[Dialogue] FW: {Spam?} The 50's

[Harry Wainwright]

From: dpelliott at aol.com [mailto:dpelliott at aol.com] 
Sent: Thursday, June 28, 2007 3:40 PM
To: Dialogue at wedgeblade.net
Subject: {Spam?} The 50's

 

Marshall, et al

The chronicle of the civil rights movement includes, in addition to the
people and organizations you mention, Baptist theologian Clarence Jordan
(pronounced Jerdin), who started an interracial community in Americus, GA in
1942, which he named Koinonia Farms.  I had the pleasure of hosting him at
the College of Wooster in 1953 and in planting sweet potatoes on that farm
during spring break. A group of us organized a work trip there:  that was
before Florida became the preferred destination.  "What'll it be guys?  The
cold red soil of Georgia, or a sunny Florida beach?"

Clarence was a major influence in Jimmy Carter's life, and later  his son,
Hamilton Jordan, was Carter's press secretary.  Millard Fuller, who founded
Habitat for Humanity, was a member of Koinonia.

>From the Koinonia website:

Clarence Jordan held an undergraduate degree in agriculture from the
University of Georgia and wanted to use his knowledge of scientific farming
"to seek to conserve the soil, God's holy earth" and to help the poor: most
of Koinonia's neighbors were black sharecroppers and tenant farmers. Jordan
and England were ordained ministers and professors (Jordan held a doctorate
in New Testament Greek) and part of their vision was to offer training to
African American ministers living in the area. For the first few years or so
of the Koinonia experiment, Jordan, in particular, was welcomed to preach
and teach in local churches. Though the demands of farming in those early
years did not allow time for formal training of others, he used these visits
to both black and white churches to offer guidance. They envisioned an
interracial community where blacks and whites could live and work together
in a spirit of partnership. 

For more information:
www.koinoniapartners.org

Don Elliott

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