County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 842 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Lexington–Fayette Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Millersburg is located at ....
. An aunt invited one of the seven Bridwell sisters to visit Montana Territory, Alma was her last choice. Each of the others was afraid to make the journey, but in 1882, nineteen-year-old Alma took the chance and went to Bannack, Montana
Bannack, Montana
Bannack is a ghost town in Beaverhead County, Montana, United States, located on Grasshopper Creek, approximately upstream from where Grasshopper Creek joins with the Beaverhead River south of Dillon.-History:...
. She stayed to teach, first in public school, and later in Salt Lake City's Methodist seminary. In 1887 she married Kent White (1860–1940), who at the time was a Methodist seminarian. They had two sons, Ray Bridwell White
Ray Bridwell White
Ray Bridwell White was the son of Alma White, the leader of the Pillar of Fire Church in Zarephath, New Jersey...
and Arthur Kent White
Arthur Kent White
Arthur Kent White was a bishop, and the general superintendent of the Pillar of Fire Church in Zarephath, New Jersey and the President of Belleview College...
.
Alma and Kent started the Methodist Pentecostal Union Church in Denver, Colorado
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
in December 1901. She led hymns and prayers and at times preached sermons. In 1907 Caroline Garretson, formerly Carolin Van Neste Field, widow of Peter Workman Garretson, donated a farm for a community at Zarephath, New Jersey
Zarephath, New Jersey
Zarephath is an unincorporated area of Franklin Township in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. It was the communal home to the Pillar of Fire Church, and was the worldwide headquarters of Pillar of Fire International and housed the church's college, Somerset Christian College, and radio...
. In 1918, White was consecrated as a 'bishop' by William Baxter Godbey
William Baxter Godbey
-Biography:He was born June 3, 1833 in Pulaski County, Kentucky. He converted Alma White in a Kentucky schoolhouse revival in 1878. She wrote that "some were so convicted that they left the room and threw up their suppers, and staggered back into the house as pale as death."-References:...
, an ordained Methodist evangelist. She was now the first 'woman bishop' in the United States.
Politics: Feminism, Intolerance and the KKK
As a feminist, White was a forceful advocate of equality for white Protestant women. However, she was also uncompromising in her persistent and powerful attacks of religious and racial minorities, justifying both equality for white Protestant women and inequality for minorities as biblically mandated. While the vast majority of her most vicious political attacks targeted the Roman Catholic ChurchAnti-Catholicism in the United States
Strong political and theological positions hostile to the Catholic Church and its followers was prominent among Protestants in Britain and Germany from the Protestant Reformation onwards. Immigrants brought them to the American colonies. Two types of anti-Catholic rhetoric existed in colonial society...
, she also promoted antisemitism, white supremacy
White supremacy
White supremacy is the belief, and promotion of the belief, that white people are superior to people of other racial backgrounds. The term is sometimes used specifically to describe a political ideology that advocates the social and political dominance by whites.White supremacy, as with racial...
and intolerance of certain immigrants.
Under White's leadership in the 1920s and 1930s, the Pillar of Fire Church
Pillar of Fire Church
The Pillar of Fire International is a Christian organization founded in Denver, Colorado in 1901 by Alma White, with headquarters in Zarephath, New Jersey. The Pillar of Fire was originally incorporated as the Pentecostal Union, but changed its name to distance itself from Pentecostalism in 1915...
developed a close and public partnership with the Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
that was unique for a religious denomination. She saw the Klan as a powerful force that could help liberate white Protestant women, while simultaneously keeping minorities in their place. Her support of the Klan was extensive. She allowed and sometimes participated in Klan meetings and cross burnings on some of the numerous Pillar of Fire properties. She published The Good Citizen
The Good Citizen
The Good Citizen was a sixteen-page monthly political periodical edited by Bishop Alma White and illustrated by Reverend Branford Clarke. The Good Citizen was published from 1913 until 1933 by the Pillar of Fire Church at their headquarters in Zarephath, New Jersey in the United States...
, a monthly periodical which heavily promoted the Klan and its agenda. Additionally, she published three books, The Ku Klux Klan In Prophecy
The Ku Klux Klan In Prophecy
The Ku Klux Klan In Prophecy is a 144 page book written by Bishop Alma Bridwell White in 1925 and illustrated by Reverend Branford Clarke. In the book she uses scripture to rationalize that the Klan is sanctioned by God "through divine illumination and prophetic vision". She also believed that the...
, Klansmen: Guardians of Liberty
Klansmen: Guardians of Liberty
Klansmen: Guardians of Liberty was a book published by the Pillar of Fire Church in 1926 by Bishop Alma Bridwell White and illustrated by Reverend Branford Clarke. She claims that the founding fathers of the United States were members of the Ku Klux Klan, and that Paul Revere made his legendary...
