Zach Mills - The Last Blues Preacher: Reverend Clay Evans, Black Lives, and the Faith that Woke the Nation

The first time I met Rev. Clay Evans was on a brisk summer afternoon in Chicago on Thursday, August 25, 2011. The air outside that morning was cool, as if fall had stolen a few weeks of summer. We sat outside on a patio deck. We had finished all appropriate introductions. I was attempting to communicate my reluctance to take on the responsibility of writing Reverend Evanss biography. At the time, I was serving as an associate minister of a church in Chicagos Hyde Park neighborhood and had many weekly responsibilities. I worried that my busy schedule as a minister would not leave much free time to write a biography. In addition to my ministerial duties, I was in the final stages of writing a thesis for a master of arts program in Vanderbilt Universitys Graduate Department of Religion. I still had a significant amount of writing to do before my thesis was complete. But more than anxiety about my busy schedule, I feltif Im being honestinadequate for the task. I was unsure of myself. Surely there were more experienced writers who could tell Reverend Evanss story. After all, I hadnt even thought about writing a biography. I looked at Reverend Evans and gave my best speech. I confessed my inexperience. I highlighted my weaknesses. I voiced my concerns. Reverend Evans looked at me and said calmly, I want you to be concerned but not worried. You cant disappoint me. Full speed ahead. That was his mantra that morning: Full speed ahead. Despite my reservations, my gut was telling me that I should say yes. And full speed ahead we all went.

A few weeks later, we agreed to meet at the home of Reverend Evanss daughter Gail. There I would conduct my first official interview with Reverend Evans. I pulled up to the handsome light-blue house on 116th Place on Chicagos South Side. Rain drizzled outside. Only a few slivers of sunlight managed to escape the overcast sky. I shut my car door behind me. Raindrops pattered gently on the canopy of tree leaves above me, where they slowed in speed and diminished in substance before dripping on my head. I looked at the house. I knew a special moment in my life would blossom as soon as I stepped through the front door. I was a little nervous, because I was a few minutes late. The rain and a slow-moving train blocking a nearby intersection had delayed my arrival. Still, Reverend Evanss daughter greeted me warmly at the door. I apologized for being late. She gave me a hug and whispered graciously to me that everyone else had walked in just moments before I had. She, too, had been delayed by the weather on the way from work to meet us at her home. I felt relieved knowing we all ended up arriving almost evenly tardy.

I walked into the dining room. Reverend Evans was sitting at the head of the table nearest to where I entered the room. There were five of us. I could sense we were about to embark upon a very important journey. I felt the weight of the task before us. Not that I hadnt before. But just being there, sitting at that table, looking at that dedicated group of people, made me realize that we were there because of a life that had inspired so many more people than were present in that room. I could feel the weight of that moment as I looked upon the faces of those seated at that dining-room table. At the time, we were all still mostly strangers to one another. Yet we gathered eagerly in spite of busy work schedules and many other obligations. The energy in that room was palpable. The task before us was daunting. And my task as the chief writerto tell the story of a man whose ministry had helped define the culture of an entire city and the gospel music industryseemingly impossible. It was a heavy burden that I alone would have to endure.

Suddenly, unexpectedly, that weight lifted from me. I didnt feel as alone. I opened my laptop. I placed a tape recorder in front of Reverend Evans. I took a deep breath. And I pressed record. Thank you so much, Reverend Evans, for your time, I said. I want to ask you some questions about your life and your ministry at Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church. Reverend Evans grinned gently, almost as if he could sense the mixture of excitement and anxiety coursing through me. Go ahead, Reverend, he said in that low, gravely, resolute voice. Full speed ahead.

What helps make The Last Blues Preacher so special is the host of quotes friends, family, church members, and colleagues contributed in the telling of Rev. Clay Evanss story. I want to thank each person whose quote appears in this project for investing the time to be interviewed. Each persons contribution added vibrant testimony about Rev. Clay Evans and the significance of his ministry. I would like to also thank Patty Nolan Fitzgerald and Mary Prendergast for the interviews they conducted when my work schedule and other obligations did not allow me to facilitate interviews. Both Patty and Mary invested an enormous amount of time coordinating logistics for interviews, conducting research, and offering insightful perspectives during my interviews with Rev. Clay Evans.

Quotes from the following people were obtained from interviews that took place in person, over the phone, or through written correspondence:

Timuel Black: Black is a long-time South Side activist, educator, and Chicago historian.

Chuck Bowen: Bowen served as a former aid to Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley.

Dr. Alexander Doolas: Doolas is a retired Chicago physician who successfully performed Rev. Clay Evanss pancreatic cancer surgery in 2001.

Michael Evans: Michael is a son of Rev. Clay Evans.

Pharis Evans: Pharis is a brother of Rev. Clay Evans.

Faith Evans: Faith is a daughter of Rev. Clay Evans.

The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan: Farrakhan is the leader of the Nation of Islam.

Rev. Henry O. Hardy: Hardy is pastor emeritus of Cosmopolitan Community Church in Chicago.

Dr. Johari Jabir: Jabir is Associate Professor of African American Studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

The Reverend Jesse L. Jackson: Jackson is the founder of Rainbow/PUSH, a long-time civil rights leader, and a close friend of Rev. Clay Evans.

Reverend Charles Jenkins: Jenkins is the senior pastor of Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church and Evanss successor.

Jack Malone: Malone is long-time chaplain serving Cook County Jail in Chicago.

Rev. Dr. Harolynn McIntosh