Father John Edwin Culmer (May 22, 1891 – June 18, 1963) was a Bahamian-born American
minister and leader during the
civil rights movement, most notable for his work in
Miami
Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
.
Early life
Culmer was born on May 22, 1891. He attended
Oskaloosa College, where he received a
B.A.
A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...
in music. He received a bachelor of divinity degree from Bishop Payne Divinity School. He has also received honorary doctorates from
Bethune-Cookman College and the
Virginia Theological Seminary
Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS), formally the Protestant Episcopal Theological Seminary in Virginia, is an Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal seminary in Alexandria, Virginia. It is the largest and second-oldest such accredited se ...
.
Career
After leading a ministry in
Tampa
Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...
, in 1929, Culmer was transferred to the
Saint Agnes
Agnes of Rome (21 January 304) is a virgin martyr, venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church, Oriental Orthodox Churches, Oriental Orthodox Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church, as well as the Anglican Communion and Lutheranism, Lutheran Chu ...
Church in Miami. At the church, Father Culmer helped the poorly established church become one of the most acclaimed congregations in the
American South
The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is census regions United States Census Bureau. It is between the Atlantic Ocean and the ...
.
During his tenure as minister, he served on the
Dade County Senior Citizens Board, and headed Miami's Peaceful Integration committee. Culmer also was chairman of the Fact-Finding Committee of the
Greater Miami Negro Civic League, where he brought national attention to the deplorable housing and sanitation conditions of
African Americans
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa ...
in Miami; this led to the building of the
Liberty Square housing project, which opened in 1937.
Death and legacy
Culmer died on June 18, 1963. The
Culmer Metrorail
METRORail is the light rail system in Houston, Texas (United States). In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of . METRORail ranks as the second most-traveled light rail system in the Southern United States and the List ...
station is named in his honor.
Further reading
*''Twelve Black Floridians'' by Leedell W. Neyland (1970)
References
Biography of John Culmer from The Archives of the Episcopal Church2008. The Archives of the Episcopal Church DFMS/PECUSA. Retrieved December 3, 2015
{{DEFAULTSORT:Culmer, John
1891 births
1963 deaths
20th-century American Christian clergy
Bahamian emigrants to the United States
History of Miami
Oskaloosa College alumni
People from Eleuthera