When the Rev. John Nelson Doggett Jr. arrived in St. Louis nearly 50 years ago, he quickly became one of the city’s most beloved adopted sons because of his work as a champion in the Civil Rights Movement and in the church.
As a community convened to mourn his passing on Saturday morning at Union Memorial United Methodist Church, it was apparent that he felt the same about St. Louis.
“My father loved two things more than anything else in life,” John Doggett III said of his father. “He loved Juanita, and he loved St. Louis.”
Doggett passed away on May 15, 2011 at the age of 93.
His wife Juanita T. Doggett – a legendary educator – passed away last year. Until her death, she was right at his side in his community service and philanthropic efforts.
He and St. Louis loved one another, but his reach and impact stretched across the country.
“I pay tribute to Dr. John M. Doggett Jr. for his unwavering commitment to the freedom and equality of the people across this nation,” Benjamin Todd Jealous, president and CEO of the NAACP, said.
Doggett served as president of the St. Louis City NAACP chapter for more than a decade, 1971-1981.
“His contributions and sacrifices during the Civil Rights Movement helped pave the way for victories we celebrate today,” Jealous said.
“Without a doubt, Dr. Doggett has been instrumental in molding and shaping the lives of many who are in attendance today. Through you, his legacy will pass from generation to generation and his name will continue to be honored.”
Doggett also was honored in his hometown of Philadelphia, New York and New Jersey, where his ministry began, and in California, where he is revered for breaking down racial barriers.
April 3 – Doggett’s 93rd birthday – was officially proclaimed as Rev. Dr. John Nelson Doggett Jr. Day in Pasadena, Calif., thanks to the efforts of the Rev. James Stevenson Sr., of Scott United Methodist Church, which Doggett led more than 60 years earlier.
“Whereas known as a leader in Methodism and a leader in civil rights and erasing racism in the church – which he worked towards his entire career – he was the conscience which constantly and persistently demanded the cessation of racial discrimination in the life of the Pasadena community,” Doggett’s son William Ballard Doggett II (Bill) read from the proclamation at the funeral.
“Whereas, Rev. Dr. Doggett challenged our church and our community to recognize that our individual liberty relies upon our common equality, when Pasadena community was marred by division and injustice. The movement that Dr. John M. Doggett built from the ground up forced open doors to negotiation. The strength of his leadership was matched only by the power of his words.”
Doggett landed in California not long after graduating from Lincoln University in Philadelphia in 1942 and from Union Theological Seminary in New York with a bachelor’s of divinity in 1945. He traveled west with the intention of offering ministry to the black workers who came from the South to work the Naval yards during World War II.
“He came to St. Louis in a way that is surprising when I tell people,” John Doggett III said. “Because when you talk of Southern California and Los Angeles, you supposedly had a progressive and liberal place.”
It was the lure of leading an integrated house of worship that led Doggett to St. Louis.
“He said to the Southern California/Nevada district of the United Methodist Church, ‘I want my next church to be an integrated church or a white church,” John Doggett III said. “And they said, ‘No, your place is only with blacks.’ The Missouri District said, ‘Come east, young man. If you come and work with Union Memorial, your next assignment would be based on whatever is out there.’ He had to come to Missouri to receive and experience his full potential.”
At Union Memorial United Methodist Church and later Grace United Methodist Church, he did exactly that while acting as a major player in the Civil Rights Movement.
“Some of you say, ‘He walked with Dr. King,'” said the Rev. Kevin M. Kosh, pastor of United Memorial Methodist Church. “But Dr. Doggett would be the first to tell you, ‘I did not walk with Dr. Martin Luther King. We walked together.'”
He served as chairperson of two freedom rallies for King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference missions in support of sit-ins and Freedom Rides. While in L.A., he served as treasurer of the Western Christian Leadership Conference.
Once transplanted to Missouri, Doggett served as parliamentarian for the St. Louis Metropolitan Clergy Coalition, as chairman of Central Medical Center and on the board of the Missouri Historical Society. He also was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity and the Charmaine Chapman Society, United Way of Greater St. Louis’ African-American Leadership Giving Initiative.
“We give thanks to the family for sharing John with us for so many years, and we thank God that he used his talents wisely,” said the Rev. John McCoy, president of the St. Paul School of Theology, which hosts a scholarship in Doggett’s name.
In addition to his sons Bill and John Nelson Doggett III, Doggett is survived by another son, Kenneth Riddick; daughter, Lorraine Doggett (Curt) Melton; and grandson Deevino Williams.
As he offered a final thought on behalf of the Doggett family, John Nelson Doggett III channeled his father by challenging the guests to make a difference.
“If you really cared about John Nelson Doggett Jr. – if you care about his legacy and the work that he has done in this town – then your responsibility is to continue that work, tomorrow and every other day.”
Memorials may be sent to the John N. Doggett Scholarship Fund, St. Paul School of Theology, Development Office, 5123 East Truman Road, Kansas City, Mo. 64127, or call 816-483-9600, ext. 116.
