David Kirk (activist)
Encyclopedia
Father David Kirk was a civil rights and anti-poverty activist. He was reared a Baptist but converted to the Melkite Catholic Church
, where he remained for most of his life. In 2004, however, Father Kirk joined the Eastern Orthodox Church
.
, New York
. It was conceived not as a shelter but as a community for the city’s homeless men and women and was modeled on the Emmaus movement
, begun in France by Abbe Pierre after World War II
to aid the poor.
Ten years later, Emmaus House moved to 160 West 120th Street. From 1984 to 1986, Paul Selden worked with Father David, training the homeless of Emmaus to renovate the abandoned Charles Hotel at 2027 Lexington Avenue at 124th Street in Harlem
. The 5-story building stretching half a block had long been known as a haven for drug dealers and prostitutes. In late 1996 the new Emmaus opened its doors to the homeless while still undergoing renovation.
Anne Troy worked with Father David from January 1987 to December 1994, expanding services at Emmaus House to provide long-term housing to 60 homeless men and women (who frequently had their children with them) and emergency shelter to an additional 35 men and women. Among its achievements, Emmaus:
In addition Emmaus provided:
Most of these services were actually run by the homeless residents, called Community Members, who were involved in a program of maintaining sobriety, daily work, school, community activities and optional prayer and mass in the House chapel. After undergoing six months of personal stabilization and growth, the Community Member was assisted in finding a job and ultimately, in moving into his or her own apartment to end the cycle of poverty and homelessness. Fr. Joachim Parr, an Orthodox priest who now leads Mercy House on the Lower East Side, was an invaluable servant of the poor at Emmaus from 1988 to 1993 as well as innumerable wonderfully dedicated staff and Community Members who helped Father David realize his vision of mercy and empowerment.
Since 2001, Emmaus House has been back at its former location on West 120th Street, which can house up to 15 people. With Father Kirk’s death, the fate of the house is uncertain, according to a member of its board.
and was a Baptist by upbringing. Aged 12, he befriended a black man named Clint who worked for his father, family members said. After Clint was accused of murdering his wife, David, believing in his friend’s innocence, brought food every day to the woods where Clint was hiding. Clint eventually escaped over the state line to Louisiana.
Later, as the editor of his high school paper in Mobile, Alabama
David Kirk won permission to attend a local black high school for a month. He told the authorities he was researching an article about the education of black youth. What he really wanted to do, his family said, was to try to experience how the other half lived in the Jim Crow South. (He had asked to transfer to the school full-time, coming up with the cover story only after his request was denied.) “I came out of that school shocked and radicalized”, he later wrote in an unpublished narrative of his life.
Entering the University of Alabama in 1953, Kirk was drawn to the work of a Roman Catholic campus chaplain, Joseph Raya, who opposed segregation (Father Raya would later become an Archbishop in the Melkite Church). That year, Mr. Kirk converted to Melkite Catholicism
. Melkite Catholics practice the Eastern Rite but, because they recognize the Pope, are considered part of the Roman Catholic Church. He earned a bachelor’s degree in social science in 1957, and a few years later moved to New York to work with Dorothy Day
at the Catholic Worker House
on the Bowery. He earned a master’s degree in social thought from Columbia University
in 1964 and was ordained as a Melkite priest in Rome that year.
After ordination, Father Kirk went back to Alabama and the civil rights movement where he served as a bodyguard for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.. (He was jailed with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on at least one occasion.) Returning to New York, he planned to start a communal house for the homeless on the Lower East Side
. Ms. Day, who died in 1980, told him to go instead to Harlem, where the need was greater, and Emmaus House was born.
In 1969 David Kirk produced the book Quotations from Chairman Jesus (via Templegate Publishers), which became a revolutionary best seller after its release. The book aims to show, by compiling a wide variety of Biblical and early Christian quotations, that Jesus' life and teachings, as well as early Christianity, were actually based upon a community-centered mindset. In the text, Kirk wrote, "Our present Christian community is not the church it ought to be... If this book has anything to say it is that the oppressed ought to come first in the Church which dares to follow Jesus Christ. If it suggests nothing more to you, let it say that money and property are meant to be common to everybody, and that he who shares power, property, and money with the poor, only returns what rightfully belongs to the poor."
At his request, he was buried near his longtime mentor, Dorothy Day
, at Resurrection Cemetery in Staten Island
.
Melkite Greek Catholic Church
The Melkite Greek Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic Church in full communion with the Holy See as part of the worldwide Catholic Church. The Melkites, Byzantine Rite Catholics of mixed Eastern Mediterranean and Greek origin, trace their history to the early Christians of Antioch, Syria, of...
, where he remained for most of his life. In 2004, however, Father Kirk joined the Eastern Orthodox Church
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
.
Emmaus House
Father David established Emmaus House in the mid-1960s on East 116th Street in Harlem in ManhattanManhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. It was conceived not as a shelter but as a community for the city’s homeless men and women and was modeled on the Emmaus movement
Emmaus
Emmaus was an ancient town located approximately northwest of present day Jerusalem...
, begun in France by Abbe Pierre after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
to aid the poor.
Ten years later, Emmaus House moved to 160 West 120th Street. From 1984 to 1986, Paul Selden worked with Father David, training the homeless of Emmaus to renovate the abandoned Charles Hotel at 2027 Lexington Avenue at 124th Street in Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
. The 5-story building stretching half a block had long been known as a haven for drug dealers and prostitutes. In late 1996 the new Emmaus opened its doors to the homeless while still undergoing renovation.
