Albert Cleage facts for kids
Albert B. Cleage Jr. (born June 1911 – died February 20, 2000) was an important Christian minister, writer, and leader. He believed in black nationalism, which is the idea that Black people should create and control their own communities, businesses, and political power. He founded the famous Shrine of the Black Madonna Church. He also started Shrine Cultural Centers and Bookstores in Detroit, Michigan, Atlanta, Georgia, and Houston, Texas. These places are still open today.
In the early 1970s, Cleage changed his name to Jaramogi Abebe Agyeman. He played a big part in the Civil Rights Movement in Detroit during the 1960s and 1970s. He became more and more involved with Black nationalism and Black separatism. This meant he started to disagree with the idea of racial integration, which is when people of different races mix together in society. He created a church-owned farm called Beulah Land in Calhoun Falls, South Carolina. He spent most of his later years there. He was the father of Kristin Cleage and the writer Pearl Cleage. He passed away on February 20, 2000, at the age of 88, while visiting Beulah Land.
Early Life and Education
Albert B. Cleage Jr. was born in 1911 in Indianapolis. He was the first of seven children. His father was a doctor who graduated from the Indiana University School of Medicine in 1910. Dr. Cleage moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan, and then to Detroit. In Detroit, his father helped start Dunbar Hospital. This was the only hospital in Detroit that allowed Black doctors to work and trained African-American doctors. Dr. Cleage was a very important person in Detroit's medical world.
After finishing Northwestern High School in Detroit, Albert Cleage Jr. went to several colleges. He started at Wayne State University in 1929 and earned his degree in sociology in 1942. He also studied at Fisk University. Before becoming a minister, he worked as a social worker for the Detroit Department of Health. In 1938, he began studying to become a minister at Oberlin College. He received his degree in Divinity from Oberlin in 1943. In the same year, he married Doris Graham and became a minister in the Congregational Christian Churches. They had two daughters, but later divorced in 1955. Cleage also studied at the University of Southern California's film school in the 1950s. He wanted to make religious films.
Religious Leadership and Activism
After becoming a minister, Albert Cleage Jr. led churches in Kentucky, San Francisco, and Massachusetts. In 1951, he returned to Detroit. He worked at an integrated church, meaning it had both Black and white members. However, some white leaders disagreed with his approach to leading his Black congregation.
In 1953, Cleage and some of his followers left that church. They started their own church called Central Congregational Church. In the mid-1960s, it was renamed Central United Church of Christ. This church focused on helping people who were struggling. They offered programs for the poor, political guidance, and education.
Cleage became more focused on Black nationalism. He did not want white people to join the big Walk to Freedom march in Detroit on June 23, 1963. After this, he stopped working with white leaders. He moved away from the ideas of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who believed in integration. Instead, he moved closer to the ideas of Malcolm X, who supported Black separatism.
In 1964, Cleage helped start a Michigan branch of the Freedom Now Party. He even ran for Governor of Michigan as part of a group of Black candidates. He was also the editor of a weekly newspaper called the Illustrated News. This newspaper was read widely in Black neighborhoods in Detroit during the 1960s.
After the 1967 Detroit riot, Cleage worked with the New Detroit Committee. This group was formed to help heal racial and economic problems in the city. However, Cleage later left the group and returned a large donation. In 1967, he started the Black Christian National Movement. This movement encouraged Black churches to understand Jesus's teachings in a way that helped the social, economic, and political needs of Black people. In March 1967, Cleage placed a painting of a Black Madonna (Mary) holding baby Jesus in his church. He then renamed the church The Shrine of the Black Madonna.
In 1970, The Shrine of the Black Madonna was renamed the Pan African Orthodox Christian Church. More churches were opened in Kalamazoo, Atlanta, and Houston. The goal of these churches was to help the Black community understand their African history better. This was meant to help them make positive progress as a whole group.
Cleage then changed his name to Jaramogi Abebe Agyeman. This name means "liberator, holy man, savior of the nation" in Swahili. Agyeman believed that integration was not the best path for Black people. He thought it was important for them to create and control their own economic, political, and social environments. He started the City-wide Citizens Action Committee to support Black businesses. He also promoted the idea of Black children being taught by Black teachers.
His Writings
Cleage's book The Black Messiah was published in 1968. In this book, he wrote about Jesus as a revolutionary leader. Cleage believed it was important to change the idea of a "white" Jesus to a "black" Jesus. He felt this would help empower the African-American community and reveal what he saw as the truth about Jesus's race.
His second book, Black Christian Nationalism, came out in 1972. This book focused on the idea that Jesus was Black and that he was meant to save the Black population. Cleage stated that if Black people believed this, they could solve their economic and political problems. This book taught that the Black population as a whole was important, not just individuals, which was different from some Christian teachings. Cleage wanted to save Black people as a group. This book also introduced the Black Christian Nationalist Movement as its own Christian group.
