Raphael Philemon Powell, a minister and native of Jamaica, served at Mount Calvary Baptist Church in Harlem. He received his preacher's license and certificate of ordination in the 1950s, and a doctorate of divinity degree from the American Bible...
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Raphael Philemon Powell, a minister and native of Jamaica, served at Mount Calvary Baptist Church in Harlem. He received his preacher's license and certificate of ordination in the 1950s, and a doctorate of divinity degree from the American Bible College and Manhattan Bible Institute in 1972. Powell wrote six books, which he distributed through his own publishing company, Philemon. Topics for his books include Black history, race identity, and religion. Powell died in New York in 1995, at the age of 96. The Raphael Philemon Powell papers encompass personal and pastoral papers, professional and legal papers, manuscripts, songs, and poems. Drafts of his unpublished and published writings form the bulk of this collection. Included are manuscripts for three of Powell's books
Human Side of a People and the Right Name... (ca. 1937),
The Invisible Image Uprooted (ca. 1979), and
The Prayer for Freedom: A Memorial of the Prayer Pilgrimage (1957). Among the titles of his unpublished manuscripts in the collection are "The Dry Years Addict"; "Biography of Adam Clayton Powell, Jr."; "The Neglected Remedy for Addicts"; and "Who Are You? The Misuse of the Word Black". There is also original music and lyrics for songs composed by Powell.
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