Howard Kester
Encyclopedia
Howard Kester was an American preacher
, organizer, and activist, most known for his work organizing the Southern Tenant Farmers Union
(STFU) beginning in 1934. His work was inspired by a radical version of Christianity
called the Social Gospel
, influenced by Reinhold Niebuhr
among others, and a Marxist critique of the Southern economy. A white Southerner himself, he firmly believed that the only way to create a new "Eden
" was to end racial strife by uniting poor black and whites around a common cause. His views on race began when, as a college student, he toured Poland
with the YMCA
. After visiting a Jewish ghetto
he began to see a parallel between Europe
's treatment of Jews and America's treatment of blacks. Kester worked with numerous organizations throughout his life that sought equality in the United States: NAACP, Fellowship of Reconciliation
, Fellowship of Southern Churchmen, and the Committee on Economic and Racial Justice. In 1936 he published Revolt Among the Sharecroppers on behalf of the STFU.
. His Father, a tailor, moved the family to Beckley, West Virginia
; a coal mining town. Industrial growth in Beckley intensified the gap between the working and middle class. African Americans were drawn to the area in search of work, and as a consequence the Ku Klux Klan
grew in influence, Kester's own Father joined. This environment gave Kester first hand knowledge of class and race inequality.
During the 1920s, Kester worked as a Christian activist for the [YMCA] and the [Fellowship of Reconciliation]. In the late 1920s, Kester enrolled in the divinity school of Vanderbilt University
in Nashville, Tennessee
. Under the partnership and influence of Alva Taylor, Kester and other Christian Socialists
, they formed what historian Anthony Dunbar calls a "radical gospel" that sought to improve conditions in the South, devoted to focus on the dispossessed croppers, textile and mine workers, and unemployed of the South, who were suffering from the economic collapse of the Great Depression
.
Preacher
Preacher is a term for someone who preaches sermons or gives homilies. A preacher is distinct from a theologian by focusing on the communication rather than the development of doctrine. Others see preaching and theology as being intertwined...
, organizer, and activist, most known for his work organizing the Southern Tenant Farmers Union
Southern Tenant Farmers Union
The Southern Tenant Farmers' Union was founded in 1934 as a civil farmer's union to further organize the tenant farmers in the Southern United States....
(STFU) beginning in 1934. His work was inspired by a radical version of Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
called the Social Gospel
Social Gospel
The Social Gospel movement is a Protestant Christian intellectual movement that was most prominent in the early 20th century United States and Canada...
, influenced by Reinhold Niebuhr
Reinhold Niebuhr
Karl Paul Reinhold Niebuhr was an American theologian and commentator on public affairs. Starting as a leftist minister in the 1920s indebted to theological liberalism, he shifted to the new Neo-Orthodox theology in the 1930s, explaining how the sin of pride created evil in the world...
among others, and a Marxist critique of the Southern economy. A white Southerner himself, he firmly believed that the only way to create a new "Eden
Garden of Eden
The Garden of Eden is in the Bible's Book of Genesis as being the place where the first man, Adam, and his wife, Eve, lived after they were created by God. Literally, the Bible speaks about a garden in Eden...
" was to end racial strife by uniting poor black and whites around a common cause. His views on race began when, as a college student, he toured Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
with the YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
. After visiting a Jewish ghetto
Ghetto
A ghetto is a section of a city predominantly occupied by a group who live there, especially because of social, economic, or legal issues.The term was originally used in Venice to describe the area where Jews were compelled to live. The term now refers to an overcrowded urban area often associated...
he began to see a parallel between Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
's treatment of Jews and America's treatment of blacks. Kester worked with numerous organizations throughout his life that sought equality in the United States: NAACP, Fellowship of Reconciliation
Fellowship of Reconciliation
The Fellowship of Reconciliation is the name used by a number of religious nonviolent organizations, particularly in English-speaking countries...
, Fellowship of Southern Churchmen, and the Committee on Economic and Racial Justice. In 1936 he published Revolt Among the Sharecroppers on behalf of the STFU.
Early Life and School
Howard Kester was born in 1904 and spent the first twelve years of his life living in the outskirts of Martinsville, VirginiaVirginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. His Father, a tailor, moved the family to Beckley, West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
; a coal mining town. Industrial growth in Beckley intensified the gap between the working and middle class. African Americans were drawn to the area in search of work, and as a consequence the Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
grew in influence, Kester's own Father joined. This environment gave Kester first hand knowledge of class and race inequality.
During the 1920s, Kester worked as a Christian activist for the [YMCA] and the [Fellowship of Reconciliation]. In the late 1920s, Kester enrolled in the divinity school of Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...
in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
. Under the partnership and influence of Alva Taylor, Kester and other Christian Socialists
Christian socialism
Christian socialism generally refers to those on the Christian left whose politics are both Christian and socialist and who see these two philosophies as being interrelated. This category can include Liberation theology and the doctrine of the social gospel...
, they formed what historian Anthony Dunbar calls a "radical gospel" that sought to improve conditions in the South, devoted to focus on the dispossessed croppers, textile and mine workers, and unemployed of the South, who were suffering from the economic collapse of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
.
External links
- Oral History Interviews with Howard Kester http://docsouth.unc.edu/sohp/B-0007-1/menu.html, http://docsouth.unc.edu/sohp/B-0007-2/menu.html from Oral Histories of the American South