The history of one man's work during the Great Migration to create a cultural cornerstone for Detroit's African American community.

Black churches were essential community centers that made, reshaped, and galvanized urban areas during the Great Migration. In Detroit, there was one church and one minister in particular that demonstrated this power of the pulpit-Second Baptist Church of Detroit and its nineteenth pastor, the Reverend Robert L. Bradby. In Race, Religion, and the Pulpit: Rev. Robert L. Bradby and the Making of Urban Detroit, author Julia Marie Robinson explores how Bradby's church became the catalyst for economic empowerment, community building, and the formation of an African American working class in Detroit. Robinson highlights Rev. Bradby's efforts as an activist and "race leader" by examining the role the minister played in high-profile events, such as the organizing of Detroit's NAACP chapter, the Ossian Sweet trial of the mid-1920s, the Scottsboro Boys trials in the 1930s, and the controversial rise of the United Auto Workers in Detroit in the 1940s.

About the Author
Julia Marie Robinson is an associate professor of religious studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA).

Reviews
The influence of Rev. Bradby and Detroit's Second Baptist Church is clearly outlined in Race, Religion, and the Pulpit, and Robinson brings a new perspective to the issues of twentieth-century race relations in urban Detroit. It is a historical narrative to be considered for any scholar interested in race relations and the history of urban Detroit and brings considerable attention to Detroit's Baptist influence while elucidating the life of a positive influence in the making of urban Detroit." - Robert S. Borrelli The Michigan Historical Review

"Robinson's study of the Rev. Robert L. Bradby . . . unearths valuable material useful to a range of scholarly interests." - Craig R. Prentiss Journal of American Ethnic History

"The book provides an interesting and thoughtful analysis of the challenges and responses of a black church and its pastor in the urban Midwest at a moment of dramatic economic, social, and cultural transition." - Robert Martin Middle West Review



Book Information
ISBN 9780814351437
Author Julia Marie Robinson Moore
Format Paperback
Page Count 216
Imprint Wayne State University Press
Publisher Wayne State University Press