Preston Robert Washington (August 26, 1948 – June 25, 2003) was a prominent minister of Memorial Baptist ChurchinHarlem, New York.[1][2] He was a co-founder of the Harlem Congregations for Community Improvement and held leadership positions from 1986 to 2001, bringing millions of dollars in development projects for housing and retail to the neighborhood.[2]
Preston Washington
| |
|---|---|
| Reverend | |
| Church | Memorial Baptist Church |
| Metropolis | Harlem, New York |
| Appointed | 1976 |
| Successor | Renee Frances Washington |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Preston Robert Washington August 26, 1948 |
| Died | June 25, 2003(2003-06-25) (aged 54) Manhattan, New York, U.S. |
| Denomination | Baptist |
| Spouse | Rev. Renee F. Washington |
| Occupation | minister |
| Alma mater | Williams College Union Theological Seminary Columbia University |
Washington was born in Manhattan, New York.[2] He grew up on 99th Street in Spanish Harlem and attended public schools.[2] He then attended Williams College, graduating summa cum laude in 1970.[2][3] While he was at Williams, he was a member of the social and literary fraternity St. Anthony Hall.[1]
Next, attended Union Theological Seminary where he received a master of divinity.[2][1] His masters thesis was The Paradox of Theological Education: A Third Way.[4] He also received a doctorate in education from the Teacher's College at Columbia University.[1][2] His Ed.D. dissertation was The Black Religious Imagination: A Theological and a Pedagogical Interpretation of the Afro-American Sermon in the Twentieth Century.[5]
In 1976, Washington became a senior pastor at Memorial Baptist Church in Harlem, New York, serving there until he died in 2003.[2] The congregation grew to 1,500 people under his leadership.[2] The church became a popular stop for politicians.[2]
In 1986 with Canon Frederick B. Williams, Washington co-founded the Harlem Congregations for Community Improvement (HCCI), a consortium of 90 congregations that developed housing and retail services.[1] He served as the president and CEO of HCCI.[3] HCCI helped start a revival in Harlem during the difficult years of the 1980s and early 1990s. HCCI spent $200 million in the Bradhurst section of Harlem, developing 1,300 housing units.[2] Part of this was House of Hope which built houses for homeless single parents and their children.[6] HCCI also established thirty retail stores in Harlem.[2]
HCCI spent $1.7 million, supporting programs for housing for people with HIV/AIDS, as well as education and prevention of HIV/AIDS.[1] Washington said, "'What kind of damn God is this that allows this damn stuff? Babies dying of AIDS?'' I have to constantly check my own faith because this disease threatens every aspect of faith."[2]
Washington encouraged his congregation to welcome tourists who arrived by busloads to hear gospel music.[2] These tourists made contributions that helped renovate the church.[2] Washington even organized the church service so that his preaching would take place after the tourists, many who did not speak English, had left.[2] In 1996 he told NPR that "members joked that the church was a European church on Sunday morning and a clandestine black church at nights during the week."[2]
Washington also pushed the role of a church into managing three parks and a jobs skills training program.[2] In 1997, he told Mother Jones magazine, ''We want to get beyond soup kitchens and care packages."[2]
He also preached in China, Cuba, and South Korea.[3] He served on the board of the Black Leadership Commission on AIDS, the Boys Choir of Harlem, and the Consortium for Central Harlem Development.[3]
He married Renee Frances Washington who also became a minister and assisted at Memorial Baptist Church.[2] They had five sons together: Brandon, Devon, Jamel, Nicholas, and Preston Jr.[2] They also had two adopted sons: Keith Gay and Jonathan R. Staples.[2] They lived in New Rochelle, New York.[2]
In 2003, Washington died at the Medical Center in Manhattan of heart failure at the age of 54 years.[2]
In 2004, Rev. Renee Washington was elected to succeed Washington as senior minister of Memorial Baptist Church.[7]