Tuesday, December 26, 2023
What do you say when you find out four years after the passing of a 20th century John Brown,one who walked the walk but never claimed to be any more than being just a man walking by faith.
When Dewey accepted the pastorship of the East Cleveland Peoples Church and I met him two years had passed with him in the pulpit.
As an outreach church of the United Church of Christ with a small older dying white church congregation Dewey took the church with a small middle class black membership with a lot of help from the people like Milton Willis,Florance Gordon,Ron Lucas, Tony Oxtrix,Rev. Sweet Donnie Sharp,Horace, Bruce,Sibim,Mother Helen Gordon and others time has made me forget they took the church to the streets of East Cleveland fighting for the oppressed of Ohio.
Dewey could have thrown up his hands and ran.
He did not. He stood with us at the ST. Louis General Senate when "the blacks " united and blocked Chief Buthelezi then apologist for apartheid South Africa from addressing the body.
and our support for the Wilmimgton Ten,Dewey walked with the "Peoples Church" every step of the way when he was not paid because the heat was off , or other more pressing emergencies. Dewey was according to Milton Willis the only white preacher in America who knew how to "bust" a food stamp". I very much missed our deep and meaningful conversations about American past and then and were always hopeful for the future.
Thank you Carlotta Williams for reaching out and bring the passing of Dewey to my attention.
To the family thank you for sharing Dewey with me I was not worthy
