Singing in a Strange Land
Page 49
25.Ralph Williams Interview, 45-46; Saunders to Marks, “Field Division Report on the March 29, 1969, Shooting at New Bethel Baptist Church and Subsequent Events,” 2-3; CLF Interview, November 8, 1977, 144-45; interview with Brother Imari Obadele in Muhammad Speaks, April 25, 1969. (back to text)
26.Judge George C. Crockett, “Statement,” April 3, 1969 (edited typescript), Box 483, folder 2, JPC; interview with George Crockett Jr. by Sidney Fine, 2, MHC; Detroit Free Press, March 31 and April 1 and 6, 1969; Detroit News, April 1, 4, 6, and 9, 1969; Michigan Chronicle, April 12 and 19, 1969. (back to text)
27.CLF Interview, November 8, 1977, 149; Detroit News, March 31, 1969. CLF recounts similar language, but not the reference to Shelby, in Detroit News, September 26, 1977. (back to text)
28.For a devastating analysis of the prejudicial and racially biased coverage by the Detroit News of Crockett and the larger event, see Saunders to Marks, “Field Division Report on the March 29, 1969 Shooting at New Bethel Baptist Church and Subsequent Events,” 3-5; “CCR Field Investigation Staff” to “Police-Community Relations Subcommittee,” June 13, 1969, 1-2, Box 67, folder 8, DCCR. (back to text)
29.Detroit News, April 1, 1969. The petition ultimately attracted more than two hundred thousand signatures and was widely distributed by white Detroit police officers; see Detroit Free Press, May 20, 1969; Detroit Police Officers Association, “God Bless You George!” Box 120, folder 25, NDI. On black Detroit’s response see CLF, statement to the press, n.d. [March 31, 1969], Box 185, folder 6, NDI; “Statement of Rev. Ralph Abernathy,” n.d. [April 2, 1969], Box 483, folder 1, JPC; Detroit News, April 3, 1969; Detroit Free Press, April 3, 1969; Michigan Chronicle, April 5 and 12, 1969; “CCR Field Investigation Staff” to “Police-Community Relations Subcommittee,” 1. (back to text)
30.Detroit News, April 5 and 9, 1969; William Patrick to George Crockett, March 31, 1969, Detroit, Box 483, folder 2, JPC; Law Committee, New Detroit, Inc., “The New Bethel Report: ‘The Law on Trial,’” April 1969, Box 67, folder 8, DCCR; Judge George Crockett, “Statement,” April 3, 1969, Box 483, folder 2, JPC. For a contemporary portrait see Charles C. Sanders, “Detroit’s Rebel Judge Crockett,” Ebony, August 1969. For an account quite hostile to Crockett see Jacoby, Someone Else’s House, 244-52. (back to text)
31.Interview with Crockett by Fine, 37-38. On the League of Revolutionary Workers in Detroit, see the highly partisan discussion by Georgakas and Surkin, Detroit, I Do Mind Dying. Although relatively small in number, the black longtime UAW members I interviewed either had no recollection of the league or rejected it outright; see Stepp Interview (1999), 21-22; Jenkins Interview, 11; Todd Interview, 33. Also of interest for its recognition of the UAW’s continued resistance to black officials, coupled with strong opposition to the league, is the interview with Robert Battle by Herbert Hill, 83-84, 88, ALUA. (back to text)
32.Michigan Chronicle, February 3, 1968. One minister present at the meeting in Hot Springs, Arkansas, stated as fact that federal agents arrested CLF in Chicago for possession of “$50,000 worth of dope,” which required the personal intervention of Joseph H. Jackson to have dismissed. There is no corroborating evidence for this, but it suggests the extent of the rumors CLF’s conduct sparked. B. T. Moore Interview, 30-33, 36. (back to text)
