Research Catalog

Title

Father Divine collection, 1932-1992.

Author

Father Divine.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

1.2 lin. ft. (1 and 1/2 archival boxes, 1 printbox)

Summary

• The Father Divine Collection, 1932-1992 consists primarily of material related to the broadcasting of Father Divine's sermons and messages over two radio stations in Washington State in the 1950s and their publication in "The New Day," the organization's weekly newspaper (1936-1992).
• The collection contains the church discipline, constitution and by-laws for Father Divine's Circle Mission, 1941, as well as correspondence between Father Divine and one of his disciples in the Peace Mission Extension in Seattle, who made arrangements for broadcasting his sermons and messages on radio station KRKL. The correspondence, 1947-1961, discusses the radio scripts and spiritual matters. A significant portion of the collection is comprised of sermons and messages, 1932-1959. Some are original transcripts; others were retyped and published in "The New Day" in the 1970s-1990s. The collection also includes broadcast schedules along with openings remarks and prologues to sermons and testimonials given during Father Divine's sermons and messages on radio station KRKL, Kirkland, Washington and other broadcasts from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in the 1950s. Printed material includes booklets describing the beliefs and proper behavior expected of the membership.

Subjects

• Black author
• African Americans > Religion
• Father Divine
• Radio transcripts
• United States > Race relations > Religious aspects
• Peace Mission Movement
• Church and social problems > United States
• African American clergy

Genre/Form

Radio transcripts.

Note

• Photographs transferred to Photographs and Prints Division.
• Peace stamps transferred to Art and Artifact Division.
• Magazines transferred to General Research and Reference Division.
• Forms part of the "Father Divine Audio Collection."

Source (note)

• Ariel Rethburn

Biography (note)

• Father Divine (ca. 1876 - September 10, 1965), aka George Baker, was an African American religious leader and founder of the Peace Mission Movement. In the 1930s, the period of greatest membership, there were about 160 Peace Missions in North America and Europe, with the bulk of them located in New York. During the Depression, the largest Mission was in Harlem. The majority of Father Divine's followers in this mission were Black migrants from the South and immigrants from the Caribbean; however, in other areas of the country, such as California, white membership predominated.

Call Number

Sc MG 828

OCLC

700073600

Author

Father Divine.

Title

Father Divine collection, 1932-1992.

Local Note

Sc Audio Father Divine

Biography

Father Divine (ca. 1876 - September 10, 1965), aka George Baker, was an African American religious leader and founder of the Peace Mission Movement. In the 1930s, the period of greatest membership, there were about 160 Peace Missions in North America and Europe, with the bulk of them located in New York. During the Depression, the largest Mission was in Harlem. The majority of Father Divine's followers in this mission were Black migrants from the South and immigrants from the Caribbean; however, in other areas of the country, such as California, white membership predominated.

Connect to:

Finding Aid

Local Subject

Black author.

Research Call Number

Sc MG 828