Lacey Kirk Williams

Last updated

Lacey Kirk Williams (1871, Eufaula, Alabama - 1940) was an African-American who served as President of the National Baptist Convention from 1922 to 1940 and as Vice President of the World Baptist Alliance between 1928 and 1940. [1] He died in an aeroplane crash in 1940. [1]

Williams was born in 1871 on the Shorter Plantation near Eufaula, Alabama, to Levi and Elizabeth Williams, who had formerly been enslaved. The family migrated to Texas in 1878. [1]

After being educated at Bishop College in Texas and Arkansas Baptist College, he was ordained to the ministry in 1894 at the Thankful Baptist Church in Pitt Bridge, Texas. In 1910 he became pastor of the Mt. Gilead Baptist Church in Fort Worth. [1]

In 1916 he became pastor of the Mt. Olivet Baptist Church in Chicago. The church grew rapidly over the next decade due to the growing population of African Americans migrating from the South during and after World War I, as well as Williams' dynamic, activist style that appealed to many of the new arrivals. The church grew to become the largest African American church in Chicago and one of the largest in the United States. [1]

In 1919 he was appointed to the Chicago Commission on Race Relations. [2]

In 1922 he assumed the presidency of the National Baptist Convention. Under his leadership, the National Baptist Convention established an interracial alliance, which Williams called a "cooperative," with the American Baptists, a white denomination, that contributed greatly to the growth of the National Baptist Convention and to the black community as a whole. [1] The success of the denomination led to his appointment as Vice President of the World Baptist Alliance in 1928. He continued to serve as president of the National Baptist Convention until his death in 1940. [1]

Related Research Articles

Baptists form a major branch of evangelical Protestantism distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul competency, sola fide, sola scriptura and congregationalist church government. Baptists generally recognize two ordinances: baptism and communion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Baptist Convention</span> Christian denomination

The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), alternatively the Great Commission Baptists (GCB), is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist organization and the largest Protestant and second-largest Christian body in the United States. The SBC is a cooperation of fully autonomous, independent churches with commonly held essential beliefs that pool some resources for missions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church of God in Christ</span> Holiness-Pentecostal Christian denomination

The Church of God in Christ (COGIC) is an international Holiness–Pentecostal Christian denomination, and the largest Pentecostal denomination in the United States. Although an international and multi-ethnic religious organization, it has a predominantly African American membership based within the United States. The international headquarters is in Memphis, Tennessee. The current Presiding Bishop is Bishop John Drew Sheard Sr., who is the Senior Pastor of the Greater Emmanuel Institutional Church of God in Christ of Detroit, Michigan. He was elected as the denomination's leader on March 27, 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Baptist Churches USA</span> Baptist denomination in the United States

The American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA) is a Baptist Christian denomination established in 1907 originally as the Northern Baptist Convention, and from 1950 to 1972 as the American Baptist Convention. It traces its history to the First Baptist Church in America (1638) and the Baptist congregational associations which organized the Triennial Convention in 1814.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Converge (United States)</span> Baptist denomination

Converge, formerly the Baptist General Conference (BGC) and Converge Worldwide, is a Baptist Christian denomination in the United States. It is affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance and the National Association of Evangelicals. The headquarters are in Orlando, Florida. The current president of Converge is John K. Jenkins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Progressive National Baptist Convention</span> American Christian denomination (1961-)

The Progressive National Baptist Convention (PNBC), incorporated as the Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc., is a mainline Baptist Christian denomination emphasizing civil rights and social justice. The headquarters of the Progressive National Baptist Convention are in Washington, D.C. Part of the Black church tradition, since its organization, the denomination has member churches outside the United States, particularly in the Caribbean and Europe. It is a member of the National Council of Churches and the Baptist World Alliance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Baptist Convention of America International, Inc.</span> American Christian denomination (1915-)

The National Baptist Convention of America International, Inc., more commonly known as the National Baptist Convention of America or sometimes the Boyd Convention, is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is a predominantly African American Baptist denomination, and is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky. The National Baptist Convention of America has members in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, and Africa. The current president of the National Baptist Convention of America is Dr. Samuel C. Tolbert Jr. of Lake Charles, Louisiana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">T. J. Jemison</span> American clergyman and civil rights activist

Theodore Judson Jemison, better known as T. J. Jemison, was the president of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. from 1982 to 1994. It is the largest African-American religious organization. He oversaw the construction of the Baptist World Center in Nashville, Tennessee, the headquarters of his convention.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black church</span> Christian congregations in the U.S. that minister predominantly to African Americans

The black church is the faith and body of Christian denominations and congregations in the United States that predominantly minister to, and are also led by African Americans, as well as these churches' collective traditions and members. The term "black church" may also refer to individual congregations, including in traditionally white-led denominations.