33.Michigan Chronicle, June 28, July 5, and December 12, 1969; Amsterdam News, May 31 and July 12, 1969; Jasper Williams Interview, 31-32; Receipt, signed by Stanley E. Wise (CLF’s tax attorney), July 26, 1972, acknowledging CLF’s $10,000 cashier’s check for tax penalties, CLFP. See also Wise to CLF, February 3 and 20, 1978, CLFP, for continuing tax difficulties. (back to text)
34.Robbie McCoy, The Church World, Michigan Chronicle, November 1, 1969. On CLF and the rumors of drug use, see Matthews Interview, 43, 45; B. T. Moore Interview, 30-33. On the Detroit response (largely none), see Perry Interview, 32; Stepp Interview (1999), 34-35. Claud Young discussed getting CLF out of the pulpit “when he is high” in Young Interview, 26. The typescript of the mid-1970s version of Without a Song is in CLFP. For CLF’s recorded comments at James Cleveland’s church, see Franklin, Amazing Grace. (back to text)
35.On Richard Henry’s resignation see “Brother Imari” to “Brother [Mweusi] Chui (Minister of Defense, RNA), October 13, 1969, Detroit; Milton R. Henry, “Executive Order, RNA,” November 12, 1969, Detroit; “Brother Imari” to “Brother Gaidi and Brother Rob,” November 21, 1969 (copy), all in Box 2, RFW; Michigan Chronicle, November 22, 1969. For his subsequent career see Dunbar, “The Making of a Militant,” 26, 30-31; Lumumba, “Short History of the U.S. War on the R.N.A.,” 72-73; Imari Abubakari Obadele, “National Black Elections Held by the Republic of New Africa,” 27, 35, 38. On Williams’s resignation see Henry Interview, 28; Williams to “Dear Pete & John,” n.d. [1969], and Mary Kochiyama to “Dear Brother Rob and Sister Mabel,” December 13, 1969, n.p. [New York], both in Box 2, RFW; Detroit Free Press, November 27, 1969; Detroit News, December 3, 1969. (back to text)
36.Henry Interview, 34-38, 40-41. On the biblical Saul, see Acts 9:3-19. (back to text)
37.New York Times, February 27, 2000; Boggs, Living for Change, esp. chap. 6. (back to text)
38.Young Interview, 22-23, 35-37. (back to text)
39.Stovall, The Growth of Black Elected Officials in the City of Detroit, 6; Rich, Coleman Young and Detroit Politics, 92-109; Gale Group, Inc., “George W. Crockett, Jr.,” which included the Time quote. Young and Crockett both died in 1997. (back to text)
40.On the accident see Detroit Free Press, April 9, 1972; Detroit News, April 9, 1972. For Ballard’s funeral see Michigan Chronicle, February 28 and March 6, 1976; Detroit Free Press, February 28, 1976. For McFall’s funeral see Michigan Chronicle, May 1, 1976. On CLF’s illnesses and lack of energy see Hurley Interview, 25; CLF Interview, November 30, 1977, 177, 187; E. L. Branch Interview, 16; Jones Interview, 16-17. (back to text)
41.Reverend J. W. Evans to CLF, October 12, 1977, Los Angeles, CLFP. On the decline in church membership in these years, see Perry Interview, 14; Penn Interview, 37-38; Kincaid Interview, 20, 21; Jenkins Interview, 13; McCoy Interview, 25; Jasper Williams Interview, 18-19; Rosenberg, Can These Bones Live? 141. Compare CLF’s text, “From Bones to Destiny,” with even the written version of his “Dry Bones in the Valley” to appreciate the seriousness of his decline. The 1970s text is in CLFP; the mid-1950s version is reprinted in Titon, Give Me This Mountain, 80-88. (back to text)
42.Kirby Interview, 21-22, 23; Michigan Chronicle, January 29, August 26, and October 7, 1978. On CLF’s children see Michigan Chronicle, April 10 and August 7, 1976; April 15, 1978; May 19, 1979; Washington Post, April 13, 1978. (back to text)
43.Detroit News, September 26, 1977. As a result of Jeff Todd Titon’s generosity, his interviews with CLF are used throughout this book. (back to text)
44.“Featured Minister of the Month,” cover, 5-10. (back to text)
45.E. L. Branch Interview, 15-16. (back to text)
