Uncrowned Community Builders

Out of northern Alabama, from a small community came a giant of a man, Florence's native son, a gift lent to the world. The Reverend Dr. Bennett Walker Smith, Sr. was a world-renowned evangelist, having preached throughout the country as well as the Bible Lands (Jordan, Israel, and Egypt), the Caribbean, Cuba, Soweto, Johannesburg, Cape Town, South Africa, the United Kingdom, Argentina, Beijing and Canton China, Ethiopia, Australia, Venezuela, New Zealand, and Lebanon.

Born in Florence, Alabama, Pastor Smith attended Slater Elementary and Burrell Normal High School. In 1954, following his service in the U. S. Air Force in the Office of Special Investigation, he entered Tennessee State University (TSU) in Nashville where he completed his undergraduate studies earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Secondary Education. While the American scene was redefining war policy, Pastor Smith was completing his college years. His preparation was for the classroom, but his calling into the ministry would later take full charge of his life and his purpose would unfold as he said "yes" to his Master. Accepting the call into the gospel ministry, he would take his place, like others, on the wall to be a prophet of his time, a spokesperson for his God, and a visionary for his people. Years later he attended Colgate Rochester Divinity School where he graduated with a Master of Divinity degree in Theology (1994).

Never to exceed his love of God or his calling, his fraternal links were an important connection in his ties to the community and another way in which he gave back to others. While attending TSU, he crossed the sand into the Alpha Theta Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi, Inc. He became a Life member of Kappa Alpha Psi and was a 32nd Degree Mason in the Bison Consistory #29. Later he progressed to a 33rd Degree Freemasonry in Northern Jurisdiction, USA Inc.

Ushering in a new era of change, Pastor Smith took his place among others who staked their claim and placed themselves on the line that the Gospel would be real and reach beyond the walls of sanctuaries. In 1960, he stepped into the realm of preaching taking the path of his biological father. His first sermon was given at Union Baptist Church under the pastorate of Reverend Joseph Allen in Chicago on July 6th, 1960. The sermon was entitled "The Hour of Decision" and the scripture was from the gospel according to Luke 9:62. He was ordained into the ministry at Zion Baptist Church in Cincinnati, Ohio during the pastorate of Reverend L. Vencheal Booth on May 8th, 1962. His pastoral ministry began at First Baptist Church Mt. Auburn in Cincinnati, Ohio. Later he pastored the congregation at Lincoln Heights Baptist Church. Pastor Smith also served as Councilman for the village of Woodlawn, Ohio, a suburb of Cincinnati for eight years.

In 1972, following the death of Pastor Burnie C. McCarley, Pastor Smith was called to the 1200-member St. John Baptist Church (SJBC) located in Buffalo, New York, where he had preached a revival the previous year. For nearly 30 years, he served St. John as its second Pastor. At the time of his passing, the church membership had increased to 3200 members. As Pastor and Shepherd of St. John, Reverend Smith was inspired to institute various innovative ministries within the church and reach beyond the sanctuary's walls.

First, he organized an aggressive, all-out effort to burn the church's $250,000,
20-year mortgage in only seven years. In 1973, he burned the $90,000 mortgage at 248 Humboldt Parkway, the former church parsonage and the home of Mrs. Burnie C. McCarley. Pastor Smith was successful in putting forth a resolution to SJBC stating that "as long as Mrs. McCarley was living, she would remain in the church parsonage and the church would be responsible for paying all of her living expenses in addition to health insurance". That same year SJBC discharged the mortgage at 183 Sycamore, the former location of St. John Baptist Church, and donated the property to Unity Baptist Church. Reverend Dr. Ralph Abernathy, former President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) was the guest speaker for the mortgage burning service.

Also, in 1973, he opened a church-sponsored Inner City Mission at the corner of Jefferson Avenue and E. Utica Street, channeling free food and clothing to the needy. He led St. John to organize a federally chartered Credit Union, which has loaned over 200 million dollars to date, and established an annual scholarship fund for the youth of St. John.

When faith-based initiatives were unheard of in the 1970s, he pioneered building affordable housing. During Pastor Smith's "watch," the church undertook four major building projects - $5.5 million-dollar McCarley Gardens (1979), a 15-acre, 150-unit non-profit housing development of two-, three- and four-bedroom garden-type apartments for the less fortunate and St. John Towers (1983), a $7 million-dollar, 9-story, 150-unit senior citizen housing complex. Physically, the church expanded from its start with a sanctuary and first unit basement to Phase II when the second floor and an Education Wing were added. The second floor included a Historical Gallery, a church library/study, the McCarley Lounge, several classrooms for the expanding Sunday school, and St. John Christian Academy.

