Gospel Temple M.B. Church in the era of civil rights and Black power

Part 2

After Rev. A.D. Purnell’s departure in 1947, because Gospel Temple M.B. Church had such a large membership and was noted for the educational and economic level of its members, there were a number of ministers aspiring to become its pastor. The search was lengthy. Among the candidates vying for the position was Rev. C.L. Franklin, who would go on to become a national celebrity within ten years. 

The individual selected as pastor, however, was Rev. Henry Harrison Humes. He was born in Fayette, Mississippi, but was reared in Scott, Mississippi. At the time of his election, he was living in Greenville. 

Humes was similar to Buford in the sense of being quite an activist in the Baptist church and in the community. As a pastor, at least one writer, a fellow minister, referred to him as one of the “Black Sons of Thunder,” because of his fiery, emotionally-stirring sermons. He was invited on several occasions to preach at the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., during its annual meetings. Based upon such preaching, he attracted many more members.

Early in his pastorate, the Gospel Temple congregation built the facility which it presently occupies. The new church facility was built beside the old one, with the space where the old facility had been being converted into a parking lot. 

The new church was built by the men of the congregation. Morgan Brown, Frank Edwards, Nelson Green, Frank Richardson, Johnny Vaughn, and Willie Washington were among them. Fred Duncan was the architect for the project. He and his family moved to Detroit shortly after the church was completed. In Detroit, his skills as an architect and carpenter brought him more wealth and notoriety than was possible in Rosedale. The church was completed within a year. At that time the church trustees were Johnny Vaughn, Nelson Green, Frank Edwards, Lige Mason, and Louis Robinson. The deacons were Will Smith, Morgan Brown, Willie Washington, Will Robinson, Charley Green, Frank Richardson, and Fred Duncan. 

The new church building was such an improvement that it was named Greater Gospel Temple M.B. Church. It was the first church in town to have a full dining room and a kitchen. It was the first Black church to have an indoor baptismal pool. Prior to that, candidates for baptism were baptized across the levee in what was called the Blue Hole. It has now been named the Perry Martin Lake.

 In terms of furnishing, it was the first Black church to have an organ. This was such a new development that the church musician, Mrs. Blanche Wade, had to go to Mississippi Vocational College to be trained to play it. 

Gospel Temple became the first two story Black church in the area and was impressive for the city as a whole, which had only two other two-story buildings, a hotel and an office building. 

While he was Gospel Temple’s pastor, Humes also served as State President of the Mississippi Baptist Convention and one of the Vice Presidents of the National Baptist Convention. As president of the state convention, he also assumed responsibility for raising funds to keep the Baptist-sponsored Natchez Junior College solvent. This meant traveling the state extensively and sometimes outside of the state. Such activity increased his name recognition and boosted his popularity among Baptist people, who formed the largest body of Christians in the state and the country.

In terms of the community, he published a newspaper, The Delta Leader, and hosted a religious program on Greenville’s radio station WGVM. Both media had many consumers throughout the Mississippi Delta. 

Near the end of his tenure, however, his popularity began to decline as Black leaders suspected him of being used as a moderating influence of segregationist whites, if not a tool of the Mississippi Sovereignty Commission. 

Humes served as pastor from the time of his election in 1947 until his death on New Year’s Day 1958. His body laid in state at Gospel Temple. His funeral was held at Coleman High School in Greenville.

Gospel Temple then engaged in another fairly lengthy search period before it selected a new pastor. Among the persons who preached trial sermons was Rev. C.A. Burke. He was a member of the church and had long held the title of “assistant pastor.” Despite that, however, it surprised many members when he expressed the desire to become the pastor. When he did, it was no surprise that he had supporters among the members. 

Another popular candidate for the position was a minister from Greenville whose parents had established Edwards and Evans Funeral Home. But in a close vote, the church selected Rev. L.J. Jordan Jr. of Greenville as pastor. 

Jordan served from 1958 until his departure in 1984. During his tenure, there were several renovations made to the church building, making it more comfortable. The impressive thing about it was that they were made without the congregation having to assume any long-term indebtedness. He also kept up the practice of emphasizing the importance of education. 

It was during Jordan’s tenure that Johnny Todd became the first Black mayor of Rosedale. Todd had moved from Gunnison as a teenager and affiliated with the church. Blanch Phillips Turnage, a lifelong member of Gospel Temple and, like Todd, a graduate of Jackson State University, served on the city council and eventually as the first vice mayor. Because Jordan served during the height of the Civil Rights Movement, there were quite a few other members who were politically active. In addition to Todd and Turnage, Morgan Brown Sr. and Jr. were real spark plugs for the civil rights movement. 

Things had not started out that way, however. In the earliest days of the movement, some older members feared the church being bombed as had been done in some other places. But with Jordan living in Greenville and many older officials fading from the picture, the young civil rights activists were able to hold meetings in the church, without serious objections. Major civil rights leaders, including Fannie Lou Hamer, John Lewis, and Delta Ministries leaders, were invited in to help organize the civil rights activities for the community of Rosedale.

