Reverend C.L. Franklin

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Reverend C.L. Franklin

In the past year I have been learning about Reverend C.L. Franklin, the more amazed I am of his greatness. This man has influenced me greatly, and I can say we do not see the type of pastors like him a lot anymore.

Reverend C.L. Franklin

I never knew that the great C.L. Franklin died on my birthday 7-27, that amazes me.

He died exactly one year before I was born, however his legacy is alive today!

God bless,

Walt

Reverend C.L. Franklin

Reviews of Reverend C.L. Franklin

C.L. Franklin was a prophet. C.L. Franklin was rare, not just unique; famous because he was well known, but great because of his service. C.L. Franklin, the most imitated soul preacher in history, a combination of soul and science and substance and sweetness.

--Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, from the Foreword.

Few black preachers have been better known than the reverend C.L. Franklin; none has been considered a better preacher. This collection of twenty of Franklin's best sermons shows the development of his style. A learned man, Franklin had attended both seminary and college, yet in his sermons he used the old-fashioned, extemporaneous style of preaching, "whooping" or chanting, combining oratory and intoned poetry to reach both head and heart.

Dozens of Franklin's sermons were released on record albums, and he went on preaching tours with gospel groups that included his daughter, Aretha, reaching virtually every corner of the United States.

This volume begins with Franklin's life history, told in his own words. In an afterword, Jeff Titon reviews the African-American sermon tradition and Franklin's place in it.

From Give Me This Mountain

We are black, not because we are cursed, for blackness is not a curse; it is a curse only if you think so, and you know, it's nit really a curse then; it's just the way you think. Blackness, so far as God is concerned, so far as truth is concerned, is just the same as whiteness; for God has all kinds of colors in his world, in his universe, and he has not condemned any color. All colors are beautiful in the sight of God. The only reason why you entertain a thought like that is because you have been culturally conditioned by white people to think that way, and they conditioned you that way because they used this as a means to an end, to give you a feeling of inferiority, and to then take advantage of you, socially, economically, and politically.

Source: Jeff Todd Titon, ed. Give Me This Mountain: Life History and Selected Sermons (1989)

* * * * *

Clarence Vaughn Franklin (C.L.Franklin)--born 1915 in a Mississippi sharecropper family--became a nationally known and respected Baptist minister of Detroit, Michigan. He was known as the "man with the golden voice," not only for his singing, but also for his command of the classical style of Negro preaching. His parents were Rachel and Henry Franklin.

Precocious, he was Baptized at ten and at sixteen nominated for ordination and then accepted as an associated pastor of St. Peter's Rock Baptist Church in Cleveland Mississippi.

He later served as pastor in Memphis at New Salem Baptist Church and then at Friendship Baptist Church in Buffalo, NY. he then settled down for 33 years at New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit.

C.L. Franklin married Barbara Siggers, a church pianist, and had five children: Erma, Cecil, Aretha and Carolyn, as well as half-brother Vaughn. At Bethel, Franklin started a food ministry for those who could not afford sustenance for themselves or their families, offered financial and legal help for the homeless, and conducted a prison ministry.

He also became involved in politics by urging voters to go out to the polls and vote for the qualified candidates he was endorsing and was an active member in the civil rights movement.

He co-organized the 1963 "Walk Toward Freedom March" with his close friend, Martin Luther King, Jr. He was also actively involved in such organizations as the Urban League, NAACP, and on the Executive Board of the Southern Christian Leadership Council.

C.L.'s sermons were broadcast on radio nationwide under the Chess Recording Company banner. Rev. Franklin also released 76 live recordings of his sermons and music. He preached at churches all over the country and often brought his daughter, Aretha, though all the children joined CL in his road entourage at one time or another.

His life was shorten, in June 1979, when he was shot during a robbery attempt on his house in Detroit. He remained in a coma for 5 years and died on July 27, 1984. Over 10,000 people attended his funeral at New Bethel Baptist Church.

Detroit's mayor, Coleman A. Young, renamed Linwood Street as C. L. Franklin Boulevard, and renamed the park, (located 2 blocks from C. L. Franklin's house), C. L. Franklin Park.

A review of Reverend C.L. Franklin

This fiery, Detroit-based preacher has recorded an impressive number of Gospel records, including a release with his daughter Aretha. A member of Dr. Martin Luther King's inner circle, Franklin's riveting, over-the-top delivery on choir-based Traditional Gospel songs reflects the passion and dignity of the civil rights movement. Frequently backed by an army of singers, Rev. Franklin calls out for a deeper commitment to spiritual ideals with a commanding and powerful presence.

- Mike McGuirk