Reverend Vernon Nathaniel Dobson (October 29, 1923 – January 26, 2013) was a Baptist minister and civil rights activist in

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 ...

Early years

Vernon Dobson, the son of Rev. Spencer Dobson and Mrs. Estelle Cook Dobson, was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. He attended Booker T. Washington Middle School and graduated from Frederick Douglass Senior High School in 1941. He attended

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commissi ...

and earned a

Bachelor of Divinity In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity or Baccalaureate in Divinity (BD or BDiv; la, Baccalaureus Divinitatis) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology ...

degree. He also studied at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

. He had four brothers—Rev. Harold Dobson, Spencer G. Dobson, Jr., Irvin Dobson, and David C. Dobson—and one sister, Anne Dobson. Rev. Vernon Dobson was married to his wife, Napoleon B. Dobson, for over 60 years. They have six children together.

Ministry

In 1958 Dobson was named assistant pastor of Union Baptist Church in Baltimore. He became the pastor of Union Baptist Church in 1963, and served in that role for 39 years. His predecessor, Rev. Harvey Johnson, was present at the founding of the

Niagara Movement The Niagara Movement (NM) was a black civil rights organization founded in 1905 by a group of activists—many of whom were among the vanguard of African-American lawyers in the United States—led by W. E. B. Du Bois and William Monroe Trotter. ...

and of the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...

. Dobson was twice elected the president of the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance in Baltimore.

Civil Rights activism

In 1963 Dobson was one of the many community activists who attempted to integrate

Gwynn Oak Amusement Park Gwynn Oak Park is a park that was the site of a privately owned amusement park, located in the community of Gwynn Oak, just outside northwest Baltimore, Maryland, in Baltimore County. The park is at the corner of Gwynn Oak and Gwyndale avenues ...

. In 1998, ''

The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries. Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by Tr ...

'' published for the first time the names of all the people arrested during the protests, and Dobson's name was found on the list. Their demonstration against the park was organized by the

Congress of Racial Equality The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) is an African Americans, African-American civil rights organization in the United States that played a pivotal role for African Americans in the civil rights movement. Founded in 1942, its stated mission ...

. Dobson was a member of the self-titled "Goon Squad," a group of Baltimore-based ministers and lawyers who advocated for civil rights. In 1967 they sought the reinstatement of Joseph C. Howard Sr., a prosecutor who had exposed Baltimore's unequal treatment of rape victims based on their race. In 1968 Dobson founded the Union Baptist Church

Head Start Program Head Start is a program of the United States Department of Health and Human Services that provides comprehensive early childhood education, health, nutrition, and parent involvement services to low-income children and families. The program's s ...

. He was one of the founders of Baltimoreans United in Leadership Development (BUILD) in 1977. Reverend Dobson worked with many of the legendary civil rights activists of Baltimore, including

Walter P. Carter Walter Percival Carter (April 29, 1923 – July 31, 1971) was an activist and central figure in Baltimore, Maryland during the Civil Rights Movement. He earned that designation by organizing demonstrations against discrimination throughout Maryla ...

, Parren J. Mitchell, Rev. Marion Bascom of Douglass Memorial Community Church, Sampson "Sam" Green, Rev. Wendell H. Phillips of Heritage United Church of Christ, Chester Wickwire, and Samuel T. Daniels, Sr. of the

Prince Hall Masons Prince Hall Freemasonry is a branch of North American Freemasonry for African Americans founded by Prince Hall on September 29, 1784. There are two main branches of Prince Hall Freemasonry: the independent State Prince Hall Grand Lodges, most of ...

. Dobson's brother, Rev. Harold Dobson, was the first president of Baltimore's branch of

Opportunities Industrialization Center Opportunities Industrialization Center (usually shortened to “OIC” and doing business as OIC of America, Inc. and OIC International, Inc.) is a nonprofit adult education and job training organization headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvani ...

, (OIC). OIC was founded in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

by Rev.

Leon Sullivan Leon Howard Sullivan (October 16, 1922 – April 24, 2001) was a Baptist minister, a civil rights leader and social activist focusing on the creation of job training opportunities for African Americans, a longtime General Motors Board Member, an ...

. Dobson was the co-host of ''Look At It This Way'', a community affairs television show on

WBAL-TV WBAL-TV (channel 11) is a television station in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is the flagship property of Hearst Television, which has owned the station since its inception, and is sister to the company's sole radio ...

in Baltimore. Co-hosts included Samuel Thornton Daniels, Sr. and Homer Favor.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dobson, Vernon American civil rights activists Baptist ministers from the United States 2013 deaths 1923 births