E. E. Cleveland Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Edward Earl Cleveland
Born	March 11, 1921 in Huntsville, Alabama
Died	August 30, 2009 in Huntsville, Alabama
Church	Seventh-day Adventist
Other names	E. E. Cleveland
Education	Oakwood College (now Oakwood University)
Offices held	Associate Secretary of Ministerial Association
Title	Pastor
Spouse	Celia Marie Abney Cleveland ( – May 29, 2003)
Children	Earl Clifford Cleveland

Edward Earl Cleveland (March 11, 1921 – August 30, 2009) was an important leader in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. He was a writer, a strong supporter of civil rights, and a powerful speaker (an evangelist). People often called him E. E. Cleveland.

Who Was E. E. Cleveland?
His Work in the Church
A Powerful Speaker (Evangelist)
Working for Civil Rights
Awards and Special Recognitions
His Important Papers
See also

Who Was E. E. Cleveland?

E. E. Cleveland was born in Huntsville, Alabama, on March 11, 1921. He passed away in Huntsville on August 30, 2009, after an illness.

He was married to Celia Marie Abney Cleveland from 1943 until her death in 2003. They had one son, Earl Clifford Cleveland.

E. E. Cleveland started preaching at a very young age, when he was just 6 years old. By the time he was 13, he was already the secretary for the Sabbath School at his church in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Throughout his life, he traveled a lot, visiting more than 67 countries.

His Work in the Church

E. E. Cleveland worked for the Seventh-day Adventist Church for over 67 years. He held many important jobs during his time there:

From 1942 to 1946, he was a new minister (Ministerial Intern) in the Carolina Conference.
From 1946 to 1950, he worked as an evangelist in the South Atlantic Conference.
From 1950 to 1954, he was an evangelist in the Southern Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.
From 1954 to 1977, he became an associate secretary for the Seventh-day Adventist Ministerial Association. He was the first black person to join a department at the Adventist world church headquarters. He held this important job for 23 years.
From 1977 to 1986, he directed the Department of Church Missions at Oakwood College (now Oakwood University) in Huntsville, Alabama.
Starting in 1977, he also taught in the Department of Religion at Oakwood College.

A Powerful Speaker (Evangelist)

E. E. Cleveland was a very successful evangelist. He led over 60 campaigns (large public meetings) on six different continents. He also trained more than 1,000 pastors.

He was a pioneer for the Seventh-day Adventist Church. He was one of the first to think about holding large evangelistic events in big cities. He did this even before satellite technology made it easy to reach many people.

In 1966, he led one of the most successful campaigns in Adventist history in Port of Spain, Trinidad. He was the first Seventh-day Adventist to baptize over 1,000 people in one campaign. The meetings started with 3,300 people and grew to 7,000 by the end.

Overall, Cleveland baptized about 16,000 people. This included George Juko, who was a Crown Prince from Uganda. Many churches were started because of his campaigns. Famous civil rights leaders like Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rev. Ralph Abernathy, and Rosa Parks are said to have attended his services in Montgomery.

Working for Civil Rights

E. E. Cleveland was a dedicated civil rights activist for a long time.

He helped start the N.A.A.C.P chapter for students at Oakwood College.
As a black evangelist, he faced challenges because of racism. In 1954, in Montgomery, Alabama, police watched his tent meetings. This was because he was breaking laws that stopped white and black people from meeting together in public. Cleveland believed these unfair laws should not be followed.
He took part in the first March on Washington with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He even got a large truck to carry blankets and clothes for people at the march.
He was part of the Organizing Committee for the Poor People's Campaign in Washington, D.C., which started in 1968. This campaign was part of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
Cleveland spoke twice at the South Florida S.C.L.C. Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebrations in 1986 and 1987. He helped the local S.C.L.C. group get a street named after Dr. King in St. Petersburg, Florida.
He also organized "Feed The Hungry" programs in over 20 cities in the United States. He helped set up a food distribution center in Washington, D.C., after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to help those in need.

E. E. Cleveland was a co-founder and member of the Human Relations Committee of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. He was also part of the "Flying Squad," a special church group that looked into racial unfairness and suggested ways to fix it. In 1968, he was the first black person to receive an honorary doctorate from Andrews University, which is a Seventh-day Adventist school.

Cleveland was the first African American church leader sent to places like Asia (outside of India), Europe, South America, and Australia. On February 25, 1993, he was honored at the Martin Luther King Jr. collegium of preachers and scholars at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia.

Awards and Special Recognitions

Bradford Cleveland Brooks Leadership Center at Oakwood University

E. E. Cleveland received many awards and honors for his important work:

He received honorary degrees from Daniel Payne College and Andrews University in 1968.
He was listed in "Who’s Who in Black America" and "Who’s Who in Religion in America."
He was recognized in "Men of Achievement" (from Cambridge, England).
Andrews University Focus Magazine named him one of the most well-known Adventist people.
He was voted "Alumnus of the Year" twice at Oakwood College.
He was invited to the White House by former President Ronald Reagan to learn about world and national news.
On March 8, 1989, Guy Hunt, the Governor of Alabama, honored him as Alabama's most distinguished Black clergyman.
He was inducted into the Martin Luther King Jr. collegium of preachers and scholars at Morehouse College on February 25, 1993.

Two books have been written about E. E. Cleveland's life. One is a biography called E. E. Cleveland: Evangelist Extraordinary. The other is his own story, called Let the Church Roll On.

The Bradford-Cleveland-Brooks (BCB) Leadership Center at Oakwood University is partly named after E. E. Cleveland. This center opened in October 2007. It helps train evangelists and ministers and provides classrooms for religious studies. It also hosts the university's first master's degree program in Pastoral Studies.

His Important Papers

In November 2007, E. E. Cleveland gave his collection of personal writings, sermons, and papers to the Center for Adventist Research at Andrews University. This collection includes nearly 2,000 sermon manuscripts, hundreds of pictures, and audio-visual materials. It is considered very valuable and is available for researchers to study.

E. E. Cleveland facts for kids

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