John M. Perkins
Encyclopedia
John M. Perkins is an American
civil rights
activist. He is founder and president of the John M. Perkins Foundation in Jackson, Mississippi
.
as a sharecropper in the 1940s. In 1947 he moved from Mississippi on the urging of his family, who worried that he might be in danger following the deadly shooting of his brother, Clyde, by a police officer. He settled in southern California where he encountered the gospel, after his son, Spencer, convinced him to attend a local church.
After the death of his son in 1998, Perkins returned to Mississippi, and bought the property once owned by Spencer and his Antioch Community and established the Spencer Perkins Center, the youth arm of the John M. Perkins Foundation. It has developed youth programs such as After School Tutorial, Summer Arts Camp, Junior and College Internship Program, Good News Bible Club, Young Life and Jubilee Youth Garden. The foundation also has a housing arm, Zechariah 8, providing affordable housing for low-to moderate-income families with a focus on single mothers.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
activist. He is founder and president of the John M. Perkins Foundation in Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson is the capital and the most populous city of the US state of Mississippi. It is one of two county seats of Hinds County ,. The population of the city declined from 184,256 at the 2000 census to 173,514 at the 2010 census...
.
Biography
Born June 16, 1930, he grew up on a plantationPlantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
as a sharecropper in the 1940s. In 1947 he moved from Mississippi on the urging of his family, who worried that he might be in danger following the deadly shooting of his brother, Clyde, by a police officer. He settled in southern California where he encountered the gospel, after his son, Spencer, convinced him to attend a local church.
Career
In 1960 he moved with his wife (Vera Mae Perkins) and children from California to Mendenhall, Mississippi, which neighbors his childhood hometown of New Hebron. There he began a Christian community development ministry in the rural Mississippi community. In 1982, the Perkinses left Voice of Calvary Ministries to return to California, where they founded Harambee Christian Family Center in Northwest Pasadena.After the death of his son in 1998, Perkins returned to Mississippi, and bought the property once owned by Spencer and his Antioch Community and established the Spencer Perkins Center, the youth arm of the John M. Perkins Foundation. It has developed youth programs such as After School Tutorial, Summer Arts Camp, Junior and College Internship Program, Good News Bible Club, Young Life and Jubilee Youth Garden. The foundation also has a housing arm, Zechariah 8, providing affordable housing for low-to moderate-income families with a focus on single mothers.
Selected bibliography
- A Quiet Revolution: The Christian response to human need, a strategy for today. Word Books, 1976. ISBN 978-0876807934
- Let Justice Roll Down. Regal Books, 2006. ISBN 978-0830743070
- Restoring At-Risk Communities: Doing It Together and Doing It Right. Baker Books, 1996 ISBN 978-0801054631
- He's My Brother: Former Racial Foes Offer Strategy for Reconciliation. (with Thomas A. Tarrants and David Wimbish) Baker Books, 1994. ISBN 978-0800792145
- Beyond Charity: The Call to Christian Community Development. Baker Books, 1993. ISBN 978-0801071225
- Follow Me to Freedom: Leading as an Ordinary Radical (with Shane ClaiborneShane ClaiborneShane Claiborne is one of the founding members of The Simple Way in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This community was featured on the cover of Christianity Today as a pioneer in the New Monasticism movement. Claiborne is also a prominent activist for nonviolence and service to the...
) Regal Books, 2009. ISBN 978-0-8307-5120-4 - Welcoming Justice: God's Movement Toward Beloved Community, Charles Marsh and John M. Perkins (Downers Grove: Intervarsity Press, October 2009). ISBN 978-0830834532