James Solomon Russell Feast Day Celebration will be held Sunday, March
24 at 3 p.m at St. James', Emporia (609 Halifax Street, Emporia). The
Rev. Dr. Grady Powell, Rector Emeritus of Gillfield Baptist Church in
Petersburg, will preach. The Very Rev. Christopher Cunningham and the
Rev. Dr. Joseph Green will be co-celebrants. The offering will go to
support the placement of an historical marker near the birthplace of
James Solomon Russell and to support Saint Paul's College. Please
make all checks payable to James Solomon Russell Fund and send to: Dr.
Angela M. Parker, P. O. Box 184, Lawrenceville, VA 23868.
Born into slavery on a
Virginia plantation in 1857, James Solomon Russell rose to become one of
the most prominent African American pastors in the post-Civil War
South. As a minister, educator, and found of Saint Paul's College in
Lawrenceville, he played a major role in the development of educational
access for former slaves in the South and within the Episcopal Church.
