Charles Albert Tindley (July 7, 1851 – July 26, 1933) was an American

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

minister and

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is com ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

. His composition "I'll Overcome Someday" is credited as the basis for the U.S.

Civil Rights anthem Freedom songs were songs which were sung by participants in the civil rights movement. They are also called "civil rights anthems" or, in the case of songs which are more hymn-like, they are called "civil rights hymns." Freedom songs were an impo ...

We Shall Overcome "We Shall Overcome" is a gospel song which became a protest song and a key anthem of the American civil rights movement. The song is most commonly attributed as being lyrically descended from "I'll Overcome Some Day", a hymn by Charles Albert Ti ...

". Another of his hymns is " (Take Your Burden to the Lord and) Leave It There" (1916), as well as "

What Are They Doing in Heaven? "What Are They Doing in Heaven?" is a Christian hymn written in 1901 by American Methodist minister Charles Albert Tindley. , it has become popular enough to have been included in 16 hymnals. The song has sometimes been recorded under the tit ...

" (1901). Often referred to as "The Prince of Preachers", he educated himself, became a minister and founded one of the largest Methodist congregations serving the

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

community on the East Coast of the United States.

Early life and education

Although Tindley was a free man prior to the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, he had a deep and intimate understanding of the system of

slavery in the United States The legal institution of human chattel slavery, comprising the enslavement primarily of Africans and African Americans, was prevalent in the United States of America from its founding in 1776 until 1865, predominantly in the South. Sl ...

because his father was an enslaved man and because he, himself, had grown up around other enslaved people. Tindley's status was based on antebellum slavery codes which determined that he was a free man because his mother was a free woman. After the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, he moved to Philadelphia, where he found employment as a

hod carrier A brick hod is a three-sided box for carrying bricks or other building materials, often mortar. It bears a long handle and is carried over the shoulder. A hod is usually long enough to accept 4 bricks on their side. However, by arranging the br ...

(brick carrier). He and his wife Daisy attended the Bainbridge St. Methodist Episcopal Church. Charles later became the sexton, a job with no salary. Never able to attend school, Tindley learned to read by sitting by fire light and sounding out letters and eventually words from pieces of paper with writing that he found. He mastered reading so well that later he enlisted the help of a Philadelphia synagogue on North Broad St. to learn Hebrew. He later learned Greek by taking a correspondence course through the Boston Theological School.

Church

Without any degree, Tindley was qualified for ordination in the Methodist Episcopal Church by examination, with high ranking scores. He was ordained as a Deacon in the Delaware Conference in 1887 and as an elder in 1889. As was the practice of the ME church, Tindley was assigned by his bishop to serve as an itinerant pastor staying a relatively short time at each charge: 1885 to

Cape May, New Jersey Cape May is a city located at the southern tip of Cape May Peninsula in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States, where the Delaware Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of the country's oldest vacation resort destinations, and part of th ...

; 1887 to South

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

; 1889 to

Odessa, Delaware Odessa is a town in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. The population was 364 at the 2010 census. Founded as Cantwell's Bridge in the 18th century, the name was changed in the 19th century, after the Ukrainian port city of the same name. ...

; 1891 to Pocomoke, Maryland; 1894 to

Fairmount, Maryland Fairmount is a census-designated place (CDP) in Somerset County, Maryland, Somerset County, Maryland, United States. The population was 537 at the 2000 United States Census, 2000 census. It is included in the Salisbury metropolitan area, Salisbury ...

; and 1897 to

, at Ezion Methodist Church. In 1900 he became the Presiding Elder of the Wilmington District.

