Charles D. Martin (minister) explained

Charles Douglas Martin
Birth Date:	7 November 1873
Birth Place:	St. Kitts, British West Indies
Death Place:	Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, New York
Occupation:	Minister in the Moravian Church

The Reverend Dr. Charles Douglas (C.D.) Martin^{[1] [2]} (November 7, 1873 — March 1942) was a West Indian Moravian minister. He was born in St. Kitts, British West Indies to parents Joseph and Adriana Martin. He founded the Fourth Moravian Church in Harlem, New York in 1903. It was located at 124 West 136th Street, Manhattan. He called the church "Beth-Tphillah" which is Hebrew for House of Prayer.^{[3] [2]} In 1912, he was ordained as the first and only Black minister of the Moravian Church in the United States.^[4] He presided over the church from July 1908 until his death in March 1942.^[2]

Negro Silent Protest Parade

Martin was active in, and an activist for, the black community that his church served. In 1917, for the NAACP's historic Negro Silent Protest Parade, he worked with the Reverend Hutchens C. Bishop as Secretary and President, respectively.^[5] The gathering of thousands of Negroes, marching in silent protest, on a hot July day,^[6] made national news^[7] and set the model for other protests to follow.^{[8] [9] [10]}

Martin penned the call to action encouraging "people of African descent" to join for the parade.^[5] During the parade, Black Boy Scouts passed out flyers to onlookers,^[11] white and black alike.^[6] In the wake of recent atrocities such as occurred in Waco, Memphis, East St. Louis and with the U.S. occupation in Haiti in mind, he wrote in part, describing "Why We March":^[5]

See also

• Civil rights movement

Notes and References

1. Web site: He is Worthy: Sermon Delivered by Rev. Charles D. Martin at Beth-Tphillah Moravian Church, 126 W. 136th St., New York, N. Y., Sunday Evening, March 9, 1919, on the Occasion of the Memorial Service for the Late Rt. Rev. Morris W. Leibert. Published by Special Request. 2017-07-30 . Martin . Charles Douglass . 1919 .
2. Web site: United Moravian Official Website About Page . 2017-07-30.
3. Web site: Home Page for Beth-Tefillah, a Jewish organization in Arizona, USA .
4. Web site: Treasure Room : Martin Collection. NCCU Libraries / James E. Shepard Memorial Library. North Carolina Central University. 30 July 2017. 31 July 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170731065921/http://web.nccu.edu/shepardlibrary/resources/martin-collection.html. dead.
5. Web site: The NEGRO SILENT PROTEST PARADE organized by the NAACP Fifth Ave., New York City July 28, 1917 . 2014 . National Humanities Center, Research Triangle Park, NC . National Humanities Center . July 28, 2017.
6. Web site: Nearly Ten Thousand Take Part In Big Silent Protest Parade Down Fifth Avenue. Walton. Lester A.. Aug 2, 1917. New York Age. July 28, 2017. Newspapers.com.
7. Web site: NEGROES IN PROTEST MARCH IN FIFTH AV.; 8,000 Men, Women, and Children Demand That Discrimination and Oppression End. TELL WOES ON BANNERS Parade in Silence While Thousands of Their Race Look On with Never a Cheer. . July 29, 1917 . The New York Times . July 28, 2017.
8. Book: Adams, Betty Livingston. Black Women's Christian Activism: Seeking Social Justice in a Northern Suburb. NYU Press. 2016. 9781479880324. New York. 86. subscription . Project MUSE.
9. Web site: Thousands Stage Silent March on Capitol : Civil Rights Gathering Protests Recent Supreme Court Decisions . Los Angeles Times . 1989-08-27 . 2017-07-28.
10. News: Activists marking 100th anniversary of NAACP's silent parade see scary parallels. Lartey. Jamiles. 2017-07-29. The Guardian. 2017-07-29. en-GB. 0261-3077.
11. Book: Colbert, Soyica Diggs. Black Movements: Performance and Cultural Politics. Rutgers University Press. 2017. 9780813588544. New Brunswick. 145–146. subscription . Project MUSE.