Within SJBC, Pastor Smith organized a Board of Christian Education to oversee educational matters, including an annual Institute of Christian Education (1973). One of the projects sponsored by the Board of Christian Education and spearheaded by the late Fern Beavers was the Historical Gallery of St. John. The Board of Christian Education sponsored Bonding Women of Faith, a city-wide non-denominational Women's Conference. The conference was held at St. John and was the first of its kind in Western New York (WNY). For spiritual growth, Pastor Smith instituted the Baptist Youth Fellowship, which were church services for young people up to sixteen years of age, a Singles' Ministry, a Women's Ministry and a Prison Ministry, a Senior Citizen Fellowship, a Male Chorus, and the United Choirs of St. John. He also organized Boys and Girls Scout troops, and the SJBC Chess Team in 1983 and 1984. One member of the Boy Scout troop attained the rank of Eagle Scout. The SJBC Chess Team had the distinct honor of meeting and playing with Maurice Ashley, a Jamaican American chess player, author, and commentator. In 1999, Mr. Ashley earned the title of International Grandmaster, making him the first African American to do so.

In 1993, Pastor Smith founded the St. John Christian Academy (SJCA), which offered Christian-based quality education. The Christian Academy began with grades pre-kindergarten through second grade. It later expanded to include grades three through eight. The Christian Academy was the first church-sponsored in Western New York. In the years to follow, Pastor Smith collaborated with Pastor Leslie Braxton of First Shiloh Baptist Church to have the St. John Christian Academy graduates attend First Shiloh's Christian High School.

Linked with this endeavor, the Smith-Child Life Foundation (1995) was chartered to enhance the educational, social, and physical well-being of the Christian Academy students through annual scholarships. The Smith-Child Life Foundation also organized an Annual Golf Tournament (1997). The Academy sponsored Project GIFT to meet further the needs of developmentally challenged students and Project Promise to provide academic assistance in math, science, history, and reading. Among the teaching staff, the Academy had several prominent musicians: James "Pappy" Martin, who founded Buffalo's Love Supreme School of Music; Al Tinney, a legendary jazz piano player and influential bebop pianist; and Ras Jomo, an Ethiopian African Drummer.

Moving from the traditional 11:00 a.m. Worship Service Pastor Smith added an 8:00 a.m. Worship Service, which drew persons from across the city of Buffalo. The early service, first in Western New York, was broadcast live and taped for television. It first took place during June-September to encourage families to worship together with a relaxed dress code so they could spend their remaining Sundays enjoying family activities.

Pastor Smith's final building project was the Reverend Dr. Bennett Walker Smith, Sr. Family Life Center in 2001. The Smith Family Life Center is a three-story, 32,000-square-foot facility that costs $4.6 million dollars. The purpose of the Smith Family Life Center was to house St. John Christian Academy (SJCA). It also provided the surrounding Fruit Belt community with various health and human service programs. This multi-use health and human services facility has an Olympic-sized gym and community-based offices for Kaleida Health, a Primary Physician, and a Podiatrist. The Smith Family Life Center also has a full-size industrial kitchen and a Computer Literacy Lab.

The Smith Family Life Center was mainly funded through sacrificial giving from the congregation, grants from federal, state, and local governments, and private donations. The Smith Life Center embodies Pastor Smith's charitable witness, his courageous voice, and his committed spirit to "the least of these." During this season, in failing health, Pastor Smith envisioned the "St. John Campus" in the heart of downtown Buffalo. He worked tirelessly for almost thirty years to bring that vision to reality.
During the October 2001 Dedication and Grand Opening of the Smith Family Life Center, Dr. Otis Moss, Jr. of Olivet Baptist Church of Cleveland, Ohio, commented, "Dr. Smith's life was a prayer answered and a prayer being given. His great leadership took on dimensions, not just of success, but suffering and sacrifice. If there was ever a time, a place, an event that captures the essence of a moan, which embraces his vision and reflects his benevolence, gratitude and still exalts his God, then for "Pastor Smith" - it is the Smith Family Life Center that bears his name". In 2002, former NYS Governor George Pataki signed a bill that honored Pastor Smith by renaming Goodell Street, "Reverend Dr. Bennett Walker Smith, Sr. Way".

Pastor Smith's commitment to ministry went beyond the walls of St. John. Locally, demanded that an inner-city public park, Humboldt Parkway, be renamed in the memory of the late Dr. Martin Luther L. King, Jr. He organized a county-wide Dr. Martin L. King, Jr. Steering Committee in 1977 with the assistance of former Buffalo Common Council President George K. Arthur, Councilmen James Pitts and David Collins, and former Erie County Legislator Minnie Gillette. The committee was responsible for changing the name of Humboldt Park and lobbied to place a of Dr. King in the park. He hosted the Operation People United to Save & Serve Humanity (P.U.S.H) radio broadcast on WUFO, airing on Saturday mornings for nearly ten years. The PUSH-Excel program was placed in South Park High School and P.S. #80 during that period. The PUSH-Excel program was the education arm of Operation PUSH.

