The 'Uncle Tom' Principal in Coming of Age in Mississippi

A Look at Anselm J. Finch

By Roscoe Barnes III
Chairman, Anne Moody History Project
Copyright (c) 2018

#AnneMoody

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For me, it's a good day whenever I learn something about Anne Moody or I meet someone that knew her. The day gets better when I discover someone who can confirm some of the things she wrote about, especially those stories that may have been questioned by some.

I recently had the good fortune of speaking with Charles E. Johnson, a retired Superintendent of Education for Wilkinson County, who not only saw Moody play basketball in school, but he also shared personal stories that supported some of her experiences. One story in particular dealt with Anselm (sometimes spelled “Anslem”) J. Finch, whom he knew as "a dirty, low down" man who could not be trusted.

"I went to school under him,” Johnson said in a recent interview. “It’s hard to describe him. He was an Uncle Tom and more. He didn’t care for us. For him, it was all about the money.”

According to Johnson, Finch was actually "Mr. C.H. Willis," the founding principal of Willis High School featured in Coming of Age in Mississippi. He said there was never a "Willis High" and that Moody changed the name of the principal and the school.

In the March 5, 1948 issue of the Jackson Clarion Ledger, Finch is mentioned as "head of the Centreville colored school." In March 1948, Moody would have been seven years old, the same age she attended the school which she described as "the only Negro school in Centreville." She wrote that the school "had only been expanded into a high school the year before I started there."

Finch is also believed to be one of the men connected to the August 1959 murder of Samuel O'Quinn and, as Moody put it, "one of the biggest Uncle Toms in the South." She wrote: "It was said that he was the one who squealed on Samuel O'Quinn and also helped plot his death."

In Chapter 17 of Coming of Age, Moody wrote about her high school graduation in 1959. She commented on the opening of a new school for Blacks, and she said that Willis became the principal of the new school. She wrote:

Wilkinson County was a recipient of one of the new “Separate but Equal” schools built throughout the South as a result of the 1954 Supreme Court Decision. It had been under construction on a fifty-two-acre plot in Woodville for almost a year when I graduated in 1959. The following September all the Negro high schools in Wilkinson County would consolidate into the new school, giving it nearly three thousand students and eighty to ninety teachers. It was supposed to be the largest new school in the state and it caused much bickering among the Uncle Tom principals and teachers in the county. Many of the teachers sought positions as heads of various classes or departments and the principals challenged each other for the position of head principal. Since Willis was the biggest Tom among the principals of the merging schools, he was the one chosen by the state board for this job.

The new school was actually called Wilkinson County Training School, according to Johnson. He said Finch was the principal of the new school. Today the school serves as the Wilkinson County High School in Woodville, Miss. 

Moody was not alone in some of her views of Willis/Finch. Papers held by the State Sovereignty Commission show that Finch was "opposed to any NAACP activity" during that time.

The Jackson Advocate (September 10, 1966) reported civil rights groups launched campaigns "to destroy all locally responsible Negro leaders whom they have branded with the mark of 'Uncle Tom.'" The paper noted Finch "has long been a marked man."

In a March 17, 1959 memo to the director of the State Sovereignty Commission, Zack J. Van Landingham wrote that Finch was "very much against the NAACP." Although he was "severely criticized" by NAACP members, he found support from the sheriff and school superintendent. Landingham noted:

The Sheriff and Supt. of Education regard Anslem J. Finch as an excellent source of information regarding Negro activities in that county. They consider him absolutely reliable.

Finch's reputation is also described in the California Law Review [Vol. 101:445]:

Throughout the 1950s the Sovereignty Commission monitored a series of complaints within the black community about various teachers and superintendents, including Superintendent Anselm Finch. Although Superintendent Finch was instrumental in creating Wilkinson County’s first black high school in 1959, increasing education opportunities for black students throughout the 1960s, Finch had a reputation for his accommodationist stance. His own writing reveals a personal ideological conflict based on pragmatic concerns and pressures felt by some black leaders. He spoke against those who demonstrated in opposition to the black education system and spoke in favor of collaborating with the white community to gain access to resources; and yet other writings imply a strongly felt connection to the civil rights movement.

