Throughout its history, Indianapolis has been blessed with the presence of ministers who were dedicated to making this community and the country a better place. They achieved greatness because their dedication to that cause was manifested not merely in words, but in actions.
This week, the Recorder honors African-American clergy who not only served their congregations well, but also made history and made a difference for their community.
The Revels Brothers
Hiram Revels (1827-1901) was educated by Quakers at a seminary in Beech Grove, and became pastor of a church in Richmond. An outspoken advocate of equality, he later became the first African-American in the U.S. Senate, representing Mississippi. His older brother Willis Revels (1810-1879) served as pastor of Bethel AME Church, the oldest surviving African-American church in Indianapolis and a station on the Underground Railroad. Revels was also chief recruiting officer for the 28th Regiment U.S. Colored Troops, an African-American combat unit from Indiana that fought in the Civil War.
Rev. Angelique Walker-Smith
Walker-Smith has been a television personality, journalist, preacher and speaker, author, prison chaplain, and church executive. Since 1995 she has served as the Executive Director of The Church Federation of Greater Indianapolis, one of the oldest council of churches in the world founded, which is celebrated its hundredth anniversary this year.
She is the first African-American and first woman to serve in that position.
Walker-Smith has lived in five African countries and has worked and traveled extensively throughout Africa and the world. She has made many national television appearances and received a number of awards and national recognitions, such as being received by former President Bill Clinton at the White House, and most recently receiving the Indiana Governor’s Award for Recognition in Religion. She is a graduate of Kent State University, Yale University Divinity School and Princeton Theological Seminary.
Rev. Andrew J. Brown
Brown served as pastor of St. John’s Missionary Baptist Church from 1947 until his retirement in 1990.
He is best remembered as an influential civil rights activist and co founder of Indiana Black Expo (IBE), one of the most popular annual African-American events in the nation.
A native of Mississippi, Brown’s lifelong devotion to justice was sparked while he served in the armed forces during World War II. He became a chaplain after noticing the small number of Blacks serving in that capacity.During the 1950s and ‘60s Brown’s local civil rights efforts attracted the attention of leaders in the national civil rights movement, and he became a friend and close advisor to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rev. Ralph Abernathy.
During the 1963 mayoral election in Indianapolis, Brown organized African-Americans to show voting bloc strength. In 1965, he marched at Selma, Ala., with King, and was at the home of King’s parents the night the civil rights leader was assassinated in April 1968. The next month he was in Washington, D.C., for the Poor People’s March.
In 1969, Brown organized a march on the Indiana governor’s residence to protest state policies he felt were unfair to the poor.
The following year he joined fellow community activists James C. Cummings Jr., Willard Ransom and others in launching the first Indiana Black Expo Summer Celebration. He also hosted Operation Breadbasket, a popular weekly program on WTLC-FM that addressed community issues.
Brown died in 1996 at age 75 following a battle with Alzheimer’s disease.
Rev. Mozel Sanders
For many years Sanders was one of the city’s leading African-American ministers, and was very active in the civil rights movement and efforts to uplift those facing injustice and poverty.
Sanders, who marched alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., became senior pastor of Mount Vernon Missionary Baptist Church in 1959. During his tenure as pastor, in 1972, he started an annual Thanksgiving Day dinner, where 20 locals shared in the first meal. Before his death in 1988 at age 64, nearly 16,000 people were fed and by 2000, 24,000 Hoosiers were able to share in the free Mozel Sanders Thanksgiving Dinner.
Bishop Garfield T. Haywood
Haywood is remembered as a multi-talented person and a man of vision. He served as a pastor, evangelist, teacher, an architect, and a prolific writer of tracts, journals, books and songs.
He served as pastor of the historic Christ Temple Apostolic Church from 1908 until his death in 1931. Bishop Haywood traveled extensively, both in the United States and in foreign countries, preaching and teaching the Word of God. He owned his own printing shop and when he could not travel, the tracts traveled for him. Many of his writings were translated into various foreign languages.
He was one of the charter members and first presiding bishops of the 1.5 million member Indianapolis based Pentecostal Assemblies of the World denomination. Many of his songs such as “Jesus, the Son of God,” “I See a Crimson Stream of Blood” and “Do All in Jesus’ Name” can be found today in the Pentecostal songbook.
Rev. R.T. Andrews
One of the most influential local ministers of his time, Rev. R.T. Andrews became pastor of the historic Mt. Zion Baptist Church in 1939, after transferring from a church in Texas.
Andrews distinguished himself as a visionary Baptist leader, serving as president of the Indiana General Missionary Baptist Convention, a vice president of the National Baptist Convention USA Inc. and a board member of the Progressive National Baptist Convention Inc. (PNBC).
Andrews led Mt. Zion to erect its present cathedral-style edifice, a day care center, a 108-bed geriatric center and three senior citizen apartment complexes. Under his leadership, the church also organized its own federal credit union, a first for local African-American congregations. Andrews had served as pastor of Mt. Zion for 45 years when he died in 1984. From his resting place at Crown Hill Cemetery, can be seen Mt. Zion’s tall steeple and the boulevard containing a section that bears his name in honor.
Bishop James Cummings
Known for his charisma, eloquence and devotion to the community, Cummings served as pastor of Trinity C.M.E. Church from 1954 to 1966. The congregation experienced a tremendous surge in membership under his leadership.
During the pastorate of Cummings, Trinity established itself as one of the premier C.M.E. (Christian Methodist Episcopal) congregations in the Midwest. Innovative programs such as an “early morning” worship service for those who were unable to attend during the traditional worship hour and Dial-A-Pray, a telephone prayer line, were developed under Cummings.
Cummings, a Democrat, also served on the Indianapolis Public Schools Board, and was one of the first African-Americans elected to the Indianapolis City Council. In 1978, Cummings was elected the 40th Bishop of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1982, he died suddenly from a heart attack in Los Angeles at age 55.
Elder E. Anne Henning Byfield
An ordained elder in the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, Byfield is the first woman to be a Presiding Elder in the Fourth Episcopal District. She is the presiding elder of the North District Indiana Annual Conference (24 churches), and previously served as the presiding elder of the South District for four years.
She has the distinction of being the first AME woman minister to preach at Wesley Chapel in London, England (John’s Wesley’s Cathedral) and has been the first in many arenas. She has served as the senior pastor of three churches: Bethel AME Church in Bloomington, Robinson Community AME Church in Indianapolis, and St. Paul AME Church in Detroit.
A noted author, Byfield is also the managing partner of AHB and Associates, which is a consulting firm to help clients unleash their talents.
This article is part of the Recorder’s Black History Month series.
