Vernon Dobson
Encyclopedia
Reverend Vernon Nathaniel Dobson, born October 29, 1923, is a Baptist Minister and civil rights activist in Baltimore, Maryland.
middle school, and he graduated from Frederick Douglass Senior High School in 1941 http://www.mdcivilrights.org/DunbarDouglass.html. He attended Howard University
and earned a Bachelors of Divinity degree http://www.thehistorymakers.com/biography/biography.asp?bioindex=663. He also studied at Harvard University
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He had four brothers: Rev. Harold Dobson, Spencer G. Dobson, Jr., Irvin Dobson, David C. Dobson and one sister Anne Dobson http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2000-01-10/news/0001100041_1_dobson-pastor-sharon-baptist-church/2.
and of the NAACP.
Rev. Dobson was twice elected the president of the Interdominational Ministerial Alliance in Baltimore.
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Rev. Dobson was a member of the self-titled "Goon Squad," a group of Baltimore-based ministers and lawyers who advocated for civil rights. In 1967, they sought the reinstatement of Joseph C. Howard, a prosecutor, who exposed Baltimore's unequal treatment of rape victims based on their race.
In 1968, he founded the Union Baptist Church Head Start program.
In 1977, Rev. Dobson was one of the founders of Baltimoreans United in Leadership Development (BUILD).
Reverend Dobson worked with many of the legendary civil rights activists in Baltimore including Walter P. Carter
, Parren J. Mitchell, Rev. Marion Bascom http://www.thehistorymakers.com/biography/biography.asp?bioindex=957&category=Religionmakers of Douglass Memorial Community Church http://www.douglaschurch.org/, Sampson "Sam" Green, Rev. Wendell H. Phillips
of Heritage United Church of Christ http://heritageucc.org/Main.html, Chester Wickwire
, and Samuel T. Daniels, Sr. of the Prince Hall Masons
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Rev. Harold Dobson (Rev. Vernon Dobson's Brother)was the first president of Baltimore's branch of Opportunities Industrial Center, (OIC)http://www.oicofamerica.org/. OIC was founded in Philadelphia, PA by Rev. Leon Sullivan
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Rev. Vernon Dobson was the co-host of the community affairs television show on WBAL-TV in Baltimore called "Look at it This Way." Co-hosts included Samuel Thornton Daniels, Sr. and Homer Favor.
Early years
Vernon Dobson, the son of Rev. Spencer Dobson and Mrs. Estelle Cook Dobson http://www.thehistorymakers.com/biography/biography.asp?bioindex=663, was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. He attended Booker T. WashingtonBooker T. Washington
Booker Taliaferro Washington was an American educator, author, orator, and political leader. He was the dominant figure in the African-American community in the United States from 1890 to 1915...
middle school, and he graduated from Frederick Douglass Senior High School in 1941 http://www.mdcivilrights.org/DunbarDouglass.html. He attended Howard University
Howard University
Howard University is a federally chartered, non-profit, private, coeducational, nonsectarian, historically black university located in Washington, D.C., United States...
and earned a Bachelors of Divinity degree http://www.thehistorymakers.com/biography/biography.asp?bioindex=663. He also studied at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
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He had four brothers: Rev. Harold Dobson, Spencer G. Dobson, Jr., Irvin Dobson, David C. Dobson and one sister Anne Dobson http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2000-01-10/news/0001100041_1_dobson-pastor-sharon-baptist-church/2.
Ministry
In 1958, Rev. Dobson was named assistant pastor of Union Baptist Church http://www.unionbaptistbalt.org/ in Baltimore, MD. He became the pastor of Union Baptist Church in 1963, and served in that role for 39 years http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2008-01-19/news/0801190034_1_union-baptist-church-dobson-baltimoreans. His predecessor, Rev. Harvey Johnson was present at the founding of the Niagara MovementNiagara Movement
The Niagara Movement was a black civil rights organization founded in 1905 by a group led by W. E. B. Du Bois and William Monroe Trotter. It was named for the "mighty current" of change the group wanted to effect and Niagara Falls, the Canadian side of which was where the first meeting took...
and of the NAACP.
Rev. Dobson was twice elected the president of the Interdominational Ministerial Alliance in Baltimore.
Civil Rights activism
In 1963, Rev. Dobson was one of the many community activists who attempted to integrate Gwynn Oak Amusement Park. Their demonstration against the park was organized by the Congress of Racial EqualityCongress of Racial Equality
The Congress of Racial Equality or CORE was a U.S. civil rights organization that originally played a pivotal role for African-Americans in the Civil Rights Movement...
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Rev. Dobson was a member of the self-titled "Goon Squad," a group of Baltimore-based ministers and lawyers who advocated for civil rights. In 1967, they sought the reinstatement of Joseph C. Howard, a prosecutor, who exposed Baltimore's unequal treatment of rape victims based on their race.
In 1968, he founded the Union Baptist Church Head Start program.
In 1977, Rev. Dobson was one of the founders of Baltimoreans United in Leadership Development (BUILD).
Reverend Dobson worked with many of the legendary civil rights activists in Baltimore including Walter P. Carter
Walter P. Carter
Walter Percival Carter was a civil rights activist and a central figure in Baltimore’s civil rights movement, organizing demonstrations against discrimination throughout Maryland...
, Parren J. Mitchell, Rev. Marion Bascom http://www.thehistorymakers.com/biography/biography.asp?bioindex=957&category=Religionmakers of Douglass Memorial Community Church http://www.douglaschurch.org/, Sampson "Sam" Green, Rev. Wendell H. Phillips
Wendell H. Phillips
Wendell Harrison Phillips was an American politician who served in the Maryland House of Delegates and was the first African American chairman of the Baltimore City Delegation...
of Heritage United Church of Christ http://heritageucc.org/Main.html, Chester Wickwire
Chester Wickwire
Chester "Chet" L. Wickwire was chaplain emeritus of the Johns Hopkins University. He was a prominent fighter for civil rights and an international peace activist...
, and Samuel T. Daniels, Sr. of the Prince Hall Masons
Prince Hall Freemasonry
Prince Hall Freemasonry derives from historical events which led to a tradition of separate predominantly African-American Freemasonry in North America...
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Rev. Harold Dobson (Rev. Vernon Dobson's Brother)was the first president of Baltimore's branch of Opportunities Industrial Center, (OIC)http://www.oicofamerica.org/. OIC was founded in Philadelphia, PA by Rev. Leon Sullivan
Leon Sullivan
Leon Howard Sullivan was a Baptist minister, a civil rights leader and social activist focusing on the creation of job training opportunities for African-Americans, a longtime General Motors Board Member, and an anti-Apartheid activist. Sullivan died on April 24, 2001, of leukemia at a Scottsdale,...
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Rev. Vernon Dobson was the co-host of the community affairs television show on WBAL-TV in Baltimore called "Look at it This Way." Co-hosts included Samuel Thornton Daniels, Sr. and Homer Favor.