During the construction of the Oak-Elm Arterial, Pastor Smith demanded the NYS Department of Transportation (DOT) engineers change the original design so the traffic pattern would flow south "away" from SJBC instead of flowing west directly above the church. He felt the debris from the overhead traffic would cause extensive damage to the church's windows and structure. As a result of this, he spearheaded the effort in 1979 within Buffalo's Fruit Belt section to have the NYS DOT build a pedestrian overpass across the section of Route 33, known as the Kensington Expressway so that the residents and children of the Fruit Belt could safely cross to go to work and school. If the NYS DOT had refused to cooperate, Reverend Smith threatened to stage a rush-hour sit in on the Kensington Expressway at 7:00 a.m. Monday through Friday.

Beyond the WNY community, he served as President of the 5-million-member Progressive National Baptist Convention (PNBC) in 1994, becoming the only NYS resident to head a major Protestant denomination.

In 1961, Pastor Smith was one of thirty-three delegates who attended the founding and organizing meeting of PNBC, which was held in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Reverend L. Venchael Booth, Pastor Smith's pastor, proposed that a new convention be formed that would embrace the civil rights movements led by Dr. Martin L. King, Jr. PNBC was founded following several years of internal disagreements over the governing structure and civil rights stance of the National Baptist Convention USA, Inc. (NBC, USA, Inc.) Many of the National Baptist Convention opposed (1.) the then President Jackson's life-long term and supported Reverend Gardner C. Taylor as President and (2.) disagreed with the convention's stance, which refused membership to Dr. Martin L. King, Jr., who co-pastored Ebenezer Baptist Church with his father Dr. Martin L. King Sr.

Under Pastor Smith's leadership, SJBC hosted the 36th Annual Session in August of 1997. According to the Buffalo Convention and Visitors Bureau, the economic impact of the session was almost $40 million dollars for WNY. It was the largest African-American organization to meet in Buffalo, New York. During his tenure as PNBC President, the International Region was formed in 1995. The organizing meeting was held in London, England. More than 125 churches from South Africa, Cuba, South America, the United Kingdom, and the Caribbean joined PNBC.

President Smith and other members of PNBC had an audience with the late Queen Elizabeth of England in London. During this meeting, the Queen expressed her displeasure with the United States public assistance system. He responded that there were glaring similarities in how the British Empire provided for the Queen and the U.S.'s assistance for those less fortunate. Pastor Smith also made mention of the "cloud of colonialism" that hangs over the Queen's legacy, referring to the countries of Kenya, Sudan, Bahamas, Grenada, and Barbados. PNBC's "Gardner C. Taylor Preaching Hour" was established in 1998 by President Smith. Gardner Taylor was a mentor to President Smith. Dr. Taylor is affectionately known as the "Dean of American Preaching."

During the 34th Annual Session of PNBC held in Charlotte, North Carolina, President Smith hosted former U.S. President William Jefferson Clinton, who became the only National President of the 8 Baptist/Protestant Conventions to do so. Pastor Smith was a Life member of PNBC.

Spanning decades, his life experiences crisscrossed the country, weaving a pattern of social change. His early years in the Civil Rights movement date to the early 1960s. His advocacy for social and racial justice was shared with persons such as the late Dr. Martin L. King, Jr. and Sr.; the late Reverend Ralph Abernathy, Reverend Fred Shuttleworth, Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the late Evangelist Billy Graham, Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yassir Arafat, Cuban President Fidel Castro and the former President of South African Nelson Mandela.

Pastor Smith spoke out against the U.S. Embargo against Cuba while carrying humanitarian goods to Cuba across the U.S./Canadian border. Additionally, he had the distinct honor of being the only African American clergyman to serve as an Election Monitor for South Africa's historic all-race election in 1994. The election resulted in Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela becoming President of South Africa and the end of Apartheid. Actors Danny Glover and Spike Lee, Reverends Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson joined him in this effort. President Mandela was a South African anti-apartheid activist, politician and statesman who served as the first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first black head of state and the first elected in a fully representative democratic election.

Pastor Smith accompanied Dr. Martin L. King, Jr., on the historic March from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, in 1965, working with the Reverends Jackson, Abernathy, and Shuttlesworth. His most frightening memory of the march was that the streets were lined with Caucasian hecklers. He vividly remembered a Caucasian male confronting him who was eager to spit in his face. Reverend Shuttlesworth hurried some of the marchers to Pastor Smith's side and told them to "stay close to B.W. because I'm not sure how committed he is to non-violence".