The California Law Review identified Finch as "Superintendent," but the truth is, he never became superintendent, according to Johnson. "He ran, but he did not win," he said. "He lost by a 1,000 votes."

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Would you like to know MORE about Anne Moody? Visit here to

see the timeline of important events in her life history!

 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For more information: 
See the Anne Moody page here.
Questions about the Anne Moody History Project may be directed to Roscoe Barnes III via email at doctorbarnes3@gmail.com or roscoebarnes3@yahoo.com. For updates on Anne Moody history and the on-going work of this community service project, simply follow this blog or follow AMHP on Twitter (@AnneMoodyHP). #ComingOfAgeinMississippi

Mississippi Governor Signs Bill Honoring Civil Rights Pioneer Anne Moody

New law will name portion of Highway 24 in her honor

By Roscoe Barnes III

Chairman, Anne Moody History Project

Copyright (c) 2018

#AnneMoody

Anne Moody History Project members display copy 
of House Bill 1153. Pictured from left: Ruby Dixon, 
Emma Taplin, and LaVern Taylor.

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JACKSON, Miss. – Gov. Phil Bryant of Mississippi has signed into law a bill that honors the memory of civil rights pioneer Anne Moody.

The new law, which takes effect on July 1, 2018, will allow a portion of Highway 24 to be named “The Anne Moody Memorial Highway” in Wilkinson County in southwest Mississippi.

Bryant signed House Bill 1153 on March 8, 2018. It was sponsored by Rep. Angela Cockerham, D-Magnolia, and co-sponsored by Rep. Debra Gibbs, D-Jackson, and Rep. Greg Holloway Sr., D- Hazlehurst.

Cockerham said she was “so proud” they could get this done. Speaking of Moody, she said: "At a very early age, Anne Moody took upon herself a movement that would change the State of Mississippi and America. She was motivated by her own internal spirit, fueled by God.”

Warden Jody Bradley of Wilkinson County Correctional Facility, Woodville, said the recognition makes him proud to say he’s from Mississippi. It was his facility that spearheaded the project to have the highway named in Moody’s honor.

“It’s a tribute to how Mississippians can come together, across party lines at the local, county and state level to honor a unique individual who did the right thing at a difficult time,” Bradley said. “The support this project has garnered from all who have been made aware is an example of what America is all about.”

“When we travel the Anne Moody Memorial Highway, let us remember the past and think about how we will now shape our tomorrow." – Rep. Angela Cockerham

Moody wrote Coming of Age in Mississippi, a classic autobiography that was first published in 1968. She was born and raised in Centreville, Miss. She died in 2015 at the age of 74. She had been living in Gloster, Miss., which is only a few miles from Centreville. Moody became a civil rights activist while attending Tougaloo College in the early 1960s. She participated in a number of famous demonstrations, including the Woolworth’s Sit-in in Jackson.

Rep. Angela Cockerham, D-Magnolia

--------------------------------

“It is a blessing for the State of Mississippi to be able to recognize one who has had such a profound impact upon our nation,” Cockerham said of Moody. “When we travel the Anne Moody Memorial Highway, let us remember the past and think about how we will now shape our tomorrow."

The section of Highway 24 that will bear Moody’s name will begin at its intersection with U.S. Highway 61 in Woodville, and extend east to the Amite County line in Centreville. It is a distance of 13 miles, only a few miles from the Louisiana state line.

The Anne Moody Memorial Highway signs will be erected and maintained along the highway by the Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT).

The idea for the bill to honor Moody began with the Anne Moody History Project (AMHP), a community service project created in March 2017 by the staff of WCCF. AMHP’s mission is to promote and help preserve the legacy of Moody, according to member Lavern Taylor. “We felt that something should be done to honor her memory,” she said.

In June 2017, AMHP members asked the Wilkinson County Board of Supervisors for a resolution authorizing the highway to be named in Moody’s honor. The board approved the request with unanimous support and submitted the resolution to Cockerham.

“This is a major milestone,” said AMHP member Ruby Dixon. “It’s hard to believe, but it finally happened. We’re so happy that Anne Moody is receiving this honor.”

