DETROIT – In a town with as many respected faith leaders as Detroit, you don’t get the nickname “Prince of the Pulpit” without earning it.
As word of his passing spreads, the reverend Charles G. Adams is being remembered on Thursday (Nov. 30) as much more than a preacher.
It’s a hard time for Hartford Memorial Baptist Church with the loss of Adams, but his legacy is clearly a great one that’s been left behind.
“First of all, he was a great preacher, outstanding, and he was known throughout the country and preached all over the world,” said Adams’ sister, Pastor Edith Adams-Clifton.
Edith has an entire lifetime of great memories and remembers Charles’ humble beginnings.
“As early as two or three, he knew he wanted to be a preacher,” Edith said. “He loved coming to church. Love coming home playing church.”
Sadly, the 88-year-old died after battling pneumonia along with going into cardiac arrest. But his son, Charles C. Adams, senior pastor at Memorial Baptist, reminisces on how loving he was.
“He was the best father that you could ever have,” said Charles C. Adams. He’s very generous.”
But in reality, his ministry has done so much more than just being a pastor and a father. He was able to help spark several businesses in the city.
“I am also proud of the work he did in the community that in 50 years of pastoring here, he was able to do a lot of economic development,” Edith said.
“It was his legacy that led us to look at the church as a resource for the community,” Charles C. Adams said.
Appointed pastor in 1969, he was also a civil rights activist. Below is a picture of him with the reverend Jesse Jackson and former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.
He later became the president of the Detroit branch of NAACP in 1984. He’s widely known for the boycott against Dearborn businesses that prohibited nonresidents from using parks in the area.
“He taught us that the legacy is really love,” Charles C. Adams said. “And that is your greatest gift to humanity.”
He is a tremendous loss to the community, and certainly, our thoughts are with his family, including his wife, Agnes, during this challenging time.
Family members are working on funeral arrangements at this time.
“Today, the City of Detroit and Americans all around this country mourn the loss of the incomparable Reverend Dr. Charles G. Adams. Reverend Adams was no ordinary reverend; he was a warrior for justice and a beacon of hope for many, extending beyond his congregation at Hartford Memorial Baptist Church for over 50 years. Rev. Adams has had an impact that stretches far beyond Detroit, touching the lives of countless individuals and leaving an indelible mark in our nation’s history through his community service initiatives and advocacy work.
I can reflect on the countless sermons that Rev. Adams has preached that has moved me and inspired me. Known as the "Prince of the Pulpit", Rev. Adams' preaching brought the heavens down to earth and brought countless souls closer to God! He even extended me the honor of preaching in his pulpit years ago. He was a kind and welcoming spirit, earning him recognition and accolades from the NAACP, President Obama, Ebony Magazine, Harvard, and more.
Today the city suffers the loss of a giant in our community. My prayers are with the family, friends, congregation, and the many Americans who are mourning his passing. May his legacy live on forever."
Detroit Council President Mary Sheffield
“Rev. Charles Gilchrist Adams was a titan of the Christian faith and a legendary leader of the Detroit community. He was a ‘preacher’s preacher,’ a rhetorical force of nature, and a deeply respected ecumenical leader who spoke equally and easily to presidents and everyday people.”
“He transformed Detroit not only with his words but with his actions. He served as President of the Detroit Branch NAACP and the Progressive National Baptist Convention. Under his leadership, Hartford Memorial Baptist Church delivered countless services to support the success of Detroiters, such as tutoring, Head Start, and affordable housing. He was a deeply moral man, a crusader against racial injustice, and a leader against the apartheid regime in South Africa.”
“On behalf of the Gilchrist family, my partner in public service Governor Gretchen Whitmer, and the entire state of Michigan, I want to offer condolences to Rev. Christian Adams, the Adams family, and everyone Rev. Charles Adams touched during his time with us. Today, and every day, let us celebrate Rev. Adams’ extraordinary life and work and recommit ourselves to following in his footsteps to build a brighter future for our city, state, and world.”
Lt. Governor of Michigan, Garlin Gilchrist II
“Detroiters have lost a great champion and a great man. I was deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Rev. Charles Adams, who was a tireless fighter for the people of Detroit, in particular our seniors and children. As a pastor of Hartford Memorial Baptist Church, Rev. Adams did more than offer words of hope and inspiration from his pulpit, he created opportunity by purchasing and developing land around Hartford, including the Hartford Village senior citizen community.
“We were fortunate to have him in our city and in our lives and he will be greatly missed. My thoughts are with his family, friends and the entire Hartford community at this difficult time.“
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan
Every now and then we are blessed to receive a melody from heaven. Dr. Charles Gilchrist Adams, known to many of us as the “Harvard Hooper” was indeed a melodious, majestic voice from on high. As a minister, I am reminded of the words found in Romans 10:14, “How shall they know unless they hear it from a preacher.” Charles Adams was not just a preacher of the gospel. He was a preacher’s preacher. He was not just an alumnus of Harvard. It was Harvard that was an alumnus of Charles Adams. From the pulpit of the Hartford Memorial Baptist Church to the Mayor’s office, Governor’s mansion, halls of Congress and Senate, to the office of the President of the United States, Charles Adams was a force to be reckoned with. Every politician wanted him on their side. Every adversary was concerned when he was not on their side. But for our community, Charles Adams was always on the side of justice, truth, and equity of opportunity.
He was a forerunner and visionary for neighborhood and economic development. Today, we witness the Hartford Village, a senior living community. He rose up during an era of ministers that stood in the breach to protect Black rights and to champion Black freedom. The hallowed halls of heaven can now add Charles Gilchrist Adams among the ranks of heroes for the hopes of a struggling and yet thriving community. Charles Adams, along with Reverends Fred G. Sampson, Charles Butler, James E. Wadsworth, Jr., C.L. Franklin, Martha Jean “The Queen” Steinberg, Obie Matthews, O’Dell Jones, Roy Allen, Bishop David Ellis, Jaramogi Abebe Agyeman, and so many others leave us a foundation made out of the solid rock of true liberation through faith and work. Whether at a Sunday morning worship service, a community funeral, a political rally, or a public meeting, Charles Adams, when he gave the people the charge, had you standing on your feet, many times after just five minutes of his oration.
The length and breadth of his ministry extends well beyond Hartford Memorial Baptist Church. Its tentacles reach into the World Council of Churches to the Detroit Branch NAACP, where he served as President from 1985-1987. The James Weldon Johnson Lifetime Achievement Award, our highest honor, was presented to Dr. Adams in 2019. He fought the battle, raising the issue of a lack of respect on the part of some in the city of Dearborn for its Black neighbors. The archaic policies of former Dearborn Mayor Orville Hubbard were often noted in the expression to “keep Dearborn clean.” For many in the city of Detroit it was simply a code to keep Black people out of the city of Dearborn. The work of Adams and so many others, both in Dearborn and Detroit, have eliminated a policy that served to divide rather than to unite. As President of the Progressive National Baptist Convention, he was a voice against South African Apartheid, addressing the United Nations in 1989. The call of Charles Adams will long ring true for those who believe in justice for all people. There is an old African proverb that says, “Those whom we love die only in the physical sense. Their spirit and their will continue to live on in the determination of those whom they leave behind.” Rev. Dr. Charles Gilchrist Adams will live on in both the spirit and the work of those whom he has left behind. The words of Horatio from Shakespeare’s Hamlet seem to cry out to us at this very moment. “And now cracks a noble heart. Good night, sweet prince. And flights of angels, sing thee to thy rest.”
NAACP