Charles Eric Lincoln (June 23, 1924 – May 14, 2000) was an American scholar.Eric V. Copage

in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', May 17, 2000.Penne J. Laubenthal
"C. Eric Lincoln"
Encyclopedia of Alabama, June 14, 2011. He was the author of several books, including sociological works such as ''The Black Church Since Frazier'' (1974) and ''Race, Religion and the Continuing American Dilemma'' (1984), as well as fiction and poetry.

Biography

C. Eric Lincoln was born in

Athens, Alabama Athens is a city in and the county seat of Limestone County, in the U.S. state of Alabama; it is included in the Huntsville-Decatur-Albertville, AL Combined Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city is 21,897. Histo ...

, on June 23, 1924. He was abandoned by his father, then by his mother, and raised by his grandmother. He attended Trinity School in Athens, where he edited the school newspaper, the ''Campus Chronicle''.Hurt, Leslie
"Lincoln, Charles Eric (1924-2000)"
BlackPast.org. At the age of 13, he picked cotton to support his family and to buy books for his studies. He graduated a

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the highest-performing student of a graduating class of an academic institution. The valedictorian is commonly determined by a numerical formula, generally an academic institution's grade point average (GPA ...

from high school. After studying and working in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, he served in the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

from 1943 to 1945. He received a BA in sociology and philosophy from LeMoyne-Owen College in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

, in 1947. In 1954, he received an MA from Fisk University in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

. In 1956, he received a Bachelor of Divinity from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

, and in 1957 he was ordained as a

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 ...

minister. He went on to earn a master's degree in education, and in 1960 he received a PhD in Social Ethics from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

. He started his career as a sales representative for

Pepsi Cola Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961. History Pepsi was ...

, then was a manager for a Memphis nightclub, and a road manager for the

Birmingham Black Barons The Birmingham Black Barons were a Negro league baseball team that played from 1920 until 1960. They shared their home field of Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama, with the white Birmingham Barons, usually drawing larger crowds and equal pr ...

baseball team. As an academic, he taught at

Clark Atlanta University Clark Atlanta University (CAU or Clark Atlanta) is a private, Methodist, historically black research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Clark Atlanta is the first Historically Black College or University (HBCU) in the Southern United States. Found ...

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, for eleven years, from 1962 to 1972. He served as Adjunct or Visiting Professor at

Portland State University Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the following two decades ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

, and at the

University of Ghana The University of Ghana is a public university located in Accra, Ghana. It the oldest and largest of the thirteen Ghanaian national public universities. The university was founded in 1948 as the University College of the Gold Coast in the Br ...

. In 1970, he became the founding president of the Black Academy of Letters. From 1973 to 1976, he served as Professor of Religion and of Sociology and chairman of the Department of Religion and Philosophical Studies at Fisk University. From 1976 to 1993, he taught Religion and Culture at

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...

. His novel, ''The Avenue, Clayton City'', won the

Lillian Smith Book Award Jointly presented by the Southern Regional Council and the University of Georgia Libraries, the ''Lillian Smith Book Awards honor those authors who, through their outstanding writing about the American South, carry on Lillian Smith's legacy of elu ...

for Best Southern Fiction in 1988 and the International Black Writers' Alice Browning Award in 1989. In 1990 he was elected to the

Fellowship of Southern Writers The Fellowship of Southern Writers is an American literary organization that celebrates the creative vitality of Southern writing as the mirror of a distinctive and cherished regional culture. Its fellowships and awards draw attention to outstandi ...

. He was friends with

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...

Malcolm X Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an American Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figure during the civil rights movement. A spokesman for the Nation of Is ...

, and

Alex Haley Alexander Murray Palmer Haley (August 11, 1921 – February 10, 1992) was an American writer and the author of the 1976 book '' Roots: The Saga of an American Family.'' ABC adapted the book as a television miniseries of the same name and a ...

. In 1990, he was cited by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

for "scholarly service to the church". He was diagnosed with

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

in 1980 and died on May 14, 2000, at the age of 75 in Durham, North Carolina.

Bibliography

*''The Black Muslims in America'' (1961) *''My Face Is Black'' (1964) *''The Negro Pilgrimage in America'' (1967) *''Race, Religion and the Continuing American Dilemma'' (1984) *''The Avenue, Clayton City'' (1988) *''The Black Church in the African-American Experience'' (with Lawrence H. Mamiya, 1990) *''This Road Since Freedom: Collected Poems'' (1990) *''Coming Through the Fire: Surviving Race and Place in America'' (1996)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lincoln, Eric C. 1924 births 2000 deaths People from Athens, Alabama LeMoyne–Owen College alumni Fisk University alumni Boston University alumni University of Chicago Divinity School alumni Fordham University faculty Portland State University faculty Brown University faculty Academic staff of the University of Ghana Duke University faculty African-American Methodist clergy American Methodist clergy African-American academics Deaths from diabetes African-American novelists American male novelists African-American poets American poets Academics from Alabama Novelists from Alabama Novelists from New York (state) Novelists from Oregon American expatriates in Ghana 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American clergy 20th-century African-American writers African-American male writers