Claude C. Williams
Encyclopedia
Claude Clossey Williams (1895–1979) was a Presbyterian minister active for more than 50 years in civil rights
, race relations, and labor advocacy. He worked with the Southern Tenant Farmers Union
, founded the People’s Institute for Applied Religion, and served as the national vice president of the American Federation of Teachers
. He was also the director of Commonwealth College in Mena, Arkansas
, from 1937-1939.
As a young fundamentalist preacher in the rural South, Williams' initial motivation was the spiritual salvation
of his parish
ioners, or in his words, to “save their never-dying, ever-precious souls from the devil’s hell eternal.” This motivation later evolved into a quest for social justice for the poor throughout society, leading to confrontations with white supremacists and lifelong charges of Communist activities. As Williams put it, “I’ve been run out of the best communities, fired from the best churches, and flogged by the best citizens of the South.”
. Williams enlisted in the army in 1916. He became a drill sergeant and trainer of draftees, re-enlisting in 1919. After leaving the army in 1921 he entered Bethel College, a small Cumberland Presbyterian seminary. While studying for the ministry he became an accomplished evangelical preacher. At Bethel he met Joyce King, a missionary student from Mississippi, whom he married in 1922. After graduating from Bethel in 1924, Williams gained his first pastorate at a Presbyterian church in Auburntown, Tennessee
.
Modern Use of the Bible. Fosdick interpreted the Bible as a militant social text, de-emphasizing a literalist interpretation and advocating societal progress and change. Williams credited this book as a turning point in his life. Williams was also influenced by seminars held by Dr. Alva W. Taylor at the Vanderbilt School of Religion. Taylor was a noted social activist and proponent of the Social Gospel
, a movement that applied Christian ethics to social problems. At Vanderbilt the concept of Jesus as the “Son of Man
” made a profound impression on Williams. Referring to Dr. Taylor, Williams said, “He cleared the debris of theological crap and let Him rise among us as a challenging human leader.”
In 1930, the Presbytery
assigned Williams to a small church located in Paris, Arkansas
. The church community consisted of poor miners, sharecroppers, and a few black families. Williams was determined to organize local miners, and through his efforts the congregation grew rapidly. However, church and community leaders were opposed to the influx of impoverished workers from surrounding areas, and were shocked by the prospect of mixed race services. As a result, the Presbytery removed Williams from the church.
In 1935, Williams was assigned to a church in Fort Smith, Arkansas
. Here Williams and eight others were arrested for organizing a hunger march for unemployed workers. He was fined one hundred dollars, served ninety days in jail, and was tried for heresy
by the Presbytery.
After his release from prison, Williams went to Little Rock, Arkansas
where he trained sharecroppers and other workers as grassroots
organizers. In 1936 Williams founded the New Era School for Social Action and Prophetic Religion. He also worked with the Southern Tenant Farmers Union
to raise funds and promote schools. During this time Williams also served as vice-president of the American Federation of Teachers
.
In June 1936, while traveling to Memphis to prepare the funeral for a black sharecropper who had been beaten to death, Williams was stopped by five sheriff’s deputies and was himself severely beaten. Afterward he was forced to sign a statement that he hadn’t been hurt, and was not allowed to continue to Memphis.
In 1937, Williams was appointed director of Commonwealth College in Mena, Arkansas
. He remained in that position for two years, resigning in 1939 after accusations of Communist sympathies.
activism in the South. The PIAR received support from Reinhold Niebuhr
and Harry Ward
, the Methodist Federation for Social Action
, the Church League for Industrial Democracy, and the National Religion and Labor Foundation.
Williams attempted to blend religious piety with social activism. As he noted in later years:
The message of the PIAR was spread by a network of black and white preachers using visual aid charts and sermon outlines, presenting biblically-based aspects of social justice in simple terms.