AMHP member Emma Taplin shared Dixon’s sentiments. She noted: “It’s a great feeling being part of this project and keeping Anne Moody’s legacy alive by having a street named for her, a day to celebrate her birthday, and a highway named in her honor.”

WCCF is operated by Management & Training Corporation (MTC) of Utah.

House Bill 1153, which authorizes The Anne Moody Memorial 
Highway designation.

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Would you like to know more about Anne Moody?

Visit the Anne Moody page here!

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For more information: 
See the Anne Moody page here.
Questions about the Anne Moody History Project may be directed to Roscoe Barnes III via email at doctorbarnes3@gmail.com or roscoebarnes3@yahoo.com For updates on Anne Moody history and the on-going work of this community service project, simply follow this blog or follow AMHP on Twitter (@AnneMoodyHP). 
#ComingOfAgeinMississippi

Anne Moody Ad to be Placed in 2018 School Yearbook

Full Page Prepared for Wilkinson County School District in Southwest Mississippi

By Roscoe Barnes III
Chairman, Anne Moody History Project
Copyright (c) 2018

#AnneMoody

This full-page ad will appear in the 2018 Wilkinson County School District
Yearbook. It was purchased by the Anne Moody History Project.

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When members of the Anne Moody History Project (AMHP) learned that Anne Moody would be honored in the 2018 Wilkinson County Schools yearbook, we decided to support the effort by purchasing a full-page ad in the same publication. At a cost of only $100, the ad is an inexpensive way to keep Moody's name before the public. If only a handful of students read her story, then the ad would be more than worth the investment.

As we reflected on the yearbook as a keepsake, it occurred to us that supporting the school district in this way is something we could do each year going forward. We also considered doing this in other school districts for as long as we can afford it. Who knows, perhaps at some point we could find sponsors to help fund the effort. And as the number of sponsors grows, more students in Mississippi and other states will have the opportunity to discover the life history of Moody.

It seems to us that the school yearbook just might become an effective tool for promoting Moody's legacy. As we plan for future publications, we hope to use direct response ads in the yearbooks to engage the students (and parents) by making special offers in each ad. A number of products are being created specifically for this purpose.

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Would you like to know more about Anne Moody?

Visit the Anne Moody page here!

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For more information: 
See the Anne Moody page here.

Questions about the Anne Moody History Project may be directed to Roscoe Barnes III via email at doctorbarnes3@gmail.com or roscoebarnes3@yahoo.com For updates on Anne Moody history and the on-going work of this community service project, simply follow this blog or follow AMHP on Twitter (@AnneMoodyHP). #ComingOfAgeinMississippi

Clarion Ledger: REMEMBERING ANNE MOODY

Prison chaplain works to keep legacy alive

By Matt Williamson
The Enterprise Journal of McComb

Prison chaplain Roscoe Barnes stands near a recently dedicated street sign honoring author and Centreville native Anne Moody in Centreville. Moody's involvement in the civil rights movement put her at the epicenter of key historical events, Barnes said. (Matt Williamson/The Enterprise-Journal via AP) (Photo: Matt Williamson, AP)

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NOTE: Imagine my surprise when I learned that the prestigious Clarion Ledger (Jackson, Miss.) had featured a story about Anne Moody and the work of the Anne Moody History Project (AMHP). I first saw the online version of the story with the headline, "Who was Anne Moody?" That was impressive enough. Then someone called and said I should see the print version that appeared on Tuesday, March 6, 2018. Well, I saw it and I was floored by the nice placement of the story. The editors did a wonderful job with the layout on the page. As I've told others, I was humbled by their handling of the piece. The print version appears on Page 3A. It uses the headline, "REMEMBERING ANNE MOODY."

The online version of the story appears here. 

Matt Williamson, editor for The Enterprise Journal (McComb, Miss.), is the person who wrote the story, which first appeared in the Journal on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018. After being picked up by The Associated Press, the story appeared in newspapers throughout Mississippi and other parts of the United States. The committee for the AMHP is thrilled about the growing interest in Moody and the role newspapers are playing in sharing her history. Together we are keeping her legacy alive. -- Roscoe Barnes III, Chairman, Anne Moody History Project

Clarion Ledger, Page 3A, "Remembering Anne Moody"
(Tuesday, March 6, 2018)

Who was Anne Moody? 

