DID YA KNOW… First UU History
APRIL DID YA KNOW… More History on Pitkin and DuBois
John Budd Pitkin was called as the first settled minister for the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Richmond, Virginia in 1830. Rev. Pitkin was born in the village of Great Barrington, Massachusetts January 24, 1803, to Merwin Pitkin and Maria Budd Pitkin.
William Edward Burghardt Du Bois was born, a free African American, in the village of Great Barrington, Massachusetts February 23, 1868. W. E B. Du Bois became known as a sociologist historian, author, editor, and activist for the first half of the 20th century.
Both grew up in a fatherless home, raised by their mothers with the assistance of grandparents. Both were recognized as above average students with exceptional abilities. Both attended the First Congregationalist Church of Great Barrington but it is here that the common path of John Budd Pitkin and W. E. B. Du Bois separates.
John descended from the 14th century Pitcairnes of Warwood Castle, Northumberland, England. William’s mixed heritage descended through Dutch, African and English ancestors on their path to freedom.
John was encouraged by his religious leader, a Rev. Wheeler, to accept excessive leadership responsibilities for his age. He attended four different academies over short periods of time but in each instance he was required to return home, suffering from exhaustion and his ever present symptoms of consumption. A sense of failure created by his inability to formally graduate and his struggle to define his religious beliefs may have been the cause of his erratic acts that led to censure by the church leadership. John was deeply wounded by what he believed to be an injustice and left Great Barrington to take a teaching position in Maryland.
It was in Baltimore that John met Rev. Otis Skinner and was introduced to the tenants of Universalism. Rev. Skinner led him into its ministry in Richmond where he found acceptance and was shown appreciation for his leadership and dedication to his congregation.
In 1835, Rev. Pitkin died from the chronic lung disorder that had been his lifetime plague. He was not yet 33 years old.
William was part of a racial minority in the village and attended the small integrated public school. His scholastic ability was recognized and encouraged in Great Barrington.
When he was old enough to attend college, members of the First Congregational Church provided assistance toward his tuition. He went on to graduate from three great institutions of learning: Fisk University, Harvard University and the University of Berlin. His accomplishments in the academic field and civil rights gained notable recognition: Author, Professor, Founder of the Niagara Movement, Social Activist, Research Director for the NAACP and editor of its magazine, The Crisis.
First UU research into Du Bois’ religious background revealed him to be a pragmatic religious naturalist. Author Jonathon S. Kahn, in his book “Divine Discontent, the Religious Imagination of Du Bois,” compares his anti-metaphysical viewpoint in the sphere of religious naturalism as typified by William James, George Santayana and John Dewey. In “W.E.B. Du Bois, American Prophet,” author Edward J. Blum writes, “W.E.B. Du Bois is shown to be thoughtful and creative on topics of religion, to possess a religious ingenuity rarely recognized. But he is not, in the comparative historical sense, religious. He was a church reformer who rarely attended church. He was priest with no church, a prophet who presented his works as history, sociology and fiction.”
By 1961, Du Bois had become completely disillusioned with the lack of progress in the United States and chose exile in Accra, Ghana, where he died in 1963 at the age 95.
The sixty-five years that separated their births encompassed major paradigm changes in scientific and industrial development as well as social and religious thought, all of which affected how these men perceived life and were regarded by the world they lived in.
DID YA KNOW… The start of Unitarianism in Richmond
From their founding in 1830, the church membership had been able to rely on Rev. Dods’ leadership and fundraising capacity. He had left an organized group of lay-leaders installed for his recommended successor. John Budd Pitkin stepped into his ministerial position with confidence, leading the congregation for two years prior to his ordination and the dedication of the First Independent Christian Church of Richmond, in January 1833.
Under normal economic conditions, many religious institutions were plagued with financial issues, often resulting from delinquent cash pledges. However, their routine local shortages evolved into a national crisis when President Jackson accused U.S. Bank executives of major abuses and withdrew all of the public funds from the national bank. Citizens, with deposits in the Richmond branch of the national bank, believed that it was on the verge of failure and they joined the rush to withdraw their money, adding to a serious finical panic that began near the end of 1833 and continued through 1834.
By May of 1834, the very survival of the church was under threat for lack of resources to pay their bills. Lay-leaders formed a committee and scheduled a meeting to explore their options. Dr. Robert Briggs was appointed Chairman and Capt. Blair Bolling served as Secretary. The committee agreed upon a resolution to sell the church to its members; shares in the church property were to be offered for sale for the explicate purpose of resolving their financial deficit. Their attorney, Joseph Mayo, was provided with the necessary details to draw up a Deed of Conveyance of the Property to the Subscribers for shares of stock ownership of church property. This venture resulted in enough capital to pay their current bills and avoid closure of the church.
-excerpts from First UU historical archives
DID YA KNOW… Unitarians restarted the Richmond Public Forum
In the 1960s, the city’s second forum, again named the Richmond Public Forum, was the re-creation of the First Unitarian Church’s adult education committee. It grew out of the church discussion groups. The new forum committee borrowed $500 in startup funds from the church.
The group recalled that it began one August afternoon in the basement of the Unitarian church. A group of church members gathered to create a gift we could give to the community. Someone suggested restarting the Richmond Public Forum that had died some years ago.
Some Unitarians talked about their desire to bring back the new Richmond Forum in February of 1963; and the mission for the Forum, later, informed the citizenry for a working democracy. The list of speakers for the new Richmond Public Forum included NBC-TV News Commentator Chet Huntley, writer Gordon Hall and Norman Cousins. Chet Huntley reportedly spoke about racism and politics. Today, the Richmond Forum still presents powerful voices so Richmond can learn from national speakers by elevating public discourse throughout the Richmond region.
-excerpts from 2015 Ray McAllister’s The Forum Files and The Richmond Forum