In 1942, the Detroit Presbytery asked Williams to become an “industrial chaplain” ministering to the needs of southerners who had come north to work in the auto plants. Williams brought his PIAR organization along, and spent three years working with laborers, unions, and the black community. Accused by Gerald L.K. Smith and others of Communist activities, Williams was fired by the Presbytery in 1945.
, where he established a Bible training program and continued his work with the PIAR. In 1953 Williams was again accused of being a Communist, this time by the House Un-American Activities Committee
. A subsequent trial by the Detroit Presbytery did not address the issue of Communism but did find Williams guilty of heresy. He was defrocked as a minister and not reinstated until 1965.
south of Birmingham, Williams’ financial support came from funds raised by the Claude Williams Committee. Williams' wife died in 1976. He continued work until his own death in 1979.
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
, race relations, and labor advocacy. He worked with the Southern Tenant Farmers Union
Southern Tenant Farmers Union
The Southern Tenant Farmers' Union was founded in 1934 as a civil farmer's union to further organize the tenant farmers in the Southern United States....
, founded the People’s Institute for Applied Religion, and served as the national vice president of the American Federation of Teachers
American Federation of Teachers
The American Federation of Teachers is an American labor union founded in 1916 that represents teachers, paraprofessionals and school-related personnel; local, state and federal employees; higher education faculty and staff, and nurses and other healthcare professionals...
. He was also the director of Commonwealth College in Mena, Arkansas
Mena, Arkansas
Mena is a city in Polk County, Arkansas, United States. It is also the county seat of Polk County.It was founded by Arthur Edward Stilwell during the building of the Kansas City, Pittsburg and Gulf Railroad . It was Stilwell who decided Mena would be the name of this new town along the route to...
, from 1937-1939.
As a young fundamentalist preacher in the rural South, Williams' initial motivation was the spiritual salvation
Salvation
Within religion salvation is the phenomenon of being saved from the undesirable condition of bondage or suffering experienced by the psyche or soul that has arisen as a result of unskillful or immoral actions generically referred to as sins. Salvation may also be called "deliverance" or...
of his parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
ioners, or in his words, to “save their never-dying, ever-precious souls from the devil’s hell eternal.” This motivation later evolved into a quest for social justice for the poor throughout society, leading to confrontations with white supremacists and lifelong charges of Communist activities. As Williams put it, “I’ve been run out of the best communities, fired from the best churches, and flogged by the best citizens of the South.”
Early life
Williams was born in rural Weakley County, Tennessee. His parents, Jess and Minnie Bell Williams, were sharecroppers and members of the fundamentalist Cumberland Presbyterian ChurchCumberland Presbyterian Church
The Cumberland Presbyterian Church is a Presbyterian Christian denomination spawned by the Second Great Awakening. In 2007, it had an active membership of less than 50,000 and about 800 congregations, the majority of which are concentrated in the United States...
. Williams enlisted in the army in 1916. He became a drill sergeant and trainer of draftees, re-enlisting in 1919. After leaving the army in 1921 he entered Bethel College, a small Cumberland Presbyterian seminary. While studying for the ministry he became an accomplished evangelical preacher. At Bethel he met Joyce King, a missionary student from Mississippi, whom he married in 1922. After graduating from Bethel in 1924, Williams gained his first pastorate at a Presbyterian church in Auburntown, Tennessee
Auburntown, Tennessee
Auburntown is a town in Cannon County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 252 at the 2000 census.-History:Once known as Poplar Stand, due to large population of poplar trees in the area, Auburntown was eventually renamed after Auburn, New York...
.
Career Transition
In 1927, Williams read Harry Emerson Fosdick’sHarry Emerson Fosdick
Harry Emerson Fosdick was an American clergyman. He was born in Buffalo, New York. He graduated from Colgate University in 1900, and Union Theological Seminary in 1904. While attending Colgate University he joined the Delta Upsilon Fraternity. He was ordained a Baptist minister in 1903 at the...
