C. L. Franklin
The Reverend Clarence LaVaughn Franklin (January 22, 1915 – July 27, 1984) was a highly influential African American Baptist preacher and civil rights activist. He was also the father of the legendary singer Aretha Franklin.
Background
Franklin was born and raised in Sunflower County, Mississippi and at age 16 became a preacher. He initially worked as an itinerant "circuit" preacher, before settling in Memphis, Tennessee and later moving to Buffalo, New York to serve as pastor of the Greater Friendship Baptist Church. His final destination was Detroit, Michigan where he became head of the New Bethel Baptist Church. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s his fame grew, and he preached throughout the country while maintaining his pulpit at New Bethel. Known as the man with the "Million Dollar Voice", C. L. was one of the first ministers to place his sermons on records (which continued into the 1970s), and also to broadcast sermons via radio on Sundays. He commanded high fees for his public appearances, and among his most famous sermons were "The Eagle Stirreth Her Nest" and "Dry Bones in the Valley". In addition to being a gifted preacher C. L. was known for his fine singing voice. He greatly encouraged his daughter Aretha's music talent, and by the late-1950s took Aretha with him on speaking tours and musical engagements.
In addition to his ministry, in the 1950s and 1960s as he became involved in the civil rights movement, and particularly in ending discriminatory practices against black United Auto Workers members in Detroit.
Personal life
On October 16, 1934, C. L. married his first wife, Alene Gaines, and though that marriage had certainly ended by 1936, the form of dissolution is unknown. On June 3, 1936, C. L. married Barbara Siggers Franklin and they had four children: Erma, Cecil, Aretha, and Carolyn. Barbara Siggers Franklin had a son, Vaughn (whom C. L. adopted), by a previous relationship, and in 1940 C. L. fathered a daughter, Carl Ellan Kelley, out of wedlock by a teenager in his congregation. In 1948, C. L. and Barbara separated, with Barbara taking Vaughn to Buffalo, New York and leaving C. L. with the couple's four other children. Barbara made trips back to Detroit to visit her children until her death from heart trouble in 1952.
C. L. Franklin was a friend and ally of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and was also known for his close relationships with Mahalia Jackson and Clara Ward (Clara and her singing groups frequently toured with C.L. and he and Clara had a long-term romantic relationship), two of gospel's greatest voices. Mahalia and Clara greatly encouraged his daughter, Aretha, and she credits their mentoring and frequent visits to the Franklin home as great influences.
Death
On June 10, 1979 C. L. was shot twice during what was said to be an attempted robbery at his Linwood Avenue home on Detroit's west side. He then remained in a coma for the next five years until his death on July 27, 1984. He died just one week after being placed in a Detroit nursing home. Prior to that, his children cared for him at home. His friend, Rev. Jasper Williams Jr., of Salem Baptist Church of Atlanta, Georgia, gave Franklin's eulogy.
Legacy
Archbishop LeRoy Bailey Jr. , senior pastor of The First Cathedral considers C. L . Franklin as one of his lifes major influences.
Further Reading
- Salvatore, Nick, Singing in a Strange Land: C. L. Franklin, the Black Church, and the Transformation of America, Little Brown, 2005, Hardcover ISBN: 0-316-16037-7.
- Schwerin, Jules, Got to Tell It: Mahalia Jackson, Queen of Gospel, Oxford University Press, 1992, Paperback ISBN: 0-19-509050-0.
- Interview with Nick Salvatore, author of Singing in a Strange Land: C. L. Franklin, the Black Church, and the Transformation of America, http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4527908
- Royster-Ward, Willa, How I Got Over: Clara Ward and the World-Famous Ward Singers, Temple University Press, 1997, Paperback ISBN: 1-56639-490-2.
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