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Finding Aid of the Thomas Kilgore, Jr. papers
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0381
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Title: Thomas Kilgore, Jr. papers
Collection number: 0381
Contributing Institution:
USC Libraries Special Collections
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
12.0 linear ft.
10 banker's boxes
Date (bulk): Bulk, 1962-1998
Date (inclusive): 1900-2000
Abstract: The collection consists of manuscripts, drafts of sermons, church and personal correspondence and photographs of Dr. Thomas
Kilgore, pastor of the Second Baptist Church of Los Angeles from 1963-1985 and a noted civil rights and civic leader.
creator:
Kilgore, Thomas, 1913-1998
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Manuscripts Librarian.
Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended
to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
Gift of Jini Kilgore Cockroft, 2010.
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE. Advance notice required for access.
[Box/folder# or item name], Thomas Kilgore papers, Collection no. 0381, Regional History Collection, Special Collections,
USC Libraries, University of Southern California
The Thomas Kilgore, Jr. Papers are organized into eight series: Series 1: Pastoral Duties; Series 2: Correspondence; Series
3: Celebrations; Series 4: Addresses, Workshops, Publications, and Lectures; Series 5: Baptist Organizations; Series 6: Civil
Rights Movement; Series 7: Ephemera, Photographs & Clippings; Series 8: Plaques, Awards & Citations.
This collection contains the papers of Dr. Thomas Kilgore, Jr. These papers include his correspondence, manuscript and typescript
drafts of his sermons, awards and citations he received, drafts of his speeches and lectures, outlines of workshops in which
Kilgore participated, photographs, printed ephemera and two scrapbooks. Also included in this collection is a small amount
of material documenting Kilgore's involvement with the civil rights movement, including the program from Martin Luther King,
Jr.'s funeral and two planning documents for the 1963 march on Washington, D.C.
Dr. Thomas Kilgore, Jr. was born February 20, 1913 in Woodruff, South Carolina to Thomas and Eugenia Kilgore. He graduated
from Morehouse College in Atlanta in 1935, did some graduate work at Howard University's School of Religion in 1944 and 1945,
and received a Master's of Divinity degree from the Union Theological Seminary in New York in 1957. He held pastorates in
North Carolina from 1936 to 1947 and at the Friendship Baptist Church in Harlem from 1947 to 1963, where he rose to prominence
in the civil rights movement.
Kilgore began his efforts for equality in the 1940's registering voters and organizing tobacco workers in North and South
Carolina. In Harlem, he worked to end segregation in the schools and in housing. In the 1950's and 1960's, he worked closely
with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and played a significant role in his Southern Christian Leadership Conference in
the South and on both coasts. He was a primary organizer of the Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom to Washington in 1957 and of
the civil rights March on Washington of 1963.
In 1963, Kilgore moved to Los Angeles to become the pastor at the Second Baptist Church. He was the first African-American
president of the American Baptist Convention (1969-1970) and also served two terms as the president of the Progressive National
Baptist Convention (1976-1978). Locally, Kilgore served as a special advisor on community affairs to the University of Southern
California president, spent many years on Los Angeles's Community Redevelopment Agency, and worked toward ecumenism and, particularly
after the 1992 riots, for dialogue across racial lines.
Kilgore retired in 1985 and passed away in 1998. He married his wife, Jeannetta, in 1936, and they had two daughters, Lynn
Elda and Jini Medina.
Thomas Kilgore, Jr.'s memoir,
A Servant's Journey: The Life and Work of Thomas Kilgore (Judson Press, 1998), was removed from this collection and cataloged into USC's Special Collections book holdings.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
American Baptist Churches in the U.S.A.--Archives
Progressive National Baptist Convention.--Archives
Second Baptist Church (Los Angeles, Calif.).-- Archives
University of Southern California.--History
Kilgore, Thomas, 1913-1998.--Archives
Kilgore, Thomas, 1913-1998.--Correspondence
Kilgore family.--Archives
King, Martin Luther, Jr., 1929-1968.--Archives
African American authors--California--Los Angeles--20th century--Archival resources
African American churches--California--Los Angeles--20th century--Archival resources
African American civic leaders--California--Los Angeles--20th century--Archival resources
African American civil rights workers--20th century--Archival resources
African American clergy--20th century--Archival resources
African Americans--20th century--History
Authors, American--California--Los Angeles--Archival resources
Baptists--Clergy--Archival resources
Civil rights--United States--20th century--Archival resources
Civic leaders--California--Los Angeles--20th century--Archival resources
Civil rights--United States--20th century--Archival resources
Clippings
Correspondence
Photographs
Printed ephemera
Programs (documents)
Realia
Typescripts
Los Angeles (Calif.)--History--Archival resources
Los Angeles (Calif.)--Photographs
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, Washington, D.C., 1963--Archival resources
Sermons, American--20th century--Archival resources
Sermons, American--African American authors--Archival resources
Speeches, addresses, etc., American--20th century--Archival resources