Clarence Henry Cobbs (February 29, 1908 – June 28, 1979) was an African-American

spiritualist Spiritualism is the metaphysical school of thought opposing physicalism and also is the category of all spiritual beliefs/views (in monism and dualism) from ancient to modern. In the long nineteenth century, Spiritualism (when not lowercase) ...

clergyman and broadcaster, the leader of the

First Church of Deliverance First Church of Deliverance is a landmark Spiritual church located at 4315 South Wabash Avenue in Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. First Church of Deliverance was founded by Reverend Clarence H. Cobbs on May 8, 1929. The church began wit ...

in Chicago.

Early life

Clarence H. Cobbs was born in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the County seat, seat of Shelby County, Tennessee, Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 Uni ...

on February 29, 1908. He attended Kortrecht High School, where his teachers included hymnwriter

Lucie Campbell Lucie Eddie Campbell (Lucie Eddie Campbell-Williams; April 30, 1885 – January 3, 1963) was an American composer and singer of hymns, as well as an educator and advocate for social justice. Background Lucie Eddie Campbell, the youngest of ni ...

. He moved to Chicago in 1916, becoming a member of the

Pilgrim Baptist Church Pilgrim Baptist Church is a historic church located on the south side of Chicago, Illinois, USA. The landmarked building was originally constructed for a synagogue, Kehilath Anshe Ma'arav. The church is notable both as an architectural landmar ...

. In the late 1920s, he met and was influenced by

medium "Mother" Della Hedgepath.

The First Church of Deliverance

After Hedgepath's death, Cobbs founded his own congregation, the

. It initially met at his mother's residence, and moved to a storefront at 4155 South

State Street State Street may refer to: Streets and locations *State Street (Chicago), Illinois * State Street (Portland, Maine) *State Street (Boston), Massachusetts *State Street (Ann Arbor), Michigan * State Street (Albany), New York *State Street (Manhatta ...

in May 1929. It moved again in 1930, to 4633 South State Street, and to a brick building at 4315 South Wabash Avenue in 1933. Nicknamed "Preacher", Cobbs became known for his fashionable clothes, informal manner, and stirring performances with the church's 200-member choir. They appeared before large crowds in

Comiskey Park Comiskey Park was a baseball park in Chicago, Illinois, located in the Armour Square neighborhood on the near-southwest side of the city. The stadium served as the home of the Chicago White Sox of the American League from 1910 Chicago White Sox s ...

, and began broadcasting services on radio station

WSBC WSBC (1240 AM) is a radio station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, which broadcasts brokered programming. It is owned by Newsweb Corporation. History WSBC began broadcasting in 1925 and originally broadcast at 1430 kHz. In 1939, the church moved into a large new building designed by

Walter T. Bailey Walter Thomas Bailey (January 11, 1882 – February 21, 1941) was an American architect from Kewanee, Illinois. He was the first African American graduate with a bachelor of science degree in architectural engineering from the University of Illin ...

at its Wabash Avenue site, and that same year, composer Kenneth Morris prevailed on Cobbs to install a

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs ...

, giving the choir's music a distinctive sound. Morris recalled, By the early 1940s, the congregation had over 9,000 members. It affiliated with the Metropolitan Spiritual Churches of Christ (MSCC), and after the death of Bishop William F. Taylor in 1945, Cobbs became the head of one of two successor segments, the Metropolitan Spiritual Churches of Christ, Incorporated. This would grow to include 130 churches, including ones in Ghana, Jamaica, and Liberia. In 1953, the Church of Deliverance became the first black church in the country to televise its services, which were carried on

WLS-TV WLS-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, airing programming from the ABC network. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, the station maintains studios on North Stat ...

for 12 weeks.

Personal life

Though he never publicly discussed his orientation, it was rumored among churchgoers and Bronzeville residents that Cobbs was homosexual. The First Church of Deliverance became known as a welcoming place for gay black Chicagoans, and Cobbs made no effort to hide annual vacations he took with his male secretary R. Edward Bolden. When articles in ''

The Chicago Defender ''The Chicago Defender'' is a Chicago-based online African-American newspaper. It was founded in 1905 by Robert S. Abbott and was once considered the "most important" newspaper of its kind. Abbott's newspaper reported and campaigned against Jim ...

'' indicated that he was "facing the possibility of questioning by state's attorney's police concerning widespread rumors of a scandalous nature", Cobbs stated that he was a "full man", and filed a

defamation Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defi ...

suit against the paper. Cobbs was a member of the executive committee of the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...

's Chicago chapter. During racial tensions around

fair housing Housing discrimination in the United States refers to the historical and current barriers, policies, and biases that prevent equitable access to housing. Housing discrimination became more pronounced after the abolition of slavery in 1865, typic ...

protests, he invited civil rights leader

Archibald Carey Archibald Carey or Cary may refer to: * Archibald Carey Jr. (1908–1981), African-American politician * Archibald Cary (1721–1787), colonial-era Virginia politician See also * Archibald Cary Coolidge Archibald Cary Coolidge (March 6, 1866 � ...

to speak on his radio program to counsel against violence and promote acceptance. Clarence H. Cobbs died at his home in Chicago on June 28, 1979. He is interred in

Oak Woods Cemetery Oak Woods Cemetery is a large lawn cemetery in Chicago, Illinois. Located at 1035 E. 67th Street, in the Greater Grand Crossing area of Chicago's South Side. Established on February 12, 1853, it covers . Oak Woods is the final resting place of ...

Legacy

The First Church of Deliverance published music for gospel composers such as Dave Carl Weston.

Doris Akers Doris Mae Akers (May 21, 1923 – July 26, 1995) was a biracial African-American gospel music composer, arranger and singer who is considered to be "one of the most underrated gospel composers of the 20th century howrote more than 500 songs". K ...

credited one of Cobbs' radio sermons for inspiring her 1951 song "My Expectation", and songwriters Thurston G. Frazier and Cora Martin also dedicated works to him. Cobbs supported singer

Billy Williams Billy Leo Williams (born June 15, 1938) is a former left fielder and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played from 1959 to 1976, almost entirely for the Chicago Cubs. A six-time All-Star, Williams was named the 1961 National League (NL) ...

in the years before the latter's death in 1972, and paid for his funeral services and burial. Cobbs' hour-long radio broadcasts pioneered a format which was followed by many subsequent religious programs. The First Church of Deliverance building was designated a Chicago Landmark on October 5, 1994.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cobbs, Clarence H. 1908 births 1979 deaths African-American Christian clergy American spiritualists African-American LGBT people American LGBT broadcasters Radio personalities from Memphis, Tennessee Radio personalities from Chicago LGBT people from Tennessee LGBT people from Illinois LGBT Christian clergy Burials in Illinois 20th-century African-American people 20th-century American LGBT people