, and Heroes of the Fiery Cross
Heroes of the Fiery Cross
Heroes of the Fiery Cross is a book published in 1928 by Protestant Bishop Alma Bridwell White in which she "sounds the alarm about imagined threats to Protestant Americans from Catholics and Jews." In the book she asks rhetorically "Who are the enemies of the Klan? They are the bootleggers,...
, which were compendiums of the essays, speeches and cartoons that had originally been published in The Good Citizen
The Good Citizen
The Good Citizen was a sixteen-page monthly political periodical edited by Bishop Alma White and illustrated by Reverend Branford Clarke. The Good Citizen was published from 1913 until 1933 by the Pillar of Fire Church at their headquarters in Zarephath, New Jersey in the United States...
.
White expressed her racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
against African Americans most vocally when speaking at Klan gatherings. On "Patriotic Day" at the 1929 annual Camp Meeting at Zarephath, NJ she preached a sermon titled "America---the White Man's Heritage” and published the sermon in that month's edition of The Good Citizen
The Good Citizen
The Good Citizen was a sixteen-page monthly political periodical edited by Bishop Alma White and illustrated by Reverend Branford Clarke. The Good Citizen was published from 1913 until 1933 by the Pillar of Fire Church at their headquarters in Zarephath, New Jersey in the United States...
. She said:
Where people seek for social equality between the black and white races, they violate the edicts of the Holy Writ and every social and moral code…
Social and political equality would plunge the world into an Inferno as black as the regions of night and as far from the teachings of the New Testament as heaven is from hell. The presumption of the colored people under such conditions would know no bounds...
This is white man's country by every law of God and man, and was so determined from the beginning of Creation. Let us not therefore surrender our heritage to the sons of Ham. Perhaps it would be well for white people to take the advice of a great American patriot, Dr. Hiram Wesley EvansHiram Wesley EvansHiram Wesley Evans was Imperial Wizard of the "second" Ku Klux Klan from 1922 until 1939. Evans succeeded William Joseph Simmons in the position of the Imperial Wizard in November 1922...
and repeal the Fifteenth AmendmentFifteenth AmendmentThe Fifteenth Amendment may refer to the:*Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which guaranteed the right to vote regardless of race*Fifteenth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland, which allowed divorce to be legalised...
. The editor of The Good CitizenThe Good CitizenThe Good Citizen was a sixteen-page monthly political periodical edited by Bishop Alma White and illustrated by Reverend Branford Clarke. The Good Citizen was published from 1913 until 1933 by the Pillar of Fire Church at their headquarters in Zarephath, New Jersey in the United States...
would be with him in this.
While her association with the Klan waned in the early 1930s, she continued to promote her ideology of intolerance for religious and racial minorities. She even republished edited versions of her three Klan books in 1943, three years before her death and 22 years after her initial public association with the Klan. The books were published as a three volume set under the name Guardians of Liberty
Guardians of Liberty
Guardians of Liberty is a three volume set of books published in 1943 by Bishop Alma Bridwell White, author of over 35 books and founder of the Pillar of Fire Church. Guardians of Liberty is primarily devoted to summarizing White’s vehement anti-Catholicism under the guise of patriotism...
. Notably, the word Klansmen was removed from the title, reflecting the Klan's diminished status, as White continued to promote the dogma that initially drew her to partner with the Klan. Volumes two and three of Guardians of Liberty
Guardians of Liberty
Guardians of Liberty is a three volume set of books published in 1943 by Bishop Alma Bridwell White, author of over 35 books and founder of the Pillar of Fire Church. Guardians of Liberty is primarily devoted to summarizing White’s vehement anti-Catholicism under the guise of patriotism...
have introductions by Arthur Kent White
Arthur Kent White
Arthur Kent White was a bishop, and the general superintendent of the Pillar of Fire Church in Zarephath, New Jersey and the President of Belleview College...
, her son and the Pillar of Fire
Pillar of Fire Church
The Pillar of Fire International is a Christian organization founded in Denver, Colorado in 1901 by Alma White, with headquarters in Zarephath, New Jersey. The Pillar of Fire was originally incorporated as the Pentecostal Union, but changed its name to distance itself from Pentecostalism in 1915...
's second general superintendent.
Rivalry
Time magazine wrote on October 22, 1928:
Aimee Semple McPhersonAimee Semple McPhersonAimee Semple McPherson , also known as Sister Aimee, was a Canadian-American Los Angeles, California evangelist and media celebrity in the 1920s and 1930s. She founded the Foursquare Church...
