Thomas Kilgore Jr.

Thomas Kilgore Jr. was a prominent clergyman, community leader, and human rights activist. He helped organize the March on Washington.[1]

This article is about clergyman and human rights activist. For the founder of Cross Plains, Tennessee, see Thomas Kilgore.

The Reverend

Thomas Kilgore Jr.
Personal
Born
Thomas Kilgore Jr.

(1913-02-20)February 20, 1913
Woodruff, South Carolina, U.S.
DiedFebruary 4, 1998(1998-02-04) (aged 84)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
ReligionChristianity Protestantism
Spouse
former Jeannetta Miriam Scott
​
​
(m. 1936; his death 1998)​
DenominationBaptist
EducationMorehouse College
ProfessionClergyman
Senior posting
ProfessionClergyman

Biography

Kilgore was born in Woodruff, South Carolina. While a freshman at Morehouse College in Atlanta, he attended Ebeneezer Baptist Church, which was headed by the Reverend A. D. Williams, the maternal grandfather of Martin Luther King Jr. It was through this association that he got to know the King family. He first met Martin Luther King when he was only ​2 1⁄2 years old.[1]

When the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) was founded in the late 1950s, he managed their New York office. In 1963, he helped organize the March on Washington.[1] Also in 1963, Kilgore became pastor of Second Baptist Church, the oldest black Baptist church in Los Angeles and established the first chapter of SCLC west of the Rockies.[1] He led Second Baptist Church until his retirement in 1985.[1]

Kilgore died in Los Angeles on February 4, 1998. He was 84 years old.[1]

References
  1. Lytle, James (February 16, 1998). "Rev. Thomas Kilgore Jr., Civil Rights Leader, Adviser to Three USC Presidents, Dies". USC. University of Southern California. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
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