Clarence H. Cobbs

Clarence Henry Cobbs (February 29, 1908 – June 28, 1979) was an African-American spiritualist clergyman and broadcaster, the leader of the First Church of Deliverance in Chicago.

Early life Clarence H. Cobbs was born in Memphis, Tennessee, on February 29, 1908. He attended Kortrecht High School, where his teachers included hymnwriter Lucie Campbell. He moved to Chicago in 1916, becoming a member of the Pilgrim Baptist Church. In the late 1920s, he met and was influenced by spiritualist medium "Mother" Della Hedgepath. It moved again in 1930, to 4633 South State Street, and to a brick building at 4315 South Wabash Avenue in 1933. They appeared before large crowds in Comiskey Park, and began broadcasting services on radio station WSBC in 1935. The hour-long "Midnight Broadcast" pioneered a format which was followed by many subsequent religious programs. That same year, composer Kenneth Morris prevailed on Cobbs to install a Hammond organ, giving the choir's music a distinctive sound. Morris recalled,

By the early 1940s, the congregation had over 9,000 members.

In 1953, the Church of Deliverance became the first black church in the country to televise its services, which were carried on WLS-TV for 12 weeks. When articles in The Chicago Defender indicated that he was "facing the possibility of questioning by state's attorney's police concerning widespread rumors of a scandalous nature", Cobbs stated that he was a "full man", and filed a defamation suit against the paper. During racial tensions around fair housing protests, he invited civil rights leader Archibald Carey to speak on his radio program to counsel against violence and promote acceptance.

Clarence H. Cobbs died at his home in Chicago on June 28, 1979. He is interred in Oak Woods Cemetery.

Legacy The First Church of Deliverance published music for gospel composers such as Dave Carl Weston. Doris Akers credited one of Cobbs' radio sermons for inspiring her 1951 song "My Expectation", and songwriters Thurston G. Frazier and Cora Martin also dedicated works to him. Cobbs supported singer Billy Williams in the years before the latter's death in 1972, and paid for his funeral services and burial.

Cobbs' hour-long radio broadcasts pioneered a format which was followed by many subsequent religious programs.

The First Church of Deliverance building was designated a Chicago Landmark on October 5, 1994.