Approximately 15.3% of Americans identify as Baptist, making Baptists the second-largest religious group in the United States, after Roman Catholics. Baptists adhere to a congregationalist structure, so local church congregations are generally self-regulating and autonomous, meaning that their broadly Christian religious beliefs can and do vary. Baptists make up a significant portion of evangelicals in the United States and approximately one third of all Protestants in the United States. Divisions among Baptists have resulted in numerous Baptist bodies, some with long histories and others more recently organized. There are also many Baptists operating independently or practicing their faith in entirely independent congregations.

Joseph Harrison Jackson was an American pastor and the longest serving President of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R. H. Boyd</span> American minister and businessman (1843–1922)

Richard Henry Boyd was an African-American minister and businessman who was the founder and head of the National Baptist Publishing Board and a founder of the National Baptist Convention of America, Inc.

The Alabama Baptist Convention is an autonomous association of Baptist churches in the U.S. state of Alabama formed in 1823. It is one of the state conventions associated with the Southern/Great Commission Baptists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc.</span> American Christian denomination

The National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., more commonly known as the National Baptist Convention, is a Baptist Christian denomination headquartered at the Baptist World Center in Nashville, Tennessee and affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance. It is also the largest predominantly and traditionally African American church in the United States and the second largest Baptist denomination in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard DeBaptiste</span> American journalist

Richard DeBaptiste was a Baptist minister in Chicago, Illinois. Before the abolition of slavery, he was an abolitionist and worked with his close relative, George DeBaptiste in the Underground Railroad, mainly in Detroit, Michigan. His ministry took him to Ohio, and in 1863, to Olivet Baptist Church in Chicago. He was a leader in the local and national Baptist community. He also was a journalist, serving as editor or correspondent to various newspapers and journals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William R. Pettiford</span> African-American minister and banker

William R. Pettiford was a minister and banker in Birmingham, Alabama. Early in his career he worked as a minister and teacher in various towns in Alabama, moving to the 16th Street Baptist Church in 1883 and serving there for about ten years. In 1890 he founded the Alabama Penny Savings Bank. It played an important role in black economic development in Alabama and in the South during the 25 years it existed. Pettiford has been called the most significant institutional builder and leader in the African American community in Birmingham during the period in which he lived. In 1897 he was said to be next to Booker T. Washington the black man who has done the most in the South for blacks.

William H. McAlpine was a Baptist minister and educator in Alabama. He was a founder and the second president of Selma University. He was a leader in the Baptist church and a founder and president of the Baptist Foreign Mission Convention. Later in his life he was Dean of the Theological Department at Selma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lillian B. Horace</span> American novelist

Lillian Bertha Jones Horace was an African American author, educator, and librarian from Fort Worth, Texas, best known for her novels Five Generations Hence (1916), Crowned with Glory and Honor, and Angie Brown. These are the earliest novels on record written by an African-American woman from Texas. Horace married and divorced twice, and continued to teach, travel and write throughout her life. At the time of her retirement, she had been an educator for over thirty years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elias Camp Morris</span> American minister, politician, and businessman

Elias Camp Morris was an American minister, politician, and businessman. Born a slave, Morris attended seminary then preached at Centennial Baptist Church in Helena, Arkansas. He rose to prominence among black Baptists, leading the Foreign Missionary Convention. When the convention merged with two other black Baptist organizations in 1895, Morris became the president of the resulting National Baptist Convention, leading it for twenty-seven years. Morris was also active in the Arkansas Republican Party, serving as a national delegate three times, and co-founded the Arkansas Baptist College.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Fenison, Jimmy (28 March 2009). "Lacey Kirk Williams (1871-1940) • BlackPast". BlackPast. Black Past. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  2. The Negro in Chicago; a study of race relations and a race riot. Chicago, Illinois: The University of Chicago Press. 1922. Retrieved 30 June 2019.