Many Blacks had begun to pour into the northern communities in search of better opportunities after the violent collapse of Reconstruction. The membership of my father’s church began to swell as a result. Many Blacks sought out communities where relatives had settled. Several of my father’s kinfolk followed this pattern and moved to Princeton.

The Black community of Princeton was small and poor. They often had to depend on help from the larger white community. Our elders, therefore, had to defer to the whites in order to earn enough money to lead their struggling lives, while Black youth were frequently subjected to racial insults from white kids.

Under these circumstances, our community relied on their ministers for leadership. My father was much admired by his community. He was the person who often served as its main emissary. Even though he often went with hat-in-hand, his broad shoulders were never slumped. His deportment was such that even the “most lordly of aristocratic Princeton” respected him.