Document text
71.41 110.11L
Forms to be Filled out fgr pion Interview
FORM A
Circumstances of Interview
STATE New York
NAME OF WORKER Vivian Morris
ADDRESS 225 Mr. 130th St. New York City
DATE January 9, 1939
SUBJECT NEGRO CULTS IN HARLEM
1. Date and time cf' interview
2. Place of interview
3. Name and address of informant
By the Staff -worker
4. Name and address of person, if any, who put you in
touch with informant.
5. Name and address of person, if any, accompanying you
6. Description of room, house, surroundings, etc.
FOLKLORE
NEW YORK
(Use as many additional sheets as necessary, for any of the forms, each
-bearing the proper heading and the number to which the material refers.)
STATE
New York
FORM C
Text of Interview (Unedited)
NAN,E OF WORKER Vivian Morris
ADDRESS 225 W. 130th St. liew York City
DATE January 9, 1939
SUBJECT NEGRO CULTS IN HARLEM
FOLKLORE
NEW YORK
The greatest cult leader of them all, Father Divine, has his
followers shouting "thank Father", "Father Divine is God," "God is heah
reigning and ruling in de name of Father Divine," and the shame of it all
is that the poordievils believe the tripe that they give voice to.
Father Divine rides in a big special built deluxe Dusenberg sedan
with a throne in the center, for "Father" to sit on. He's a great showman.
When he comes into view, with his body guards and his followers shouting "De
body is heah." "God is heah", he quickly runs through the crowd shouting, "Peace."
The man either has no consciOU, or he is mentally warped. If the
latter is the case he can be forgiven. If the former is true he should be lauded
as a super -psychologist, and condemned to live like and have the simple-minded
beliefs of his followers.
True, he does have stores, restaurants, and places of abode, that have
dirt-cheap prices. But, he also advocates a person entering his cult to turn
over their jewels, land, homes and automobiles over to God. After all God could
keep them better than any mere mortals.
He also allows his follirrs to work on a cheaper wage scale, thereby
bringing dawn the wage scale in the domestic servant field. "Father" gets a
percentage of the pittance that they earn.
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But they continue to insist that "Father Divine is God" and who am
I to tell them no?
Prophet Costonie is a younger cult leader and he was ,power a while
back as a faith healing prophet of God, but his group has dwindled to a few
hundred.
Daddy Grace, the big blustering "disciple of God", extorts on a
larger scale. He has dinners at sixty-five cents; his marching group buys its
uniforms directly from him and he makes over one hundred percent profit. He is
cutting in on Father Divine's "gravy" at a systematic clip.
There are innumerous nsmall fry" cults in Aarlem, two and three in
a block. No two are exactly the same. If the Negro and white people, who are
members of these cults, would turn their money and energy to gainful enterprise
an amazing difference would be seen in their economic status.
Tis a pity that the "Father Divines", "Daddy Graces", Prophet Costonies",
etal turned their powers of leadership into such nefarious channels instead of
in a constructiiiii direction.