His Social Justice Ministry includes serving on the national boards of People United to Save/ Serve Humanity (Operation PUSH), the World Council of Churches, the Congress of Black Churches, the Rainbow Coalition, the General Council of Baptist World Alliance, and the Revelation Corporation. He was a Life member of the NAACP, and PNBC, Inc.. He worked with former U.S. Secretary of State General Colin Powell as the Religious Co-Chairperson for President Clinton's National Summit for African American Future Volunteerism.
Pastor Smith's accomplishments include receiving a Grammy nomination for his sermon, "Watch Them Dogs," and he authored the widely used Handbook of Tithing. While writing the Tithing Handbook Pastor Smith stated, "I learned to be generous through tithing not because I have so much but because I know how it feels to have nothing". He was a featured contributing author to the African American Devotional Bible (2000) and a contributing author/writer for the College/University textbook: Strategies Management: Strategy Formulation and Implementation (1985) "Awakening a Sleeping Giant: The Black Church - A Major Economic Force".

Pastor Smith has been recognized by several national, state, and local organizations and journals.
Who's Who Among Black American (1980)
Who's Who in Religion (1985 & 1993)
Ebony Magazine 100+ Most Influential Black Americans (1995-1998)
Ebony Magazine Amazing Grace: 50 years in the Black (1995)
NAACP Medgar-Evers Civil Rights Award (1982)
National Conference for Community and Justice Special Recognition Award (1994 & 2002)
Buffalo Urban League Highest Award - The Evans-Young Award (1996)
Buffalo News Outstanding Citizen of the Year (1993 & 1994)
WGRZ-TV Top 100 Most Influential Western New Yorkers this Century (1999)
Ranked 15th Most Powerful Civic Leader in the Buffalo Niagara Region (2001) by the Buffalo News

He served as Chaplin for:
Gospel Music Recording Artist under the auspices of his TSU classmate Dr. Bobby Jones
State University of New York at Buffalo Police Department
New York State Police
City of Buffalo Police and Fire Department
Colgate Rochester Divinity School

In his role as Chaplain for the City of Buffalo Police and Fire Department, he played a major role in convincing its members to have prayer during morning meetings before going on duty. Some of the many guests to visit SJBC under Pastor Smith's leadership include:
Reverend Ralph David Abernathy, civil right leader and co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)
Grammy winner Whitney Houston, bestselling artist of all time, and her Mother, Cissy Houston of New Hope Baptist Church, Newark, New Jersey
Minister Louis Farrakhan, Leader of the Nation of Islam
Former New York Comptroller and NYS Senator Herman Carl McCall. Mr. McCall was the 1st African American to be elected to a statewide office in New York
Actors Danny Glover and Spike Lee
Reverend Al Sharpton, President of the National Action Network (NAN)
Former U.S. First Lady of the United States and NYS Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton
U. S. Senator Chuck Schumer
Former U.S. Congressman Jack Quinn
Former NYS Governors Mario Cuomo and George Pataki
Former Erie County Sheriff and current NYS Senator Patrick Gallivan
30th U.S. Secretary of Commerce Ronald Harmon Brown and Chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Ron Brown was the first African American to hold these positions.
Renowned Attorney Johnnie Cochran. Best known for his leadership role in the defense and acquittal of former NFL Buffalo Bill O.J. Simpson. More importantly, Pastor Smith worked with Johnnie Cochran in 1996 following the death of Cynthia Wiggins. A dump truck hit and fatally killed Ms. Wiggins while she crossed Walden Avenue to catch the NFTA #6 metro bus home. Ms. Wiggins was a 17-year-old mother of a newborn and a Walden Galleria Mall employee. Attorney Cochran discovered that the Galleria Mall had written a well-documented policy of not permitting metro buses from Buffalo's inner city on the mall property. The mall allowed buses from Cheektowaga, Williamsville, and other surrounding suburbs onto the mall property. The family of Ms. Wiggins filed a $210 million dollar lawsuit against the mall's owners, Pyramid Management Group of Syracuse.

Other notable persons and members of SJBC under Pastor Smith were:
Former NYS Appellate Division Justice Samuel Green. The first African American outside of New York City elected to the Supreme Court and the first African American Justice appointed to sit on the Appellate Division 4th Department.
Honorable Shirley Troutman, previously as Appellate Justice from WNY and recently confirmed to the NYS Court of Appeals.
5th term City of Buffalo Mayor Bryon Brown; Mayor Brown with his family; Their son, Bryon III, graduated from SJCA.
Former U.S. Congresswoman Shirley Chisolm. The first African American woman elected to Congress and her husband Arthur Hardwick.
Marshall Davis Miles, the former manager of boxing champion Joe Louis.

Finally, in the stillness of the night of August 7, 2001, Pastor Smith was released from mortality to be clothed in immortality. However, the life of this Prince of the Church does not stop here but continues in the legacy he leaves for all to cherish, others to complete, and still others to emulate.