Dr Eugene S. Callender (January 21, 1926 – November 2, 2013[1]) was an American pastor and activist in the civil rights movement. In 1970, he began co-hosting, with Joan Harris, the series Positively Black, the first major Black show on NBC, featuring Black artists, writers, actors, musicians, sports figures and activists, as well as news about life and culture in the community.
Eugene Callender | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Callender in 1977 | |
| Born | Eugene St. Clair Callender January 21, 1926 Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | November 2, 2013 (aged 87) Manhattan, New York, U.S. |
| Education | Cambridge Rindge and Latin School; Boston University; Westminster Theological Seminary; New York Law School |
| Occupations | Pastor and activist |
Biography
editEugene St. Clair Callender was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to parents who were immigrants from Barbados.[2]
He studied at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School and earned a B.A. degree from Boston University, before becoming the first African American to study at Westminster Theological Seminary, where he earned a Master of Divinity degree cum laude.[3][4] He later studied at New York Law School.[2]
For most of his life, Callender lived and worked in Harlem, New York. He was the first black ordained minister in the Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRCNA).[5] A past executive director of the New York Urban League and a former president of the New York Urban Coalition, he also served as deputy administrator of the New York City Housing and Development Administration.[2]
In 1970, Callender hosted (with Joan Harris, at its launch)[6] the hour-long WNBC‐TV (Channel 4) series Positively Black, which aired weekly,[7] featuring Black artists, writers, actors, musicians, sports figures and activists, as well as news about life and culture in the community.[8]
Callender died on November 2, 2013, at the age of 87.[4]
References
edit- ↑ "Eugene Callender, Harlem civil rights activist, to be remembered". Daily News. November 8, 2013. Retrieved December 7, 2013.
- 1 2 3 Fox, Margalit (November 7, 2013). "Rev. Eugene Callender, Who Saw Potential of School Dropouts, Dies at 87". The New York Times. Retrieved December 7, 2013.
- ↑ "Rev. Callender with the Lord". Westminster Theological Seminary. Archived from the original on December 10, 2013. Retrieved December 7, 2013.
- 1 2 Boyd, Herb (November 7, 2013). "Rev. Dr. Eugene Callender passes at 87". New York Amsterdam News. Retrieved March 31, 2026.
- ↑ Jammal-Hollemans, Shannon (February 22, 2017). "Black Ministry in CRC Has a Far Reach". Christian Reformed Church.
- ↑ "Black Journal: Black Women". Screen Slate. August 27, 2020. Retrieved March 31, 2026.
- ↑ Gould, Jack (June 8, 1970). "TV: 'Positively Black'". The New York Times.
- ↑ Skene, Gordon (July 16, 2017). "Rahsaan Roland Kirk In Session – In Interview – 1970 – Past Daily Downbeat". Past Daily. Retrieved April 23, 2023.