Modern Use of the Bible. Fosdick interpreted the Bible as a militant social text, de-emphasizing a literalist interpretation and advocating societal progress and change. Williams credited this book as a turning point in his life. Williams was also influenced by seminars held by Dr. Alva W. Taylor at the Vanderbilt School of Religion. Taylor was a noted social activist and proponent of the Social Gospel
Social Gospel
The Social Gospel movement is a Protestant Christian intellectual movement that was most prominent in the early 20th century United States and Canada...
, a movement that applied Christian ethics to social problems. At Vanderbilt the concept of Jesus as the “Son of Man
Son of man
The phrase son of man is a primarily Semitic idiom that originated in Ancient Mesopotamia, used to denote humanity or self. The phrase is also used in Judaism and Christianity. The phrase used in the Greek, translated as Son of man is ὁ υἱὸς τοὺ ἀνθρώπου...
” made a profound impression on Williams. Referring to Dr. Taylor, Williams said, “He cleared the debris of theological crap and let Him rise among us as a challenging human leader.”
In 1930, the Presbytery
Presbyterian polity
Presbyterian polity is a method of church governance typified by the rule of assemblies of presbyters, or elders. Each local church is governed by a body of elected elders usually called the session or consistory, though other terms, such as church board, may apply...
assigned Williams to a small church located in Paris, Arkansas
Paris, Arkansas
Paris is a city in Logan County, Arkansas, United States, and serves as the county seat for the northern district of Logan County; its southern district counterpart is Booneville. The population was 3,707 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...
. The church community consisted of poor miners, sharecroppers, and a few black families. Williams was determined to organize local miners, and through his efforts the congregation grew rapidly. However, church and community leaders were opposed to the influx of impoverished workers from surrounding areas, and were shocked by the prospect of mixed race services. As a result, the Presbytery removed Williams from the church.
In 1935, Williams was assigned to a church in Fort Smith, Arkansas
Fort Smith, Arkansas
Fort Smith is the second-largest city in Arkansas and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County. With a population of 86,209 in 2010, it is the principal city of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area, a region of 298,592 residents which encompasses the Arkansas...
. Here Williams and eight others were arrested for organizing a hunger march for unemployed workers. He was fined one hundred dollars, served ninety days in jail, and was tried for heresy
Heresy
Heresy is a controversial or novel change to a system of beliefs, especially a religion, that conflicts with established dogma. It is distinct from apostasy, which is the formal denunciation of one's religion, principles or cause, and blasphemy, which is irreverence toward religion...
by the Presbytery.
After his release from prison, Williams went to Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...
where he trained sharecroppers and other workers as grassroots
Grassroots
A grassroots movement is one driven by the politics of a community. The term implies that the creation of the movement and the group supporting it are natural and spontaneous, highlighting the differences between this and a movement that is orchestrated by traditional power structures...
organizers. In 1936 Williams founded the New Era School for Social Action and Prophetic Religion. He also worked with the Southern Tenant Farmers Union
Southern Tenant Farmers Union
The Southern Tenant Farmers' Union was founded in 1934 as a civil farmer's union to further organize the tenant farmers in the Southern United States....
to raise funds and promote schools. During this time Williams also served as vice-president of the American Federation of Teachers
American Federation of Teachers
The American Federation of Teachers is an American labor union founded in 1916 that represents teachers, paraprofessionals and school-related personnel; local, state and federal employees; higher education faculty and staff, and nurses and other healthcare professionals...
.
In June 1936, while traveling to Memphis to prepare the funeral for a black sharecropper who had been beaten to death, Williams was stopped by five sheriff’s deputies and was himself severely beaten. Afterward he was forced to sign a statement that he hadn’t been hurt, and was not allowed to continue to Memphis.
In 1937, Williams was appointed director of Commonwealth College in Mena, Arkansas
Mena, Arkansas
Mena is a city in Polk County, Arkansas, United States. It is also the county seat of Polk County.It was founded by Arthur Edward Stilwell during the building of the Kansas City, Pittsburg and Gulf Railroad . It was Stilwell who decided Mena would be the name of this new town along the route to...