Anne Troy worked with Father David from January 1987 to December 1994, expanding services at Emmaus House to provide long-term housing to 60 homeless men and women (who frequently had their children with them) and emergency shelter to an additional 35 men and women. Among its achievements, Emmaus:
- launched the first school in the US based in a shelter;
- launched the first housing program for homeless people with AIDS in Harlem;
- launched the first daily 12-steps meeting program open to the general public in Harlem.
In addition Emmaus provided:
- up to 15,000 meals per month to those on the streets;
- training in food management in its Community Kitchen;
- training in woodworking at Emmaus' 6,000 sq. ft. factory in the South Bronx;
- social services for the addicted, for homeless pregnant mothers (thus rescuing many babies from abortion and the foster care system) and others suffering from poverty and homelessness; and
- pantry and free clothing room, called "Blessingdales," helping thousands more five days a week.
Most of these services were actually run by the homeless residents, called Community Members, who were involved in a program of maintaining sobriety, daily work, school, community activities and optional prayer and mass in the House chapel. After undergoing six months of personal stabilization and growth, the Community Member was assisted in finding a job and ultimately, in moving into his or her own apartment to end the cycle of poverty and homelessness. Fr. Joachim Parr, an Orthodox priest who now leads Mercy House on the Lower East Side, was an invaluable servant of the poor at Emmaus from 1988 to 1993 as well as innumerable wonderfully dedicated staff and Community Members who helped Father David realize his vision of mercy and empowerment.
Since 2001, Emmaus House has been back at its former location on West 120th Street, which can house up to 15 people. With Father Kirk’s death, the fate of the house is uncertain, according to a member of its board.
Early years
David (his given name was Davey, which he despised) Kirk was born in Louisville, MississippiLouisville, Mississippi
Louisville is a city in Winston County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 7,006 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Winston County.-Geography:Louisville is located at ....
and was a Baptist by upbringing. Aged 12, he befriended a black man named Clint who worked for his father, family members said. After Clint was accused of murdering his wife, David, believing in his friend’s innocence, brought food every day to the woods where Clint was hiding. Clint eventually escaped over the state line to Louisiana.
Later, as the editor of his high school paper in Mobile, Alabama
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...
David Kirk won permission to attend a local black high school for a month. He told the authorities he was researching an article about the education of black youth. What he really wanted to do, his family said, was to try to experience how the other half lived in the Jim Crow South. (He had asked to transfer to the school full-time, coming up with the cover story only after his request was denied.) “I came out of that school shocked and radicalized”, he later wrote in an unpublished narrative of his life.
Entering the University of Alabama in 1953, Kirk was drawn to the work of a Roman Catholic campus chaplain, Joseph Raya, who opposed segregation (Father Raya would later become an Archbishop in the Melkite Church). That year, Mr. Kirk converted to Melkite Catholicism
Melkite
The term Melkite, also written Melchite, refers to various Byzantine Rite Christian churches and their members originating in the Middle East. The word comes from the Syriac word malkāyā , and the Arabic word Malakī...
. Melkite Catholics practice the Eastern Rite but, because they recognize the Pope, are considered part of the Roman Catholic Church. He earned a bachelor’s degree in social science in 1957, and a few years later moved to New York to work with Dorothy Day
Dorothy Day
Dorothy Day was an American journalist, social activist and devout Catholic convert; she advocated the Catholic economic theory of Distributism. She was also considered to be an anarchist, and did not hesitate to use the term...
at the Catholic Worker House
Catholic Worker Movement
The Catholic Worker Movement is a collection of autonomous communities of Catholics and their associates founded by Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin in 1933. Its aim is to "live in accordance with the justice and charity of Jesus Christ." One of its guiding principles is hospitality towards those on...
on the Bowery. He earned a master’s degree in social thought from Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in 1964 and was ordained as a Melkite priest in Rome that year.
After ordination, Father Kirk went back to Alabama and the civil rights movement where he served as a bodyguard for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.. (He was jailed with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on at least one occasion.) Returning to New York, he planned to start a communal house for the homeless on the Lower East Side
Lower East Side
The Lower East Side, LES, is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street....
. Ms. Day, who died in 1980, told him to go instead to Harlem, where the need was greater, and Emmaus House was born.
In 1969 David Kirk produced the book Quotations from Chairman Jesus (via Templegate Publishers), which became a revolutionary best seller after its release. The book aims to show, by compiling a wide variety of Biblical and early Christian quotations, that Jesus' life and teachings, as well as early Christianity, were actually based upon a community-centered mindset. In the text, Kirk wrote, "Our present Christian community is not the church it ought to be... If this book has anything to say it is that the oppressed ought to come first in the Church which dares to follow Jesus Christ. If it suggests nothing more to you, let it say that money and property are meant to be common to everybody, and that he who shares power, property, and money with the poor, only returns what rightfully belongs to the poor."
Death
The Rev. Kirk, who had been in declining health with kidney trouble and other ailments, died in his sleep, aged 72.At his request, he was buried near his longtime mentor, Dorothy Day
Dorothy Day
Dorothy Day was an American journalist, social activist and devout Catholic convert; she advocated the Catholic economic theory of Distributism. She was also considered to be an anarchist, and did not hesitate to use the term...
, at Resurrection Cemetery in Staten Island
Staten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...
.
External links
- http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/04/obituaries/04kirk.html?_r=1&ref=obituaries&oref=slogin