Prison chaplain 

works to keep legacy alive

Matt Williamson, The Enterprise Journal of McComb

Published 9:00 a.m. CT March 4, 2018

CENTREVILLE — Roscoe Barnes III didn't know much about Wilkinson County when he moved there in 2013 to take a job as a prison chaplain. But he knew about Anne Moody, who grew up there, became a civil rights activist and published her memoir, "Coming of Age in Mississippi," which received worldwide acclaim.

It turns out, he was just about the only one.

"I knew she was a famous author," he said. "I would ask people about her. Nobody knew who she was. Nobody — right here in Centreville."

Barnes thought that was a shame.

He wanted to preserve her legacy and started by making an effort to keep her memory alive in her hometown. In the past year, Barnes began the Anne Moody History Project, which has been successful so far, with local governments and the Mississippi Legislature making proclamations honoring her legacy.

The street near where she grew up in Centreville's Ash Quarters neighborhood was recently renamed after her, and a bill to rename a portion of Highway 24 between Woodville and Centreville in her memory is advancing in the Mississippi House of Representatives.

Barnes also keeps the project updated through blog posts and on Twitter.

Woolworth's sit-in

Moody grew up in Centreville and worked as a maid while she was still in school. She moved to Woodville at 17 and graduated from the all-black Johnson High School then enrolled at Natchez College before transferring to Tougaloo College, where she became an activist.

She participated in a sit-in at a Woolworth's lunch counter in Jackson in 1963, where a newspaper photographer captured a chaotic scene of a mob of young white people pouring ketchup, sugar and mustard on Moody and two other demonstrators.

"Because of her activism her name, her picture was on the newspaper and people back here began to get scared for themselves and law enforcement told her, 'Don't come back here. If you do you'll be killed and your family,' " Barnes said. "Her brother Fred, who lives in Gloster, he was very close to getting lynched when he was much younger.

"When Medgar Evers was killed, she was really frightened because the people who had killed him made threats to kill her. Her mom told her, 'Don't come back down here.' They didn't want her to stir up anything down here, so she stayed away for a long time."

Roscoe Barnes holds a copy of Anne Moody's book, "Coming of Age in Mississippi," near the author's childhood home, seen in background, in Centreville. Moody's involvement in the civil rights movement put her at the epicenter of key historical events, Barnes said. (Matt Williamson/The Enterprise-Journal via AP) (Photo: Matt Williamson, AP)

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Moody's involvement in the civil rights movement put her at the epicenter of key historical events, Barnes said. She was with Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner and James Chaney a week before the three civil rights workers were killed and buried in an earthen dam near Philadelphia, Miss., and she took part in the March on Washington, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his "I Have a Dream" speech. She worked with Medgar Evers up until his assassination.

"She gives history lessons even when telling her own story, and it is absolutely fascinating to me how she could be in so many important places so many times," Barnes said.

Moody moved to New York in 1964, married and began working in academia.

"What surprised everybody is that she married a white man who was Jewish," Barnes said. "She was criticized for that — 'You do all this for the movement and then you go off and marry a white man.' "

Moody was teaching at Cornell University when baseball great Jackie Robinson heard her speak at a United Auto Workers convention in Atlantic City, N.J., and encouraged her to write a book.

"He said anybody who can speak this well should be able to write a book," Barnes said. "At the time she said there was too much on her mind, the memories were too fresh."

But eventually, she began to tell her story about growing up in Mississippi and all she had been through.

"When the book first came out, she was an instant celebrity. She was on talk shows, she was on the 'Merv Griffin Show.' She was being interviewed all over the place," Barnes said. "She moved to Europe in '69. Her book was translated in several languages. Her book was a best-seller in Europe."

When the book was published, Sen. Edward Kennedy reviewed it for the New York Times, writing, "Anne Moody's powerful and moving book is a timely reminder that we cannot now relax in the struggle for sound justice in America or in any part of America. We would do so at our peril."

Prison part of project

Barnes, 57, grew up in Indianola, left the state after high school, joined the Army and lived in Pennsylvania for nearly 20 years, where he went to seminary and worked as a newspaper reporter.

