At Century House Historical Society in Rosendale, NY, 20 Sept 2009, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian, Dr. Carleton Mabee, said:

“I’d like to summarize in a few words the history of the civil rights movement in a way that over-simplifies the role of Father Divine in it, oversimplifies the whole thing, but it still makes a point: Father Divine proved that interracial living was possible. So, Rosa Parks sat in front of a bus and she wouldn’t move when she was asked to go to the back; so, Martin Luther King gave his ‘I have a dream’ speech in Washington; so, Barack Obama was elected President of the United States. There it is in a few words…”

Here is the relevant excerpt:

 

If you would like to view the entire presentation about FATHER DIVINE’s important interracial communities in Ulster County, New York, it is on YouTube in seven parts.  Part one is here.  (Subsequent parts, clearly numbered, will appear in the right-hand sidebar on the YouTube page).