Frederick Douglass Kirkpatrick facts for kids
Frederick Douglass Kirkpatrick (1933–1986) was an African-American musician, a leader in the civil rights movement, and a minister. He was born in Haynesville, Louisiana. In 1964, he helped start a group called the Deacons for Defense and Justice. This group was made of armed black men who protected their community from violence. He also helped start Deacon chapters in other parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.
Kirkpatrick worked with Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). He was a singer and songwriter, and he directed the SCLC's folk culture programs. Starting in 1968, he recorded three albums with Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. He also created and hosted the Louisiana Folk Fest every year to celebrate and preserve music. He used his music to teach children about African-American history and the Civil Rights Movement. Later in his life, he lived in New York City.
Early Life and Activism
Kirkpatrick was born in 1933 in Haynesville, northern Louisiana. He was named after the famous 19th-century abolitionist Frederick Douglass. His father, John L. Kirkpatrick, was a minister. His mother died when he was young. He grew up with four sisters and a brother. They went to segregated schools and church, and they were surrounded by gospel and spiritual music.
Kirkpatrick learned to play the guitar and sing. He also started writing his own songs. His parents encouraged him to get an education. He graduated from Grambling College (now Grambling University). This was a historically black college, and he earned a degree in biology.
Kirkpatrick became a member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). This group formed in the 1950s to work for civil rights for African Americans. They used the power of churches to make changes. Kirkpatrick eventually became the director of folk culture for the SCLC. He kept singing, playing guitar, and writing his own music. One of his most famous songs was his version of Pete Seeger's "Everybody's Got a Right to Live." This song became an important anthem for the civil rights movement.
Fighting for Rights
Many areas in the South, including northern Louisiana, had a lot of violence against the civil rights movement. By the early 1960s, Kirkpatrick was living and working in Jonesboro, Louisiana. This was a small industrial town in northern Louisiana. Members of the CORE were also working there for civil rights.
Black workers in Jonesboro faced threats and attacks from the local Ku Klux Klan (KKK). The KKK was a group that used violence against black people. In November 1964, Kirkpatrick and Earnest "Chilly Willy" Thomas started the Deacons for Defense and Justice in Jonesboro. This was an armed group formed to protect civil rights workers, their families, and the black community.
That same year, Kirkpatrick became a minister in the Church of God and Christ in Jonesboro. This church started in the late 1800s and grew very large.
During 1965, Kirkpatrick and Thomas started Deacons chapters in other cities in Louisiana. In February 1965, they traveled to Bogalusa, Louisiana. Black workers there also wanted to defend themselves. They also set up Deacons chapters in Mississippi and Alabama. Many black people in these states were also victims of white vigilantes. Since 1960, armed defense had become more common for black people in cities like Clarksdale and Natchez, Mississippi. Even leaders of the NAACP kept guns in their homes to protect against attacks.
Music for Change
In 1968, after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was killed, Kirkpatrick recorded an album with Jimmy Collier. It was called Everybody's Got a Right to Live. This album, released by Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, featured songs from the civil rights era.
In 1969, Kirkpatrick sang "Bourgeois School" on an album by Alessandro Portelli. This song was a new version of Lead Belly's "Bourgeois Blues."
On November 15, 1969, Brother Kirkpatrick sang "Bring 'Em Home" and "Give Peace a Chance" on stage with Pete Seeger. This was at a huge protest against the Vietnam War in Washington, D.C. More than half a million people were there, and his music inspired them.
In 1972, Kirkpatrick recorded Ballads of Black America (FW07751) for Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. He was the lead singer and played guitar. Pete Seeger played banjo, and Jeanne Humphries played bass. Kirkpatrick wrote these songs about important black history figures. He learned in 1969 that black children had few books or songs that taught about the contributions of their people. Kirkpatrick's songs honored seven leaders, including Harriet Tubman, Paul Robeson, and Martin Luther King Jr., and the Deacons for Defense and Justice.
In 1974, Kirkpatrick and Seeger appeared on "Pete Seeger and Brother Kirk Visit Sesame Street." This was the first album based on the Sesame Street TV show with original music. Kirk and Seeger performed folk songs, children's songs, and their own songs. They were joined by Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch, and a chorus of children.
Known as Reverend Douglass Kirkpatrick, he kept writing and performing songs with his guitar. In 1975, he performed his song "The Ballad of Frank Wills" on WNYC. This song was about the break-in at Watergate and how President Richard M. Nixon eventually resigned. It told the story from the point of view of the security guard who found the first evidence. This was part of Kirkpatrick's full performance on Dave Sear's Folk and Baroque radio program.
Kirkpatrick also started and hosted the Louisiana Folk Fest. He wanted this event to bring communities and families together and preserve their music. In 1978, Smithsonian Folkways recorded the event. This was the third recording Kirkpatrick made with them. It featured gospel and spiritual songs sung by his family and friends.
Later Life
Kirkpatrick moved to New York City with his wife. There, he served as a Baptist minister. He and his wife had three daughters and one son. All of their children settled in Grambling as adults.
Frederick Douglass Kirkpatrick passed away on August 16, 1986, at St. Luke's Hospital in New York. He was survived by his wife, Annie Pearl Thompson, his father, his stepmother, his four children, four sisters, one brother, and seven grandchildren.