He took a break from journalism to focus on going into the ministry full-time and accepted a job as chaplain of the Wilkinson County Correctional Facility, a private prison housing state inmates in Woodville.

He started asking around about Moody, who he thought would be one of the area's more well-known residents and learned that she had more or less settled into obscurity.

The Anne Moody History Project was born as a community service project sponsored by the prison. Barnes oversees a committee of volunteers, including prison employees, who keep it going.

Barnes read her book and began to take more of an interest in his new surroundings.

"One of the things I like about the book is how detailed she was. That was one of the things that really captured my attention," he said, noting how Moody's description of the town and its landmarks mostly hold true a half-century later.

He read one sentence from the book, "I turned the little curve in front of Ms. Pearl's and walked up toward the highway," and explained that he knows that curve and where Ms. Pearl's house still stands.

The book also paints Moody's home state as a dangerous place for African-Americans in the turbulent 1950s and '60s. For instance, there's a description of a family who lost eight members to a fire believed to have been deliberately set. Barnes said two people survived and he's trying to get in touch with one of them.

"If you don't appreciate history or have a nose for news, you won't appreciate it when you're walking around Centreville," he said.

Over lunch at a barbecue joint on a recent Friday in Moody's hometown of Centreville, Barnes, who is black, noted that eating at the same table with a white newspaper reporter wouldn't be possible if not for the sacrifices of Moody and other civil rights workers.

Book published 50 years ago

"Coming of Age in Mississippi" turns 50 this year. The book was first published on Dec. 3, 1968, and is in still print.

"It is still being read in schools all over," Barnes said.

Part of Barnes' work on the project includes buying up copies of the book and giving them away, either to inmates at the prison or people he encounters in passing who ask him about it.

Part of the reason nobody from Wilkinson County remembers Moody is due to the fact that she left and never returned, Barnes said.

"The book ends in '64. That's when she leaves Mississippi and goes up north," he said. "She stayed away from Mississippi for a long time, 10 or 11 years, and was always afraid to come back."

He said Moody was still uneasy about returning to Centreville when her mother died more than a decade after she left.

"Her sister Adeline, who lives in Gloster, said that even in her older years when she came back, she was not comfortable. And it did not help she started having dementia," Barnes said.

He said he thought she had symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.

"One of her family members told me if she heard a loud noise she would take cover and go into a fetal position," Barnes said.

Moody had become so obscure that when she died at the age of 74 in Gloster, suffering from dementia, Barnes — perhaps her biggest fan — had no idea she was even still around.

"She died in 2015, and I said, 'What? She's been living in Gloster all this time?' " he said.

Renewed interest

If there was ever any concern that Moody's legacy would fade away, Barnes has all but alleviated that.

He said the streets and highway signs will stay up long after he's gone and he hears more people asking about her.

"People are calling and inquiring. This is what we wanted to happen," he said. "Here's the thing that blows my mind: It's taken off and it's taken a life of its own."

And it's amazing how far the inquiries are coming from, he said.

"We got an email from Nancy Pelosi's office. Her history researcher is making a calendar and they wanted to include Anne Moody's 'Coming of Age in Mississippi.' ... They saw what we had online and thought that we would be the people to contact," he said.

For Barnes, Anne Moody's history, civil rights history and black history are one in the same, and this is like a year-round black history project.

"Too often, when we talk civil rights, there are certain names we hear all the time. ... Well, my committee and I, we said we need to change that," Barnes said, recalling civil rights workers whose names aren't as famous as Evers, King or Malcolm X but whose sacrifices were just as important. "There are other people who played a vital role. We want people moving forward to start mentioning Anne Moody's name when they're talking about civil rights."

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Would you like to know MORE about Anne Moody? Visit here to

see the timeline of important events in her life history!

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Clarion Ledger, Page 4A, "Moody - continued from Page 3A"
(Tuesday, March 6, 2018)

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For more information: See the Anne Moody page here.

