The OG Charles Octavius Boothe and the God of Plain People
The biggest threat to racism is the good news of Jesus Christ. Consider Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., once a young Baptist pastor designated by the FBI "the most dangerous Negro in America." How did this gospel preacher become an enemy of the State?
Part of the reason for King's notorious legacy is the subversive power of the gospel—exposing any hierarchies and power dynamics it encounters. Dr. King was nurtured in the Black church tradition that bore witness to the gospel's word for the poor. This tradition saturated Dexter Avenue Baptist Church (now King Memorial Church), the church where King's world-changing, public career began.
However, Dexter Avenue Baptist Church was founded by a leader whom many have forgotten, Charles Octavius Boothe. Despite his anonymity, until recently being rediscovered, Boothe carved out an exemplary legacy of theological and social influence. Boothe is an OG model of a life committed to uplifting Black people. He shows Christians that loving the poor should impact how we do theology, and loving your own people is necessary for racial reconciliation.
Theology is for Plain People
Boothe was born as Nathaniel Howard’s property in Alabama in 1845. He learned to read and write depending on a tin plate and the pity of white teachers at the estate where he was enslaved. Boothe’s knowledge of the Bible started at a job during his teenage years working in a legal office. He familiarized himself with the logic of the book of Romans because mid-nineteenth century American legal discourse had biblical foundations. Boothe would eventually have a life-changing encounter with the gospel, and he proclaimed that it “so strengthened me as to fix me on the side of God’s people.”
In 1890, Boothe published a short theological work entitled Plain Theology for Plain People. Boothe’s goal and intended audience for the book are clear from the title. However, the power of what Boothe accomplished by writing it extends far beyond his intentions. The book not only objects to the lie of the inferiority of Black intellect but also challenges the fidelity of other theological works that often favor society’s elite. After Boothe shared his “plea for plainness” in the opening preface, he humbly notes:
“These remarks are by no means intended as criticisms upon theologians or upon the theological works extant. All the writer means to say is this: Some people live on a plain so far beneath the mental heights of these works as to be unable to reach up to them and enjoy their spiritual blessings. For these people there come to us calls for the preparation of special works—calls which, in the name of Christ, we must try to answer.” – Charles Boothe
The special works Boothe refers to here is providing theological resources that serve the poor on the ground rather than the “mental heights” of ivory towers. His words also beckon others to join him, “in the name of Christ,” in attending to the disenfranchised needs. It is evident throughout his book that Boothe aims to do his part to answer the call of plain people, but the book also carries an implicit rebuke of those who do not see themselves among the plain.
Boothe answers the call to serve plain people by skillfully working his way through doctrines like the “Being and Character of God” and ending with “The Last Things,” without the jargon and debates that bog down most systematic theologies. For example, when Boothe recounts Genesis 3 and the problem of why a good God allowed humanity to Fall, he makes no room for the lapsarian controversy or other theodicy problems contrived by theologians dead and gone. Boothe simply, but incisively, commented on Adam and Eve’s betrayal of God, saying:
“why God did not exclude the tempter, forbidding his presence in the garden. I do not know why he did not, but we all know this: A friend who cannot remain true to a friend in the presence of his friend’s enemy is unworthy the name of a friend, and the character that cannot stand except when it is imprisoned and guarded is without virtue: it is only a sham.”
Boothe treats theology with an awareness of both the depth of the biblical text and scholarship but allows his compassion for the least of these to guide his thoughts. There are some “spiritual blessings” found in excavating the philosophical questions overseeing most systematic theological works. However, Boothe’s focus on his people gives him the freedom to provide an easily accessible account of both what Christians should believe and how we should live.
According to Boothe, “God is found of the lowly” and hides from the proud and self-sufficient man. But if you read most esteemed theology books today, God is primarily found with the highly educated white-middle class. If our theology is saturated by the gospel, then theology is a state-of-the-art weapon for dismantling racism. But often, our understanding of the gospel has ignored the meek and lowly of society as an esteemed audience to Jesus’ message. Boothe’s theology is more than a novelty item but a book that gives a historical example for contemporary models to follow. Next to an eternally majestic God, are not we all plain people?
Black Uplift and Reconciliation
Dr. Walter Strickland II re-introduced Boothe’s theology only a few years ago. In Strickland’s introduction, added to Boothe’s book, he writes, “For Boothe, the church must play a crucial role in racial uplift.” Racial uplift was a common term used in the 19th century to describe the responsibility of educated Black people to remain engaged with and help elevate the social standing of their largely illiterate, impoverished community. Boothe did his part through labors like starting two Black churches, organizing the “Colored Baptist Missionary Convention,” and helping found Selma University in 1878—where he would eventually serve as its second president. He helped establish theological training for Black parishioners throughout Alabama and contributed to the Black Southerner literacy rate rising from 10 percent to nearly 43 percent by 1890.
Many may raise an eyebrow at Boothe’s assertion that the Church has the mandate to serve society by emphasizing the uplift of a race. But as Boothe would say, the Scriptures are overwhelmed with evidence that “The Lord God has been careful in all ages to speak on behalf of the poor. His ear has ever been open unto their cries, and his eye has always watched over their trying lot.”
The church should be an outpost of the kingdom of God where Black people should be uplifted and find refuge. The church must demonstrate a picture of that already-not yet kingdom and pray to see glimpses of the kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. Boothe’s commitment to uplifting Black people was fueled by a vision of God’s kingdom and heart for justice, and he often found white brothers and sisters willing to support his efforts.
I can only imagine the temptation for Boothe to sideline his work for Black people to work more closely with the majority white Alabama Baptist Convention, who Boothe worked with to obtain funding for Black social advancement. But Boothe worked collaboratively with white Baptists without becoming a white Baptist.
In part, Boothe’s approach here is a model of what racial reconciliation truly looks like. Boothe didn’t shun white Baptists for their lack of involvement in the Racial Uplift, but he wasn’t focused on serving their agendas either. He didn’t require white Baptists to give up on their own missionary commitments to help Boothe, but instead, for at least for a moment, called upon them to make Black issues their issues. Boothe’s legacy speaks to the myth that being pro-Black is anti-white and shows the good work that can be accomplished when assimilating to whiteness isn’t a prerequisite to partner across racial lines. To be pro-black is to be an anti-racist, however.
Today, what responsibility do predominately white congregations have to the 57 percent of black students in America who lack access to necessary math and science resources for college readiness? Or what role can white Christians play to change the reality that Black women are two to three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes?
Although we are in the 21st century, there is still some racial uplift work yet to be done. Either motivated by Jesus’s words to love our neighbor or the story of Charles Boothe, the poor, marginalized, and downtrodden should have a front row pew in The Church’s ministries and theological endeavors.
– Written By Courtlandt Perkins
Bio: Courtlandt follows Jesus as a husband, father, and son. He is an avid reader and loves to think and write about God, how to read Scripture, and the African diaspora. Courtlandt has an M.Div and a ThM but he is most proud of being the leader of the LeBron James stan club.