The Legacy of Dr. James Rose -

Harmonies for All People

by Lynne Belluscio

FEB. 19, 2001 - Ten years ago, I wrote about Dr. James Rose, the first minister of the Second Baptist Church in Le Roy. He was born in Centralia, Virginia in 1882 and graduated from the Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute in 1902. He taught school in Virginia and then in 1913, he graduated from Howard University in Washington.

He entered the Theological Seminary in Rochester (now the Colgate Divinity School) and became its first African American graduate. While attending school in Rochester, he became aware of the need for a church in Le Roy. The first meeting was held in the home of Mrs. Emma Alexander at 21 Union Street. At first only eight people met, but soon the small congregation grew to thirty. On November 7, 1915, the first collection netted $1.61. In 1917, the Second Baptist Church purchased the old school house on Myrtle Street with the encouragement and financial support of Calvin Keeney, E.M. Perkins, John Taylor, Ernest Woodward, S.C. Wells, and D.J. OíShea. Rev. Roseís only compensation for ministering to the Le Roy church was $1.30 for car fare between Rochester and Le Roy.

In 1920, Rose was called to the Mt. Olivet Baptist Church in Rochester, where he served as pastor for 21 years. He became very prominent in the religious community in Rochester, serving as vice moderator of the Federation of Churches of Rochester and was the President of the Rochester branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

A recent book, published by the University of Rochester Press, written by Ingrid Overacker, Ph.D. from Water-town, includes a wonderful account of Dr. Rosesís legacy in Rochester. Overackerís book, "The African American Church Community in Rochester, New York, 1900 - 1940," states that under Roseís leadership, Mt. Olivet became the voice of the African American community in Rochester. Rose preached to his congregation that "It is their task to make the Negro people proud of the name Negro."

Rev. Rose assumed as one of his duties, to actively protest the practice of lynching and led many rallies during the 1920ís. He also took a stand against the American intervention in Liberia, stating that the only reason the United States was becoming interested in the oppressive conditions in the African nation was because Firestone had acquired interests there. He commented that "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

Rose continued his interest in global issues, including Italyís invasion of Ethiopia, scoffing at Italyís reason for expansion as a way to civilize an African nation: "Bombs, poison gas, shot and shell are not the best methods of civilizing . . . for civilization, besides meaning enlightenment, is a slow process and cannot be accomplished by shooting down the people for which it is intended."

Rose also took a very vocal stand against the discriminatory practices of the University of Rochesterís Medical School, and through his determination Edwin A. Robinson became the first African American to be admitted to the University of Rochesterís Medical School in 1940.

Rose also spearheaded the protests that ultimately led to the breaking of the racial barriers for the employment of skilled African American workers in Rochesterís labor market. World War II had cracked the labor barrier and Rose pushed for equal rights for education as well as job opportunities, and as a result, five Rochester firms "relaxed" their resistance to African American applicants.

Even the famous singer, William Warfield, credits Dr. Rose for influencing his early career. Warfieldís father came to Rochester because he heard that the city was a place where "blacks as well as whites could get a free high school education, maybe even dream of going to college." When he moved to Rochester he came "under the wing of a mentor, the locally celebrated Dr. James Rose."

William Warfield said that Mt. Olivet gave him his first exposure to the meaning of music in his life: "In the spiritual environment of Mt. Olivet, a concept so simple as the family of man came perfectly naturally. It was an article of faith. And with it, part and parcel, came an associated concept, ëthe music of mankindí - the continuity of all music, of harmonies for all people everywhere." At the time of his death in 1942, Dr. James Rose, was the most influential and respected African American spokesperson in Rochester.