Questions about the Anne Moody History Project may be directed to Roscoe Barnes III via email at doctorbarnes3@gmail.com or roscoebarnes3@yahoo.com. For updates on Anne Moody history and the on-going work of this community service project, simply follow this blog or follow AMHP on Twitter (@AnneMoodyHP). #ComingOfAgeinMississippi

F.F. Bosworth Among Those with ‘Proven Divine Healing Ministry’ in 1950

He’s Listed with 32 Other Evangelists in The Voice of Healing Magazine

By Roscoe Barnes III

Author, F.F. Bosworth: The Man Behind Christ the Healer

Copyright © 2018

#FFBosworth

In a magazine that played a key role in the divine healing movement of the 1950s, F.F. Bosworth is listed among 30-plus preachers as being a legitimate healing evangelist. He is also listed as one of several associate editors of the magazine, which was called, The Voice of Healing (VOH). Bosworth’s book, Christ the Healer, is promoted in the publication along with books by other evangelists.

At 73, Bosworth was one of the oldest, if not the oldest, of the evangelists serving with the VOH in 1950. His decades of success as a healing evangelist made him the perfect mentor. T.L.Osborn once said, “Old F.F. Bosworth used to share a lot of secrets with us.” William Branham, acknowledged leader and initiator of the post-World War II healing revival, stated, “I believe Brother Bosworth knows more of the Bible on Divine healing than any man I ever met in my life.”

It is clear that Bosworth had much to offer. VOH Editor Gordon Lindsay wrote about his success and his massive city-wide campaigns held throughout the United States and Canada. But for all Bosworth had to offer, his presence did not prevent some of the critical problems and controversies that would plague some of the traveling preachers.

The Voice of Healing magazine originally appeared in April 1948 as the official organ – and promotional tool – for the ministry of William Branham. But after a short time, it expanded and became a publication for a select number of evangelists, some of whom had independent ministries.

The magazine promoted the evangelistic healing meetings with compelling testimonies and news reports. It also used sensational headlines, eye-catching superlatives, and photographs of large crowds at various meetings. At the same time, the magazine, which was headed by Gordon and Freda Lindsay, tried to present the VOH preachers as legitimate men and women who possessed not only integrity, but the power to produce miracles of healing in evangelistic crusades. On page two of the July 1950 issue, the magazine reports:

We list in this directory the names of those who we believe have a proven Divine healing ministry, and who are laboring in harmony with the policy of THE VOICE OF HEALING to unite in spirit the members of the body of Christ, and whose lives are above reproach.

The magazine listed in alphabetical order the names and “permanent addresses” of the evangelists. The list included A.A. Allen, William Branham, F.F. Bosworth, Jack Coe, Frank Cottingham, Charles Dobbins, Clifton Erickson, William Freeman, Velmer Gardner, W.V. Grant, Franklin Hall, Dale Hanson, L.D. Hall, John Hauek, H.E. Hardt, W.A. Henry, Harold Horton, Gayle Jackson, U.S. Jaeger, O.L. Jaggers, Louis Keplan, Gordon Lindsay, Harvey McAlister, E.H. Miles, Louise Nankivell, Thelma Nickel, Wilbur Ogilvie, T. L. Osborn, Oral Roberts, Abraham Tannen Baum, Richard R. Vinyard, James B. Reesor, Doyle Zachary.

Some of the preachers were notoriously competitive and some became more famous than others. A few of them found success and watched their ministries grow -- and extend into the 21st century. Unfortunately some became roiled in controversy and eventually left the ministry. Even so, the magazine tried to make a good faith effort in presenting the VOH evangelists as sincere men and women of God who were gifted to bring salvation and healing to a dying world. A glimpse of this effort can be seen in a single paragraph on page three of the July 1950 issue under the heading, “Announcement.” It reads:

THE VOICE OF HEALING is a publication devoted to the encouragement of the great healing revivals that are now springing up over the world. We are now carrying reports of quite a number of men whom God has given a prominent ministry. Most of these ministers we know personally, some however, we have not met. We believe that on the whole these ministers are consecrated men who are worthy of the highest endorsement. Naturally it is up to each minister to conduct his life in such a way that his own ministry will be his best recommendations. Though we receive many inquiries, we do not attempt to recommend this or that minister for campaigns in any special city. We feel that the Spirit of God should lead in these matters.

The announcement, including the list of names, may have been viewed by readers as a commendable gesture. It might have also been reassuring. But for me, it prompts a few questions that have practical, ethical, and theological implications. For example: How exactly were the preachers validated? What system of accountability did Lindsay and others use in their determination? What were the standards?

