Dr. Arthur M. Brazier was an American born activist, author and pastor emeritus of the Apostolic Church of God in Chicago, Illinois.died he was , 89. He was also a bishop, prominent civic leader and founder of The Woodlawn Organization, which was influential in Chicago's civil rights movement in the 1960s and continues its work to this day.[1]
(July 22, 1921 – October 22, 2010)
Career
Brazier was a central figure in driving out gang violence, fighting for affordable housing and revitalizing the surrounding community. He also marched alongside Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to protest segregation.[2]
In addition to The Woodlawn Organization, he also founded The Woodlawn Preservation and Investment Corporation as well as The Fund for Community Redevelopment and Revitalization. He has been a national leader in community development. He is the author of Black Self-Determination, Saved by Grace and Grace Alone and Delivery Systems for Model Cities.A World War II Army Veteran, he left the United States for overseas duty in India and Burma, in 1943, and returned December 24, 1945. He was honorably discharged on December 28, 1945. In July 1947, he met his future wife, Esther Isabelle Holmes, and they were married February 21, 1948.
In 1955, while still being employed by the U. S. Postal Service as a letter carrier, Bishop Brazier enrolled in the Moody Bible Institute evening school to acquire formal systematic biblical training. He pursued these studies continuously for six years and received his graduating certificate in 1961. In 1960 Bishop Brazier was inducted as pastor of Apostolic Church of God. Bishop Brazier also served as diocesan of the Sixth Episcopal District of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World for thirty-one years.
Although Bishop Brazier committed his life to the Christian ministry, he also recognized the need for being actively involved in the civic life of the city.
Bishop Brazier began his community work with the Industrial Areas Foundation under the tutelage of Saul Alinsky and Nicholas Von Hoffman. It was during his work with Saul Alinsky that Bishop Brazier became the founding president of The Woodlawn Organization in 1961. In 1966 Bishop Brazier invited Dr. Martin Luther King to the Apostolic Church of God for its annual Bible Conference; their like passion for civil rights led to the two men protesting, together, against segregated housing and schools in Chicago
In 1969, Bishop Brazier accepted a staff position with the Citizens Crusade Against Poverty, and in 1970, he resigned as President of The Woodlawn Organization.
In addition to his pastoral work, Bishop Brazier joined the staff of the Center for Community Change, a Washington-based institution that gave technical assistance to community organizations in various parts of the country. Bishop Brazier’s office remained in Chicago throughout his work with The Center. After several years of service with The Center, he was elevated to the office of Vice President in charge of Major Projects, and remained in that position until 1986 when he resigned to spend more time with his church, which was experiencing tremendous growth.
As Vice President of the Center, he supervised the Major Projects Unit which gave technical assistance to Community Organizations and Community Development Corporations in the design and implementation of commercial and revitalization programs, and in the packaging and development of major housing projects that received some form of government assistance under Sections 221 (D)(3), 236 and Section 8. The staff developed land use maps and building condition maps that would be used in determining development plans and programs. He assisted in negotiating joint venture relationships between the nonprofit organizations and proven developers. Some of the cities that the staff worked in were: Chicago, Illinois; Evanston, Illinois; Flint, Michigan; Detroit, Michigan; Las Vegas, Nevada; New York City, Los Angeles, California, and others.
He was the founding chairman of the Board of the Woodlawn Preservation and Investment Corporation (WPIC), a community-based group organized for the improvement of the Woodlawn community; and the founding chairman of The Fund for Community Redevelopment and Revitalization. This group of community and institutional leaders came together to pool their resources to undertake efforts over the next five to ten years to rebuild two communities: namely, East Woodlawn and North Kenwood-Oakland. The purpose was to rebuild both the human infrastructure opportunities and the physical conditions for residents of the communities. The plan was to develop and implement a process in which both communities agree to specific goals and strategies that can be implemented. This effort was made to develop, in both communities, a mixed income environment and, where possible, a racially integrated environment. To assist in the effort, The Fund received a grant support from the MacArthur Foundation.
By the appointment of Mayor Richard Daley, Bishop Brazier sat on the Board of the Public Building Commission of Chicago for twenty years before resigning this past September due to his failing health. He also chaired the Executive Committee of the New Communities Program/Woodlawn, an affiliate of the Local Initiative Support Corporation (LISC), and the Woodlawn Children’s Promise Community (WCPC).
Ministry
His church claims an active membership of more than 20,000 and is housed in a large modern complex on the South Side of Chicago. He was a member of the Public Buildings Commission of Chicago and has lectured at leading universities, including the University of Chicago, Northwestern. Harvard and Antioch College. He is married to Isabelle Brazier and they have four children Lola, Byron, Janice, and Rosalyn.Up until October 2007 his church was a member of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World (PAW), headquartered in Indiana. He has parted ways with that church because of a major doctrinal disagreement. Brazier believes in Eternal Security, a doctrine which is rejected by the PAW.
Retirement and death
On April 30, 2008, Bishop Brazier announced his retirement, effective June 1, 2008. On the date of his retirement, Bishop Brazier took the pulpit for the last time in order to preach two sermons to a standing-room-only congregation, an event which caused a major disruption to the Woodlawn neighborhood. The two sanctuaries of the church, on Dorchester and Kenwood streets, were filled to capacity with over ten thousand congregants and reporters watching the services via closed circuit television.On October 22, 2010, Brazier died at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, after a five-year battle with prostate cancer .[3]
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