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Detroit clergyman who took the name Jaramogi Abebe Agyeman, founder of the Shrine of the Black Madonna, and advocate of the program and philosophy of the Black Christian Nationalist movement. The collection has been divided into four series: Albert B. Cleage, Jr.: Correspondence, Sermons, and Writings, the files of the Shrine of the Black Madonna in Detroit, Michigan, Church Leaders, and the files of the Shrine of the Black Madonna National Office.

The collection contains correspondence, sermons, and writings of Albert B. Cleage, Jr. (his name would later be changed to Jaramogi Abebe Agyeman); records of the shrine of the Black Madonna; papers of individuals within the church who assisted Cleage; and records of the National Office of the Shrine.

The collection has been divided into seven series: Albert B. Cleage, Jr.: Correspondence, Sermons, and Writings, the files of the Shrine of the Black Madonna in Detroit, Michigan, Church Leaders, the files of the Shrine of the Black Madonna National Office, Sound Recordings, Photographs, and Miscellaneous.

Detroit African American clergyman and civil rights activist. Papers accumulated by Franklin's daughter, Erma Franklin, relating to the life and career of her father; include biographical information, transcripts of oral interviews; scattered sermons and correspondence, including letters from daughter Aretha and from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; topical files about his church and civil rights activities; and photographs

The C. L. Franklin collection is a small but significant accumulation of materials relating to the life and career of this Detroit-based clergyman. Although the collection dates from the mid-1950s, most of the materials fall within the period of 1963 to 1984. The collection is comprised of photocopies and copyprints of materials made available to the library by Erma Franklin. The importance of the collection is for the sampling of Franklin sermons that have been preserved, for the scattered documentation of the important March of Freedom that took place in Detroit in the summer of 1963, and for the copyprints made of photographs of Franklin, his family and his friends and professional associates. The collection has been arranged into five series: Biographical Information, Various Papers, Topical Files, Photographs, and Sound Recordings.

Church documents and personal papers of Dr. Frederick G. Sampson II, pastor of Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church of Detroit Mich., noted lecturer and keynote speaker, and member of various commissions and boards dedicated to human rights, community outreach, and community education.

The Frederick G. Sampson collection includes personal and church related papers that document his professional work and church activities from 1970 until his death in 2001. In addition, there is some information about the Foundation established in his name. The papers are arranged in the following series: Pastoral Career and Personal Papers.

Methodist clergyman, pastor of the Centre Methodist Church in Malden, Massachusetts, the Elm Park Methodist Church in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and Central Methodist Church in Detroit, Michigan. Correspondence, 1938-1958, subject reference file, ca. 1902-1966, name reference file, 1938-1958, sermon file, 1925-1958, scrapbooks, 1928-1958, church bulletins and newsletters from church at which Crane pastored, sound tape recordings of messages preached by Crane, and visual materials consisting of photographs and motion picture film. The Crane papers document an interest in, and activities with, various liberal and progressive organizations, and his association and friendship with other clergy and individuals with similar pacifist and activist backgrounds.

The files of clergy are often narrow in scope encompassing only the activities of an individual within the setting of his/her own church. Henry Hitt Crane was more than the pastor of Central Methodist Church in Detroit. He was a nationally known speaker, eloquent in his advocacy of pacifism and civil rights. The Crane collection reflects the scope of his activities both within the churches he pastored, within the city of Detroit as an influential church leader, and nationally within larger Methodist circles and among other advocates of liberal causes similar to his own. Through his correspondence, articles, and published messages, we see Crane as representative of that class of nationally known clergymen, respected for their opinions, champion of progressive causes, and willing participants in the often contentious debates that followed World War I on matters of morality, politics, and social justice.

The Crane papers, with some exceptions, cover the period when Henry Hitt Crane first entered the ministry during the years of World War I and continuing past his retirement, until approximately 1964. There is decidedly less material from the years before his coming to Central Methodist Church in 1938; by far the largest bulk of documents date from 1938 to 1958 when Crane pastored this metropolitan church. The exceptions to the basic span dates of 1917 to 1958 are files collected by Crane of sermons, published pamphlets, and other materials of his father and uncle, also Methodist clergymen. There are also materials that date after 1958, mainly copies of messages received from other clergy with some correspondence.

The Crane papers have been maintained in the order as created by Crane and his secretarial staff at Central Methodist Church. The series in the collection are Correspondence, Subject Reference Files, Name Files, Sermon Files, Scrapbooks, Church Bulletins and Newsletters, Visual Materials, and Retirement Files.