Father Divine, the charismatic leader of the International Peace Mission, couldn’t stand to see his followers suffer.
Not only were his admirers being crushed by the abject poverty characteristic of the Great Depression era, but his Black admirers feared lynching and other forms of racial prosecution. Something had to be done.
He pulled resources together from his many business and charitable ventures to host large banquets.
While part of his goal was to feed the hungry and convert attendants to adopt his faith, he asked something more urgent of his guests from the jump.
Attendants of all walks of life were encouraged to sign Father Divine’s anti-lynching petitions that brought awareness to the underreported issue.
With a quarter of a MILLION signatures, his banquets proved to be an effective activism tool for one of the most pertinent social issues of his day.
Father Divine’s work reminds us that our personal sphere of influence can have an impact on progress for the greater community!