Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

Much of the Shrine of the Black Madonna Detroit series is comprised of an alphabetical topical file drawn together from different portions of Cleage's files and other miscellaneous church files. The series dates from the early 1950's to 2005. The bulk of the material dates from late 1960's to the mid 1970's and documents the transformation of St. Mark's to the Church of the Black Madonna and the development of the Black Christian Nationalist (BCN) denomination. The BCN files includes administrative information and documentation of the denomination's spiritual underpinnings, as presented in bible study sheets and African history lessons.

From this series, Albert Cleage is shown to be deeply involved in both civil rights and the problems facing the city of Detroit. He served on numerous committees and commissions, ran for public office several times, and was deeply interested and involved with the Detroit Public School System, the United Church of Christ's Commission for Racial Justice, and the Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization.

Other important files contain Sunday bulletins from church services. These are from all time periods (with the majority being either from the 1970's or the first decade of the new millennium). There is also membership information (often including addresses and family information) from the 1950's to the 1970's.

(also records of its predecessor Central Congregational Church)

The Shrine of the Black Madonna National Office series consists of two separately maintained topical files, covering the period of 1968 to 1973 and 1977 to 1979. These files provide a glimpse into how the Shrines worked on a day-to-day basis, and how the Council of Cardinals exerted its influence over the direction of the movement on both a national and regional level, as well as on the personal lives of BCN members. This series also includes publications of the Shrines organization relating to the Black Christian Nationalist movement. In addition to programs from their annual conventions, this set of files includes policies and procedures, basic doctrinal statements, information for new members, a Bible study workbook, and history background of the church.