46.Ibid., 30. (back to text)
47.Detroit Free Press, June 11, 12, 15, and 23 and November 11, 1979; Michigan Chronicle, June 16 and 23 and July 7, 1979; Jet, June 28, 1979, 13. (back to text)
48.Young Interview, 43, 45; Detroit Free Press, June 12, 1979. (back to text)
49.Corbett Interview, 27-28; Detroit Free Press, June 11, 12, 23, and 30, September 5, November 7, 8, 16, and 21, 1979; June 21, 1980; Jet, July 5, 1979; November 29, 1979, 60; July 10, 1980, 30. (back to text)
50.On the rumors see B. T. Moore Interview, 35; Kyles Interview, 48-49. See also Kirby Interview, 21-22. (back to text)
51.Detroit Free Press, December 4, 1979; Jet, December 20, 1979, 56; EF Interview, 54; “Ree” [Aretha Franklin] to “Dear Erma,” n.d. [1980], CLFP; Ralph Williams Interview, 32-33; E. L. Branch Interview, 27; Margaret Branch Interview, 20; Jenkins Interview, 16. (back to text)
52.Harry Brickerson, Chair, Deacon’s Board, New Bethel, to Joseph H. Jackson, August 31, 1979,
Detroit, Box 11, folder 1970-79, JHJ; Michigan Chronicle, October 13, 1979; Jet, January 17, 1980, 10; April 17, 1980, 46-47; Detroit Free Press, March 25 and 26, 1980; memorandum, “Approximate Weekly and Monthly Expenses,” undated [1980-1981], CLFP; New Bethel Baptist Church, Rev. C. L. Franklin Day; New Bethel Baptist Church, Honoring Our Pastor; Young Interview, 46; CLF Medical Log, December 1979-September 1982; vol. 1: January 10, 1980; vol. 2: February 24 and March 5, 1980; vol. 3: July 16, 1980; vol. 4: November 14 and December 9, 1980, and passim, CLFP. (back to text)
53.CLF Medical Log, pt. 4: April 19, 1981, CLFP. (back to text)
54.Smith, In the Shadow of C. L. Franklin, 27; Michigan Chronicle, October 31, 1981; Detroit Free Press, September 7, 1981. For recollections of the split see Todd Interview, 27-28; Perry Interview, 33-35; Hall Interview, 17-19; Greenleaf Interview, 38-42; Hurley Interview, 25-27; Rodgers Interview, 16-17; Ralph Williams Interview, 33-38; King Interview, 20-22, 24-25; E. L. Branch Interview, 23-24; Penn Interview, 40; Kincaid Interview, 23-25; Corbett Interview, 28-29; EF Interview, 55-56; Malone Interview, 18-19. (back to text)
55.Detroit News, October 23, 1981; Detroit Free Press, October 31, 1981; Michigan Chronicle, October 31, 1981; Hall Interview, 17; King Interview, 21. (back to text)
56.Ralph Williams Interview, 25; New Bethel Baptist Church, Fifty-fourth Anniversary, 29; Michigan Chronicle, May 1, 1982; Detroit Free Press, March 28, 1982. On Smith’s selection see Michigan Chronicle, June 26, August 14, 21, and 28, and November 6, 1982; Smith, In the Shadow of C. L. Franklin, 1-40. (back to text)
EPILOGUE
1.New Bethel Baptist Church, In Loving Memory of Rev. Dr. Clarence LaVaughn Franklin, n.p., CLFP; City of Detroit, “Certificate of Death: Clarence LaVaughn Franklin,” CLFP. CLF died at the New Light Nursing Home in Detroit only a few days after he arrived. With the exception of a few months at another nursing home and a few short stays at the hospital, CLF had been cared for at home since he was discharged from Ford Hospital in December 1979. See Michigan Chronicle, August 4, 1984. (back to text)
2.Michigan Chronicle, August 4 and 11, 1984. (back to text)
3.New Bethel Baptist Church, In Loving Memory of Rev. Dr. Clarence LaVaughn Franklin. (back to text)
4.Michigan Chronicle, August 11, 1984; Detroit Free Press, August 5, 1984. (back to text)
5.New Bethel Baptist Church, In Loving Memory of Rev. Dr. Clarence LaVaughn Franklin; tape of funeral service (partial), CLFP. (back to text)
6.The reference to Grand Boulevard (West) is to the site of Motown Records headquarters and recording studios. (back to text)
