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07276 May 11, 2007
Bryant George, longtime civil rights champion, dies of heart failure
Minister also known for involvement in international affairs
by Evan Silverstein
LOUISVILLE - The Rev. Bryant George, who served on the Board of National Missions for the Presbyterian Church during the 1960s and was known as a champion for civil rights, died on May 8 of complications from congestive heart failure. He was 79.
In the days leading up to his death, the long-time Washington, DC, resident was moved to an Atlanta nursing home to be closer to family, according to his ex-wife, Marion.
"Bryant had a foot in so many different worlds," said the Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, the stated clerk of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)'s General Assembly. "He was a leader in the civil rights movement. He was a leader in international affairs. He was a leader in the Ford Foundation, but was always first and foremost a pastor and a leader in the church. His passion in all of those was justice and human rights."
George, a member of National Capital Presbytery and lover of classical music, was a graduate of Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, NC, and McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago.
"Continuing in the tradition of his family as a third-generation Presbyterian minister, our dad had a deep commitment and dedication to the church," said his son, Arthur H. George II, and daughter, Lori George Billingsley, in a statement. "Through travel and experiencing other Presbyterian churches, he instilled in us the reality that we were part of one family no matter where we were in the world. His love for the church will live on through our work and ministry."
Until his recent illness, George was a parish associate at New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, DC, where he worshipped every Sunday, those close to him said.
Those who knew George, who was African-American, credited him with advancing racial equality in the mostly white Presbyterian Church.
"Bryant was for me a model of leadership for African-Americans in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)," said the Rev. Eugene Turner, a retired PC(USA) staff member and longtime friend. "Bryant had a lot to do with helping the Presbyterian Church overcome some of its racism. He was pivotal in helping the Presbyterian Church participate in the civil rights movement."
The Rev. Jack McClendon, a longtime friend and retired associate minister at New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, called Bryant a "frontiersman" in spurring racial equality in the church.
"He was a person that inspired people to examine their own prejudice and to involve themselves in racial justice."
Prior to blazing new trails in racial equality, George was as an instructor at Presbyterian-related Forman College in Lahore, Pakistan, from 1954 to 1957.
After that George served the northern stream of the Presbyterian Church as assistant executive director of its Church Extension Board from 1957 to 1961. In that position, he was responsible for coordinating the work of 42 churches, eight settlement houses, and numerous community organizations in the Chicago area.
George moved to New York City in 1961 where he served the Presbyterian Church for seven years as associate executive secretary for the Board of National Missions. In that position he was charged with planning and financing urban church settlement houses, community organizations, gender, race and ethnic programs nationwide.
During that time he also served as a consultant for the Ford Foundation, an independent organization based in New York City dedicated to strengthening democratic values, reducing poverty and injustice, promoting international cooperation and advancing human achievement.
In 1969 George became a grants officer for the foundation working with civil rights organizations in the South to help with the formation of community development corporations and other economic development groups. George joined the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in 1978 where he was responsible for coordinating programs in Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka for the independent federal government agency, which receives foreign policy guidance from the Secretary of State.
The agency supports long-term and equitable economic growth and advances U.S. foreign policy objectives through such things as agriculture, trade, global health, and humanitarian assistance. George served as USAID's acting director from 1980 to 1981, and its deputy director for 1981 to 1982.
George worked in the Philippines as director for USAID's Office of Food for Peace from 1984 to 1992. Following an earthquake in July 1990 that killed 1,700 people in the Southeast Asian nation, he traveled to impacted areas to supervise delivery of more than $3.08 million in relief supplies. In 1992 George was awarded the Presidential Medal of Merit from Philippines President Fidel V. Ramos for his courage and leadership.
Among other professional posts, George served as a consultant for the office of the president at Tulane University in New Orleans, LA; as senior technical advisor and secretary for Counterpart International Inc., in Washington, DC; and interim president-chief executive officer for the Scottsdale, AZ-based International Foundation for Education and Self-Help.
In addition to his ex-wife, Marion, son Arthur, and daughter, Lori, George is survived by one brother, Henry H. George; three granddaughters, one grandson; and one great grandson.
A memorial service is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 19, at New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, DC.
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