I also wonder about the issue of transparency: Was the editor fully transparent about the evangelists’ payment for placement in the magazine? Paul Asa Allen, son of A.A. Allen, has said the evangelists purchased ad space in the magazine to promote their meetings. When they acquired a set number of subscriptions from their followers and mailed the names (along with the subscription fees) to VOH, they could receive a free page in the magazine, according to Paul. He said his father earned more free pages than the other evangelists. As a result, the Lindsays encouraged him to start his own magazine. It seems that if the evangelists were literally buying space, the readers of the magazine should have been informed.

There's also the issue about women preachers: How successful were the women? And why don’t we hear more about them? The magazine featured articles about the women, but only two of them are listed in the directory on page two: Louise Nankivell of Chicago and Thelma Nickel of Tulsa. Were there not other women who were used of God in the healing ministry.

It is true that other women appeared in later issues of the magazine, but the number was still small compared to the number of men.

Another important question: How close were these ministries monitored? And to what extent were they held accountable? We now know about the extreme tendencies of some of the preachers, as well as the errors in their doctrine. Some fell out of the ministry because of sickness and some because of scandal. Although Gordon Lindsay may have had the best intentions, he soon found that he was working with men with flaws. Some were deeply flawed.

Despite some of the negative fall-out due to the failure of some of the evangelists, I think Lindsay should still be commended for his enduring work as a writer and chronicler of the divine healing movement. It's because of his work that many unknown preachers rose to prominence and found ways to share the Gospel throughout the world. Lindsay has given the church a solid record of history, showing the warts and all, to some degree. Through his efforts, churches were born, preachers were mentored, schools were created, and yes, people found Christ as savior and healer. So for all of the negative points that peppered the history of the VOH, it's probably accurate to say that the good outweighed the bad, and we have Lindsay to thank for such an exciting legacy of Pentecostal church history.

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Would you like to know more

about F.F. Bosworth?

Visit the F.F. Bosworth page here!

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For more information: Visit ffbosworth.strikingly.com. Questions about the research and commentary on F.F. Bosworth may be directed to Roscoe Barnes III via email at doctorbarnes3@gmail.com or roscoebarnes3@yahoo.com. For updates on F.F. Bosworth history, simply follow this blog or @Roscoebarnes3 on Twitter. #ChristTheHealer

Anne Moody to be Featured in Mississippi School Yearbook

Plans Underway for 2018 Publication in Wilkinson County School District

By Roscoe Barnes III

Chairman, Anne Moody History Project

Copyright © 2018

#AnneMoody

Former Superintendent Charles E. Johnson

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A page honoring civil rights pioneer Anne Moody will be included in the May 2018 Wilkinson County School District Yearbook, according to Charles E. Johnson, former Superintendent of Education for Wilkinson County.

The yearbook features all five schools in the Wilkinson school district. Johnson said it will be released in May. The cost is only $25.

In her book, Coming of Age in Mississippi, Anne writes about her time at Johnson High School, a historically black school in Woodville, Miss. The school, which closed in 1959, was in Wilkinson County.

In a recent interview, Johnson said he was a classmate of Anne’s brother, Fred Moody Jr., who is mentioned throughout Coming of Age. He also knew their sister, Adline Moody.

Johnson said he wanted to honor Anne because she deserves it. His decision was also prompted by a conversation about Anne. Someone had noticed her picture did not appear anywhere in a local school during Black History Month, he said.

“We heard that the kids don’t know who she was,” he said. “I talked to the kids, and it was true -- they don’t know who she was.”

Johnson said he was pleased to hear people say recently that they read the book years ago and they're planning to read it again.

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Would you like to know MORE about Anne Moody? Visit here to

see the timeline of important events in her life history!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For more information: 

See the Anne Moody page here.

Questions about the Anne Moody History Project may be directed to Roscoe Barnes III via email at doctorbarnes3@gmail.com or roscoebarnes3@yahoo.com. For updates on Anne Moody history and the on-going work of this community service project, simply follow this blog or follow AMHP on Twitter (@AnneMoodyHP). #ComingOfAgeinMississippi