7.Reverend Jesse Jackson, “Remarks,” tape of funeral service (partial), CLFP. For Aretha Franklin’s “Never Grow Old,” see her album Aretha’s Gospel. (back to text)
8.Michigan Chronicle, August 11, 1984; Detroit Free Press, August 5, 1984; New Bethel Baptist Church, In Loving Memory of Rev. Dr. Clarence LaVaughn Franklin. (back to text)
9.Michigan Chronicle, August 11, 1984. (back to text)
BIBLIOGRAPHY
MANUSCRIPTS
The Clarence LaVaughn Franklin Papers, which I read when they were in the family’s possession, are of singular importance for this biography. My deep appreciation to Erma Franklin and her daughter, Sabrina Garrett-Owens, for allowing me to disrupt their lives as I read them at Erma’s dining room table. Microfilm copies are now available at the Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. The following libraries, with their rich and varied collections, were especially important: Archives of Labor and Urban Affairs, Walter P. Reuther Library, Wayne State University, Detroit; the Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; the Mississippi Valley Collection, Ned R. McWherter Library, University of Memphis, Memphis; and the Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives, Nashville.
In addition to the manuscript collections listed at the beginning of the notes section, the following were invaluable in providing historical background:
Charles A. Hill Collection, Archives and Labor and Urban Affairs, Walter P. Reuther Library, Wayne State University, Detroit
Charles F. Holman Papers, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Civil Rights Congress of Michigan Collection, Archives of Labor and Urban Affairs, Walter P. Reuther Library, Wayne State University, Detroit
Charleszetta (Mother) Waddles Papers, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Executive Committee Records, Southern Baptist Convention Collection, Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archive, Nashville
Junius C. Austin Collection, Chicago Historical Society, Chicago
John Campbell Dancy Papers, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
J. Frank Norris Papers, Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives, Nashville
Leon DeMeunier Papers, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Memphis Blacks Collection, Special Collections, Mississippi Valley Collection, University of Memphis Libraries, Memphis
New Bethel Baptist Church Collection, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Norman McRae Collection, Archives of Labor and Urban Affairs, Walter P. Reuther Library, Wayne State University, Detroit
St. Paul’s Missionary Baptist Church File, Bolivar County Library, Cleveland, MS
Richard McGhee Collection, Archives of Labor and Urban Affairs, Walter P. Reuther Library, Wayne State University, Detroit
Ralph Rosenfeld Papers, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Shiloh Baptist Church [Detroit] Papers, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Walter Sillers Jr. Collection, Delta State University Archives, Cleveland, MS
INTERVIEWS
BY AUTHOR
The original tapes and transcriptions of these interviews are on deposit at the Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Bazemore, Grace. April 15, 2000, Detroit.
Bazemore, Ray. April 15, 2000, Detroit.
Billups, Edward Lee. May 15, 2003, Buffalo.
Black, Alma Hawes. November 10, 2001, Memphis.
______. December 19, 2001, telephone.
Branch, Margaret. January 28, 1999, Memphis.
Branch, Reverend E. L. April 1, 1999, Detroit.
Buck, Beatrice. April 13, 2000, Detroit.
Carbage, Julia Ann. November 10, 2001, Memphis.
Cleveland, Councilman Clyde. April 13, 2000, Detroit.
