Photos of Charismatic Black Religious Leader "Sweet Daddy Grace" and Followers, 1950s

Very good. Three 8" x 10" photographs, one credited on the verso to Orby G. Kelley Jr., a photographer who worked for the Virginian-Pilot newspaper (Norfolk, VA) in the 1950s, the other two unmarked. The credited photo is an informal portrait of Charles Manuel Grace (1881-1960) -- born Marcelino Manuel da Graça and popularly known as "Sweet Daddy Grace" -- and the others show an excited crowd, hands raised in worship, with a sign reading "Sweet Daddy Came from Jerusalem, Not North Carolina." In one, a woman has her head thrown back in apparent religious ecstasy. Born in the Cape Verde Islands, Grace came to the United States in his early twenties, changed his name, and embarked on a career as a holiness preacher. In 1924, he founded his own denomination, the United House of Prayer for All People, which over time grew to have Houses of Prayer (Grace did not call them churches) as far south as Tampa and as far north as Buffalo, with the greatest concentration being in poor communities in Georgia and the Carolinas. Membership was predominantly African-American, but Grace was clear about being open to all and frequently preached to mixed-race crowds. He was a flamboyant character (wearing loudly colored suits and glitzy, expensive jewelry and growning his fingernails very long - as can be seen in the photo offered here) who gained a widespread reputation as a miracle-worker and faith healer. According to John O. Hodges (in a chapter on Grace in African American Religious Thought, An Anthology, 2003) The House of Prayer for All People, which still exists today," emphasizes conversion, sanctification, divine healing, and the gift of the Holy Spirit manifested through speaking in tongues.