Rev. Richard A.G. Foster, a native of Whiteville, North Carolina, did not stay long at Wilson’s Saint John A.M.E. Zion, but he certainly made his mark there and elsewhere.
Pittsburgh Courier, 5 November 1938.
Pittsburgh Courier, 21 January 1939.
Pittsburgh Courier, 13 May 1939.
New York Age, 19 October 1940.
Telegram from Negro Ministers of New Haven to W.E.B. DuBois, 21 April 1945; W. E. B. Du Bois Papers (MS 312). Special Collections and University Archives, University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries.
Pittsburgh Courier, 22 August 1964.
(For more about The Men of Tomorrow, see here.)
This is a wonderful collection of clippings that you have of my grandfather, Richard A. G. Foster. He was actually a native of Goldsboro, NC, which was the last post that his father, Rev. Walter Scott Foster (a native of Zebulon, in Wake County) was posted as an A.M.E. Zion Minister himself.
My grandfather was, in his youth, quite fiery in an intellectual way, and this indeed got him into quite a bit of “trouble”, quite often in fact! But this eloquent yet forthright manner of speaking also endeared him to many in both the “Negro” and White community (mostly in the north), both of whom wanted a Black cleric from and in the South to speak freely about segregation and what it was doing to our community both spiritually and economically, and being a Yale Divinity School graduate and friend of the Nazi Martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer, he knew and understood both deleterious perspectives.
Thank you again for preserving our history in this way. I am very grateful!
Thanks so much for your thanks! I had not known of Rev. Foster when I began this project and discovering his legacy has been a source of pride and pleasure. I continue to seek documentation of his short time in Wilson. Might you have a clear photograph of him? Thanks again.
Hi Lisa:
Yes, if you give me a few days, I have one good picture of him when older. A lot of our family pics were destroyed in a flood, and sadly, I don’t speak to his children in Califormia (a tad too toxic for my tastes–my Mother, his daughter has passed). So I will send you what I have as soon as I can. Might I have a private email address? Blessings!
Hello Lisa,
This is Rev. J. Scott Hilliard of Oakland CA. I am also the Grandchild of Rev. Richard A.G. Foster, and our family has plenty of younger and older photos of my grandfather. I am more than happy to put you in contact with one or all four of his surviving daughters… If you are still interested 😊 – God bless you, and thank you for this wonderful research.
Hello, and thanks for reaching out! I’d love to know more about Rev. Foster’s time in Wilson! I can be reached at lisayhenderson at gmail dot com. Thank you so much!
Wonderful 😇 … Sorry it took so long to reply… I didn’t check this link until today.
I have forwarded your email to my mother, Rev. Lillion Foster-Hilliard, and her sisters. You should be hearing from them soon.
Thank you again, and God Bless you 😇
J. Hilliard
Thank you!