Tindley then became the pastor of the same church at which he had been a janitor. Under his leadership, the church grew rapidly from the 130 members it had when he arrived. In 1906 the congregation moved from Bainbridge Street to Broad and Fitzwater Streets, and was renamed East Calvary Methodist Episcopal Church. The property was purchased from the Westminster Presbyterian church and seated 900, though it was soon filled to overflowing. The congregation over time grew to a multiracial congregation of 10,000. After his death, the church was renamed "Tindley Temple". The

Tindley Temple United Methodist Church Tindley Temple United Methodist Church, also known as Tindley Temple Methodist Episcopal Church and Calvary United Methodist Church, is a historic Methodist Episcopal church located in the Southwest Center City neighborhood of Philadelphia, Penn ...

was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 2011. Tindley was acquainted with politicians and business leaders in Philadelphia, including

John Wanamaker John Wanamaker (July 11, 1838December 12, 1922) was an American merchant and religious, civic and political figure, considered by some to be a proponent of advertising and a "pioneer in marketing". He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a ...

. He worked with business leaders to assist his members in finding jobs. He also encouraged members to start their own businesses and purchase homes. The church formed the East Calvary Building and Loan Association to offer mortgages. Tindley also solicited donations from businessmen of food for the congregation's ministry of feeding the needy. Tindley objected to social events that he considered degrading, including the 1912 Cake Walk and Ball, and The Soap Box Minstrels show at the Academy of Music on Broad and Locust Streets. In 1915, Tindley and other leaders, including Rev. Wesley Graham, led protesters in a march to the Forrest Theater to protest against the showing of D. W. Griffith's film ''

The Birth of a Nation ''The Birth of a Nation'', originally called ''The Clansman'', is a 1915 American silent epic drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Lillian Gish. The screenplay is adapted from Thomas Dixon Jr.'s 1905 novel and play ''The Cla ...

''. They were attacked by whites with clubs, sticks, and bottles. Graham was hospitalized; Tindley's injuries were treated at home. Tindley was awarded a

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ran ...

degree by Bennett College and

Morgan College Morgan State University (Morgan State or MSU) is a public historically black research university in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the largest of Maryland's historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). In 1867, the university, then known a ...

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Compositions

Tindley was a noted

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

and composer of

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...

s and is recognized as one of the founding fathers of American

. Five of his hymns appear in the 1989 ''United Methodist Hymnal''. His composition "I'll Overcome Someday"I'll Overcome Someday lyrics
is credited by observers to be the basis for the U.S.

." Another of his notable hymns is " (Take Your Burden to the Lord and) Leave It There" (1916), which has been included in several

hymnal A hymnal or hymnary is a collection of hymns, usually in the form of a book, called a hymnbook (or hymn book). Hymnals are used in congregational singing. A hymnal may contain only hymn texts (normal for most hymnals for most centuries of Chri ...

s and has been recorded by numerous artists in a variety of styles. Others are " Stand by Me" (1905) and "

" (1901). Tindley published his songs beginning in 1901, and published several hymn collections, including ''Soul Echoes'' in 1905 (enlarged edition "''No. 2''", 1909) and a series beginning with ''New Songs Of Paradise!'' in 1916. A posthumous ''New Songs of Paradise, No. 6'' in 1941 was the first collection to bring together all 46 of Tindley's published hymns, though in some cases stanzas that had previously been published were left out. ''Beams of Heaven: Hymns of Charles Albert Tindley (1851-1933)'' (2006) restores the full original complement of verses. He died on July 26, 1933, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and is interred at Eden Cemetery in

Collingdale, Pennsylvania Collingdale is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The population was 8,908, at the 2020 census. Local governance Donna Matteo-Spadea is the current mayor of Collingdale. Frank Kelly served twelve consecutive four-year terms as Mayor of ...

In popular media

Tindley is the subject of a children's picture book by poet

Carole Boston Weatherford Carole Boston Weatherford is an African-American author and critic, now living in North Carolina, United States. She is the winner of the 2022 Coretta Scott King Award for ''Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre.'' She writes children's literatur ...

and artist

Bryan Collier Bryan Collier (born 1967) is an American writer and illustrator known best for illustrating children's books. He won both the Coretta Scott King Award, as illustrator, and the Ezra Jack Keats New Illustrator Award for ''Uptown'' (Holt, 2000), the ...

.Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2020

References

External links