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The
General Secretary, Board of Trustees, staff, and entire network of the Samuel
DeWitt Proctor Conference, Inc. (SDPC) express sadness at the passing of the
Rev. Dr. Charles Gilchrist Adams, known to many as “the Harvard Hooper.” For 50
years, Dr. Adams shepherded the 10,000-member Hartford Memorial Baptist Church
in Detroit, MI, before turning leadership over to his son, Rev. Charles
Christian Adams.
SDPC
Co-founder, the Rev. Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr.,
a long-time friend of Dr. Adams, said,
“The death of a friend who had been closer than a brother for 60 years leaves a
scar on my soul that only heaven can heal.”
Rev.
Dr. Iva E. Carruthers,
general secretary of SDPC, said,
“The footprints of the Rev. Dr. Charles G. Adams are indelible in the life of
the Black Church and God’s most faithful servants. With a heart for the people,
he was a quintessential pastor, prophet, scholar, orator, activist, and
visionary. I shall always cherish his guidance and enabling support as a
founding trustee of an idea, the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference. His legacy is
forever. A mighty tree has fallen, but, by example, an eternal bridge to
faithful ministry. Rest in peace…”
As
one of the charter trustees of SDPC, Dr. Adams served from 2004 – 2015. In 2005,
he received the coveted Beautiful
Are the Feet Award,
given annually to those who have made significant contributions to activism,
scholarship, and prophetic preaching. It was in that year that the
late Dr. Gardner C. Taylor passed his own moniker, “The Dean of Preaching” on to
Dr. Adams, but to the masses who heard him preach, he will always be “the
Harvard Hooper.”
Born
in Detroit, MI, Dr. Adams attended Detroit public schools before heading to Fisk
University, the University of Michigan and finally to Harvard Divinity School.
He
was a fierce advocate for social, economic, and racial justice – as well as
human rights for all people. He
used the church to spur economic development throughout the city of Detroit. He
had seemingly unending energy, drawing people and ideas to him.
He
believed in the power and necessity of the African-American church and in making
sure the Black church was deeply embedded in the African-American community.
As
president of the NAACP in 1984, he nurtured that belief and encouraged community
involvement with the work of that organization, as well as with their
churches.
The
Honorable Rev. Wendell Griffen,
co-chair of the SDPC, said,
“Dr. Adams was a phenomenal preacher, prophetic pastor, unapologetic activist
for liberation and justice, and a courageous visionary who helped fund the
Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference. We
salute his transition to join the ancestors and extend our condolences to his
loved ones and congregation.”
“Already
we can feel the emptiness that has been left by his passing,” said Dr.
Carruthers, “but we also still feel – and will always feel – the power of his
preaching and teaching. Dr. Adams’ voice can never be silenced.”
The
entire SDPC family extends love and condolences to Dr. Adams’ family and the
Harford Memorial Baptist Church family.
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