[spoke] ... Worst of all, there came a rival female evangelist from New Jersey, a resolute woman with the mien of an inspired laundress — the Reverend "Bishop" Mrs. Mollie Alma White, founder and primate of the Pillar of Fire Church. Bishop White, who has thousands of disciples ("Holy Jumpers") in the British Isles, clearly regarded Mrs. McPherson as a poacher upon her preserves or worse. Squired by two male Deacons, the Reverend Bishop sat herself down in a box at Albert HallAlbert HallAlbert P. Hall is an American actor.Born in Brighton, Alabama, Hall graduated from the Columbia University School of the Arts in 1971. That same year he appeared Off-Broadway in The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel and on Broadway in the Melvin Van Peebles musical Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death...
, with an air of purposing to break up the revival. The dread potency of Bishop White, when aroused against another female, may be judged from her scathing criticisms of the Church of Mary Baker Eddy: "The teachings of the so-called Christian Science Church ... have drawn multitudes from the orthodox faith, and blasted their hopes of heaven! ... A person who is thus in the grip of Satanic power is unable to extricate himself ... [and is] left in utter spiritual desolation." Well might buxom Aimee McPherson have quailed as she faced 2,000 tepid Britons, over 8,000 empty seats, the two Deacons and "Bishop" Mrs. White.
Expansion
In 1927, a transmitter and radio equipment were installed at Belleview CollegeBelleview College
Belleview College is a Christian college in Westminster, Colorado, operated by the Pillar of Fire Church and founded by Bishop Alma Bridwell White.-History:...
in Westminster, Colorado
Westminster, Colorado
Westminster is a Home Rule Municipality in Adams and Jefferson counties in the U.S. state of Colorado. Westminster is a northwest suburb of Denver. The Westminster Municipal Center is located north-northwest of the Colorado State Capitol. The United States Census Bureau that the city population...
to promote the college based in the Westminster Castle
Westminster Castle
The Westminster Castle, also locally known as "The Big Red Castle" or "The Pillar of Fire" is a historic landmark located in Westminster, Colorado, northwest of Denver near the intersection of 83rd and Federal...
. By June 1929, the call letters had been changed to KPOF
KPOF
KPOF is an AM radio station in Westminster, Colorado broadcasting at 910 kHz. The transmitter and studio are located on the campus of Belleview Christian Schools in the historic Westminster Castle, just northwest of Denver, Colorado. KPOF is known locally as "AM91: The Point of Faith" and offers...
and the station was broadcasting regular sermons from Alma Temple, the Pillar's Denver Church. In March 1931, WBNY was sold to White and the Pillar of Fire Church
Pillar of Fire Church
The Pillar of Fire International is a Christian organization founded in Denver, Colorado in 1901 by Alma White, with headquarters in Zarephath, New Jersey. The Pillar of Fire was originally incorporated as the Pentecostal Union, but changed its name to distance itself from Pentecostalism in 1915...
for $5,000. The call letters were changed to WAWZ
WAWZ
WAWZ is a contemporary Christian music radio station located in Zarephath, New Jersey. It is a Listener Supported/commercial radio station owned by the Pillar of Fire Church. The station's target demographic is a 25-34 year old female...
(the letters standing for Alma White, Zarephath. In its initial broadcast, she told listeners, "The station belongs to all regardless of your affiliation." In 1961 Pillar of Fire
Pillar of Fire Church
The Pillar of Fire International is a Christian organization founded in Denver, Colorado in 1901 by Alma White, with headquarters in Zarephath, New Jersey. The Pillar of Fire was originally incorporated as the Pentecostal Union, but changed its name to distance itself from Pentecostalism in 1915...
also started WAKW
WAKW
WAKW is an American radio station in Cincinnati, Ohio. The station plays a Christian adult contemporary format. The station is owned and operated by Pillar of Fire. It broadcasts with an effective radiated power of 50,000 watts....
in Cincinnati. The AKW represents the name of Arthur Kent White
Arthur Kent White
Arthur Kent White was a bishop, and the general superintendent of the Pillar of Fire Church in Zarephath, New Jersey and the President of Belleview College...
, Alma's son.
Further reading
- Alma White's Evangelism Press Reports, compiled by C. R. Paige and C.K. Ingler (1939)
- Kristin E. Kandt; "Historical Essay: In the Name of God; An American Story of Feminism, Racism, and Religious Intolerance: The Story of Alma Bridwell White", 8 Am. U.J. Gender, Soc. Pol'y & L 753 (2000)
- Lynn S. Neal; "Christianizing the Klan: Alma White, Branford Clarke, and the Art of Religious Intolerance", Church History June 2009
- Alison Green; "Heavenly Dynamite:" Bishop Alma Bridwell White, Women's Rights, and Anti-Catholicism. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Studies Association, Albuquerque, New Mexico.