“The Saints Go Marching”: The Church of God in Christ and the Civil Rights Movement in Memphis, Tennessee, 1954-1968

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dc.contributor.advisorPinn, Anthony B.en_US
dc.contributor.committeeMemberBongmba, Elias K.en_US
dc.contributor.committeeMemberBoles, John B.en_US
dc.creatorChism, Jonathanen_US
dc.date.accessioned2014-08-05T20:34:00Zen_US
dc.date.available2014-08-05T20:34:00Zen_US
dc.date.created2014-05en_US
dc.date.issued2014-04-25en_US
dc.date.submittedMay 2014en_US
dc.date.updated2014-08-05T20:34:01Zen_US
dc.description.abstractHaving assumed black Pentecostals are “otherworldly” or detached from politics and this-worldly concerns, many religious and civil rights scholars have ignored black Holiness-Pentecostals’ involvements in the Civil Rights Movement and instead focused on the roles of black Baptists and Methodists. Primarily guided by historical, sociological, theo-ethical, and hermeneutical methods, this dissertation examines Church of God in Christ (COGIC) members’ engagements in the Civil Rights Movement in Memphis, Tennessee, 1954-1968. I chose Memphis as the location to examine these assumptions because the most renowned Civil Rights leader, Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., delivered his last sermon at Mason Temple Church of God in Christ (COGIC), the headquarters of the largest and oldest black holiness-Pentecostal denomination. The dissertation argues that Memphis COGIC members were not divorced from the Memphis Movement but endeavored to combat racial injustice and inequality through a diversity of means, including through politics, nonviolent direct action, and spiritual quest. I contend that despite being marginalized and treated as outsiders on account of their race and religious faith, prior to the Civil Rights Movement early saints affirmed their identity as United States citizens, valued American democratic ideas of freedom and equality, and endeavored to advance democratic principles through participating in civic life. Additionally, when the Civil Rights Movement came to Memphis in the 1950s, COGIC members joined and worked alongside black church leaders from other denominations and engaged in nearly every aspect of the struggle, including political campaigns, desegregation efforts, and the Sanitation Workers Strike. Furthermore, I argue that Holiness-Pentecostal theology informed the activism of Memphis COGIC Civil Rights activists. Affirming his Holiness-Pentecostal heritage, Bishop J.O. Patterson Sr., a prominent Memphis Civil Rights activist, sought to persuade blacks in general and to remind black Christian activists in particular of the indispensability of spiritual presence and empowerment for social struggle. My research findings provoke scholars of religion to rethink the meaning and implications of otherworldliness. Additionally, this research indicates that there is greater complexity to black churches involvement in the Civil Rights Movement besides the contributions of black Baptists and Methodists.en_US
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen_US
dc.identifier.citationChism, Jonathan. "“The Saints Go Marching”: The Church of God in Christ and the Civil Rights Movement in Memphis, Tennessee, 1954-1968." (2014) Diss., Rice University. <a href="https://hdl.handle.net/1911/76423">https://hdl.handle.net/1911/76423</a>.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1911/76423en_US
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.rightsCopyright is held by the author, unless otherwise indicated. Permission to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exemptions to copyright law must be obtained from the copyright holder.en_US
dc.subjectChurch of God in Christen_US
dc.subjectMemphisen_US
dc.subjectCivil Rights Movementen_US
dc.subjectPolitical protestsen_US
dc.subjectActivismen_US
dc.subjectMartin Luther Kingen_US
dc.subjectJames O. Patterson Sr.en_US
dc.subjectGilbert Pattersonen_US
dc.subjectSanitation workers strikeen_US
dc.subjectBlack Poweren_US
dc.subjectHoly Spiriten_US
dc.subjectPentecostalismen_US
dc.subjectHolinessen_US
dc.title“The Saints Go Marching”: The Church of God in Christ and the Civil Rights Movement in Memphis, Tennessee, 1954-1968en_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
dc.type.materialTexten_US
thesis.degree.departmentReligious Studiesen_US
thesis.degree.disciplineHumanitiesen_US
thesis.degree.grantorRice Universityen_US
thesis.degree.levelDoctoralen_US
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophyen_US
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