J. Pius Barbour
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Josephus Pius Barbour | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 8, 1894 Galveston, Texas, U.S. |
| Died | January 5, 1974 (aged 79) |
| Resting place | Calvary Baptist Church, Chester, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Occupations | Pastor, executive director of the National Baptist Association, editor of the National Baptist Voice publication |
Josephus Pius Barbour (June 8, 1894 - January 5, 1974) was an American Baptist pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Chester, Pennsylvania who served as an executive director of the National Baptist Association and editor of the National Baptist Voice publication. He graduated from Crozer Theological Seminary in 1937, and later mentored a teenaged Martin Luther King Jr., when King was a student there.
Barbour was born in Galveston, Texas. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Morehouse College in 1917 and a Master of Theology degree from Crozer Theological Seminary in 1937.[1]
Career
From 1919 to 1921, Barbour was a faculty member at Tuskegee Institute. In 1921, Barbour became pastor of the Day Street Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama and served until 1931. While serving as a pastor in Montgomery, Barbour called for a gathering in response to efforts by the state to undermine black voting rights.[2] From 1931 to 1933, he was pastor of Mt. Olive Baptist Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He became pastor of the Calvary Baptist Church in Chester, Pennsylvania, in 1933 and served in that capacity until his death in 1974.[1]
Barbour was a member of the executive board of the National Baptist Convention and was the editor of its publication, the National Baptist Voice, for 17 years.[3]
Barbour was active in the local Chester civil right activism partnering with George Raymond, the president of the NAACP Chester branch. He was the chief strategist of activism for twenty years and was well respected by blacks and whites within the community for his measured and pragmatic approach.[4] He supplemented his preacher salary by working in local politics as a representative of the African-American community in Chester.[5]