Morgan Brown Sr. had long been a civil rights pioneer, but much of a lone ranger. Although he was a teacher at the Black high school, he had the courage and the skills to organize the residents of “Professor Brown’s Junction” to try and get the city to extend water and sewage services to their neighborhood. He had been the first to have his younger children enroll in the white high school. For these efforts Brown was fired from his position as a teacher. Rather than put a stop to his efforts, however, he became more emboldened. He ran for mayor and supported the work of his son Morgan Brown Jr. with Delta Ministries. This kind of early effort and example set the stage for the younger college-educated citizens like Todd, Turnage, and others to eventually gain political control of the city.

As Todd was closing in on the mayoral election, the sitting mayor referred to him as a Black militant. That did not bother Todd because he was well-known as a champion of Black power. He proved to be very popular. The town swelled to 2,600, more than had been the case at any time in its history. He restored the street signs which had been removed 40 years earlier. This helped resurrect knowledge of Senator Blanche K. Bruce, who had built one of the first homes in town. Other Black heroes were honored as well.

On the other hand, many white residents abandoned the city. Many closed or otherwise moved their businesses. Alabama Metal Products Company, the largest employer in town, along with the Illinois Central Railroad, ceased operations in Rosedale. Local oil mills and sawmills did likewise. 

Faced with such drastic economic conditions, Black residents increased their well-established pattern of heading to the military and to Chicago and other places as soon as they were high-school age. For quite sometime, they had been pulled by what they learned from friends and relatives, as well as from Ebony magazine, the Chicago Defender newspaper, the Pittsburgh Courier newspaper, and other Black-oriented media, about economic opportunities there and the greater degree of freedom. At the same time, they were being pushed out of Rosedale by declining economic opportunities and the continued rank manifestations of Jim Crow.

Gospel Temple experienced the same negatives as did the town. The offspring of its members were well noted in Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis, Philadelphia, California, and elsewhere. Several musicians went directly from that church into professional musical careers in those areas.

It was also during Jordan’s tenure that the church celebrated its 100th anniversary. That milestone almost came as a surprise to many Rosedale residents, including many members of the church. Once realized, however, it was well-celebrated. 

Jordan was succeeded by Rev. Walter Jenkins in 1984. Jenkins served until 1990. At the end of Jenkins’ tenure, Gospel Temple’s first native son, Rev. James Harris of Rosedale, became pastor. He remained from 1990 until 1994, at which time he moved on to a larger church in Moss Point, on the Gulf Coast. 

Rev. J.E. Gillom then became the 10th pastor and served until 2006. His replacement, Rev. Wilbert Reddics, was elected in 2006, and is the current pastor. 

By this time, “Little Stokley,” as he was called as a Jackson State College student, Johnny Todd had completed his tenure as mayor, had served as a social studies teacher, and served as an assistant pastor of Gospel Temple. Blanche Turnage, the second of the major civil rights leaders remaining in the church, is serving as the chairwoman of the board of trustees. Both of the Browns have died. Nevertheless, the political education and organization continues. 

Throughout its nearly 160-year history, Gospel Temple has been fortunate in attracting and securing pastors who were not only literate but visionary. Even in cases where the pastors may not have been politically active, they knew how to not stand in the way of a progressive membership. 

Gospel Temple has also been fortunate to have had in its congregation members who helped keep it in the forefront in terms of education, civil rights, and politics. During its golden age – late 1940s through 1980s – its membership has included many celebrated stalwarts and other faithful people. Among them are Charles and Blanche Wade, Joseph T. Keesee, Annie Randall, Mary White, Louis and Mamie Robinson, Irma Reid, Johnny Vaughn, Frank Richardson, Fred and Melissa Duncan, E.B. Noel, Morgan Brown Sr. and Jr., Will Robinson, Charley Green, Blanche and Jim Jennings, Annie Phillips, A.D. Purnell, Fredricka Taylor, Annie Kate Randall, Lige Mason, Nelson and V.A. Green, Ethel and Willie Washington, J.D. and Minte “Minnie” Green, Louise Matthews, Elizabeth Capps, Florence Payne, Will Smith, Sis Wilson, Annie Graham, Parlee Branch, John and Tempie Smith, Dora Lawrence, Nannie Bennett, Henry and Marie Meely, Susie Hill and Frank Edwards, Lillian Usry, Johnny Todd, and Blanch Phillips Turnage. 

Most of these were long-tenured members. In most cases, their children were also active members in the church. They formed a real nucleus or critical mass for the church’s educational, political, civil rights, and economic projects. 

Gospel Temple was the largest church in west Bolivar County, with a great deal of prestige and influence. At the same time, many non-members often looked upon it as “the big shot church.” This was because many members were educators or business persons at a time when most Black people in the area worked as maids, share-croppers, or day laborers in the cotton fields around the county. The criticism, however, ignored the fact most of the members were workers in the cotton fields year after year their whole lives and shared the same issues of concern.

Later arrivals and descendants of those stalwarts attempt to carry on the tradition of the ageless Gospel Temple. Although, due to continued high outward migration, the membership has dwindled. 

Gospel Temple continues to be an active institution for those desiring to remain in west Bolivar County and fight for a better life. Many of the current members are political activists, educators, and business persons. They are proud of the church’s history and tradition. 

It is to honor the previous generations and to inspire the present and future generations that this brief historical sketch is published.