Corbett, Brenda. December 5, 1998, Southfield, MI.
______. August 9, 2000, telephone.
Donelson, Ernest. November 10, 2001, Memphis.
Featherstone, Arthur. November 2, 2000, Detroit.
Franklin, Erma. January 17, 1998, Detroit.
______. August 9, 2000, telephone.
______. August 11, 2000, telephone.
______. November 9, 2001, telephone.
Franklin, Vaughn. March 13, 1999, Mobile, AL.
Fraser, Douglas. June 2, 1999, Detroit.
Greenleaf, Beverli. June 4, 1999, Detroit.
Gregory, Dr. Karl. April 12, 2000, Detroit.
Hall, Milton. October 8, 1998, Detroit.
Henry, Reverend Milton. April 14, 2000, Southfield, MI.
Hentoff, Nat. April 1, 2000, telephone.
Hill, Mary. May 15, 2003, Buffalo.
Holley, Reverend James. June 17, 1998, Detroit.
Hooks, Reverend Benjamin L. January 30, 1999, Memphis.
Hubbard, Nattie. November 10, 2001, Memphis.
Hurley, Hulah Gene. April 14, 2000, Detroit.
James, Reverend Ivory. February 1, 1999, Shaw, MS.
Jenkins, Cneri. March 31, 1999, Detroit.
Johnson, Arthur. April 13, 2000, Detroit.
Jones, Reverend S. L. October 9, 1998, Detroit.
Kelley, Carl Ellan. October 1, 2000, telephone.
Kimble, Reverend J
. M. February 2, 1999, Indianola, MS.
Kincaid, Harry. April 1, 1999, Detroit.
King, Carolyn. June 16, 1998, Detroit.
Kirby, Reverend Jerome. April 14, 2000, Detroit.
Kyles, Reverend Samuel Billy. February 4, 1999, Memphis.
Lafayette, Reverend Bernard. January 14, 1999, Nashville.
Lewis, Congressman John. February 3, 2000, Ithaca, NY.
Malone, Wallace. December 3, 1998, Detroit.
Matthews, Reverend David. February 2, 1999, Indianola, MS.
McCoy, Robbie. June 16, 1998, Southfield, MI.
Moore, Lizzie. November 10, 2001, Memphis.
Moore, Reverend B. T., Sr. February 3, 1999, Cleveland, MS.
Moore, Reverend Mary. September 11, 2001, telephone.
______. November 10, 2001, Memphis.
Moore, Ronald. November 10, 2001, Memphis.
Moseley, Willie Mae. November 10, 2001, Memphis.
Myles, Cleo. February 3, 1999, Cleveland, MS.
Penn, Sylvia. March 31, 1999, Detroit.
Perkins, Myra. December 4, 1998, Detroit.
Perry, Hinken. December 4, 1998, Detroit.
Rodgers, Patricia. December 3, 1998, Detroit.
Rogers, Catherine Hawes. November 10, 2001, Memphis.
Siggers, Semial. November 18, 2000, telephone.
Stephens, Yvonne. April 12, 2000, Detroit.
Stepp, Marc. June 2, 1999, Detroit.
______. April 12, 2000, Detroit.
Taylor, Reverend Gardner C. May 13, 1999, telephone.
Thompson, Charlie. June 3, 1999, Detroit.
Todd, Willie. October 8, 1998, Detroit.
Williams, Reverend Jasper, Jr. March 12, 1999, Atlanta.
Williams, Ralph. June 4, 1999, Detroit.
Young, Dr. Claud. April 3, 1999, Detroit.
BY OTHERS
Jeff Todd Titon
Franklin, Rachel. November 13, 1977, Detroit. (Transcript in possession of author.)
Franklin, Reverend Clarence LaVaughn. October 5, 7, 12, 14, and 21 and November 1, 2, 8, 15, and 30, 1977; May 3, 10, and 17, 1978, Detroit. (Transcript in possession of author.)