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The Gentleman From Memphis: Robert R. Church Jr. And The Politics Of The Early Civil Rights Movement, Darius Jamal Young

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the life and career of Robert Church Jr. Church was the son of the first black millionaire in Memphis, Tennessee and a member of the southern black elite. As a child he inherited a life of privilege and could have easily rested on the fortune his father accumulated. Instead, Church decided to embark on a career as a politician and activist. At the height of his career he would become the most recognizable black figure in the Republican Party."The Gentleman fromMemphis" serves as a lens into the political activity of African Americans during the first half of …