. He remained in that position for two years, resigning in 1939 after accusations of Communist sympathies.
The PIAR and Detroit
In 1940, Williams reorganized his New Era school as the People’s Institute of Applied Religion (PIAR). The PIAR organized rural farmers and industrial workers, using Williams' skills as a minister to reach workers through their religious beliefs. The organization worked closely with the sharecropper movement and supported CIOCongress of Industrial Organizations
The Congress of Industrial Organizations, or CIO, proposed by John L. Lewis in 1932, was a federation of unions that organized workers in industrial unions in the United States and Canada from 1935 to 1955. The Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 required union leaders to swear that they were not...
activism in the South. The PIAR received support from Reinhold Niebuhr
Reinhold Niebuhr
Karl Paul Reinhold Niebuhr was an American theologian and commentator on public affairs. Starting as a leftist minister in the 1920s indebted to theological liberalism, he shifted to the new Neo-Orthodox theology in the 1930s, explaining how the sin of pride created evil in the world...
and Harry Ward
Harry F. Ward
Harry F. Ward was an American Methodist minister and left-wing activist. He was the first chairman of the ACLU, leading the group from its creation in 1920 until 1940. Ward was a prominent defender of Soviet Communism, although he didn't label himself as a Communist; this ultimately led to his...
, the Methodist Federation for Social Action
Methodist Federation for Social Action
The Methodist Federation for Social Action is an independent network of United Methodist clergy and laity working for justice in the areas of peace, poverty, and people's rights since 1907.-A short history:...
, the Church League for Industrial Democracy, and the National Religion and Labor Foundation.
Williams attempted to blend religious piety with social activism. As he noted in later years:
- “We were realistic, or at least we tried to be. We discovered that the fact that people believed in the Bible literally could be used to an advantage….Being so-called fundamentalists, accepting the Bible verbatim, had nothing whatsoever to do with a person’s understanding of the issues that related to bread and meat, raiment, shelter, jobs and civil liberties. Therefore, our approach was not an attempt to supplant their present mindset, but to supplement it with a more horizontal frame of reference. And we found that supplementing and supplanting turned out to be the same thing.”
The message of the PIAR was spread by a network of black and white preachers using visual aid charts and sermon outlines, presenting biblically-based aspects of social justice in simple terms.
In 1942, the Detroit Presbytery asked Williams to become an “industrial chaplain” ministering to the needs of southerners who had come north to work in the auto plants. Williams brought his PIAR organization along, and spent three years working with laborers, unions, and the black community. Accused by Gerald L.K. Smith and others of Communist activities, Williams was fired by the Presbytery in 1945.
Later career
In 1946, Williams returned south to Birmingham, AlabamaBirmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
, where he established a Bible training program and continued his work with the PIAR. In 1953 Williams was again accused of being a Communist, this time by the House Un-American Activities Committee
House Un-American Activities Committee
The House Committee on Un-American Activities or House Un-American Activities Committee was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives. In 1969, the House changed the committee's name to "House Committee on Internal Security"...
. A subsequent trial by the Detroit Presbytery did not address the issue of Communism but did find Williams guilty of heresy. He was defrocked as a minister and not reinstated until 1965.
Final Years
During the 1950s and 1960s, Williams was active in the civil rights movement, working to register black voters, organize protests against police brutality, and help black farmers keep their land. Living with his wife in their trailer home near the rural community of AlabasterAlabaster, Alabama
Alabaster is a city and southern suburb of Birmingham in Shelby County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 22,619. According to the 2005 U.S. Census estimates, the city had a population of 27,517. At the 2010 census the population was 30,352. Alabaster is still a growing...
south of Birmingham, Williams’ financial support came from funds raised by the Claude Williams Committee. Williams' wife died in 1976. He continued work until his own death in 1979.