The Rev. John Perkins led a civil rights march in Simpson County in 1970 and charged in a lawsuit that Lloyd Jones kicked him and told him, “We could have killed you a long time ago.” Credit: Courtesy of the Perkins family
Love is the Final Fight: The Glorious Homegoing of Dr. John Perkins
From Torture to Transformation: The Legacy of Racial Reconciliation of John Perkins
74 Years of Marriage and a Lifetime of Ministry: Honoring the Late Dr. John Perkins
One Life Well Lived: How John Perkins Changed the Heart of Mississippi
A Faithful Witness: Dr. John Perkins, Civil Rights Pioneer, Rests at 95
Born-Again, Saved, Christian Minister, John Perkins, who was tortured by White law enforcement in Mississippi in 1969 but who preached racial reconciliation between Blacks and Whites, goes home to be with the Lord at 95
Daniel Whyte III thanks God for Dr. John Perkins’ courage to stand for the Lord, Christian love, and reconciliation between Black and White communities in Mississippi and beyond. Whyte also honors the fact that Dr. Perkins, as a minister of Christ, was married to his first and only wife, Vera Mae, for 74 years. Glory be to God! For his widow and the Perkins family, Daniel Whyte III offers “The Life Prayer,” which God gave him before the passing of Dr. Tony Evans’ wife, Dr. Lois Evans (who knew Dr. Perkins), and Whyte’s younger brother, Tony White, and before the Coronavirus Plague:
The Life Prayer:
God, prepare us for good days and bad days;
God, prepare us for celebrations, tragedies, and tribulations;
God, prepare us for weddings and funerals;
God, prepare us for life and death.
In Jesus Christ’s name, we pray. Amen.
Born-Again, Saved, Christian Minister, John Perkins, who was tortured by White law enforcement in Mississippi in 1969 but who preached racial reconciliation between Blacks and Whites, goes home to be with the Lord at 95
Pioneering pastor and civil rights leader John Perkins left the world Friday, but his family and friends say his light will long remain.
“He will always be remembered as one who tried to get the races to come together,” said Constance Slaughter-Harvey, who represented the pastor after he was tortured by Mississippi law enforcement officers in 1969. “Anybody who could take that kind of beating and be so forgiving is an extraordinary man.”
Perkins, 95, died under hospice care. His funeral service is set for March 21 at the New Horizon Church in Jackson.
His family shared a picture of him with his wife, Vera Mae. The family quoted her as saying she loves him and thanking God for their 74 ½ years of marriage.
John Perkins with his wife, Vera Mae. They were married 74 ½ years. Credit: Courtesy of the Perkins family
Perkins, who penned the 1976 memoir, “Let Justice Roll Down,” wrote more than a dozen books. His last was “One Life Well Lived,” a book on how to live with purpose and passion.
On March 5, Elizabeth Perkins posted about one of the last moments with her father. She said she sat beside him, took his hand and sang one of his favorite songs, “Jesus Loves the Little Children.”
“As I sang, Daddy gently squeezed my hand, a quiet ‘amen’ in the early morning light,” she wrote. “Even in this season, the love of Jesus still fills the room.
“Daddy has lived a life fully given to God. It has not always been an easy life, but it has been a faithful one, marked by courage, reconciliation, justice, forgiveness, and hope.”
The John & Vera Mae Perkins Foundation works to raise up young leaders dedicated to reconciliation, she wrote. “We believe reconciliation is still possible, communities can still be restored, and the love of Christ still transforms lives.”
Perkins was born into poverty in New Hebron in 1930. His mother died of malnutrition and his father left his life years later.
His brother, Clyde, fought in World War II and enjoyed freedoms he had never experienced before in segregated Mississippi.
Like many other Black veterans who returned home from that war, he became a victim of violence when an officer gunned him down.
After Perkins’ family warned him he might be next, he left the state, one of about 6 million African Americans involved in the Great Migration from the South to other parts of the nation.
He landed in California, where in 1951 he married his wife and where their son, Spencer, was later born. Drafted into the Korean War, Perkins served in Okinawa, Japan, for three years before returning home.
One day in 1957, Spencer came home singing, “Jesus Loves the Little Children.” The song moved Perkins, who became a Christian. A year later, he was ordained as a Baptist minister.
