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Events
Jun. 30 | 2012 Bode-Pearson Prize
Nominations for the 2012 Bode-Pearson Prize for Outstanding Contributions to American Studies due
Jun. 30 | 2012 Mary C. Turpie Prize
Nominations for the 2012 Mary C. Turpie Prize for Outstanding Contributions to American Studies Teaching, Advising, and Program Development due
Oct. 1 | Travel Grants for Graduate Students
For submission guidelines, click here
Resources: Abstracts of American Studies Dissertations
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Brun, Danielle. "Sweet Daddy Grace: The Life and Times of a Modern Day Prophet," University of Texas at Austin, May 2002.
This cultural biography of Bishop Charles Manuel Sweet Daddy Grace, founder of the United House of Prayer for All People of the Church on the Rock of Apostolic Faith, examines Grace’s life in the context of race, religion, and American culture. The dissertation follows Grace from his 1904 arrival from the Cape Verde Islands as Marcelino daGraca to his rise to power as Bishop Charles Manuel Grace to his 1960 death as Sweet Daddy Grace, the head of a religious empire that continues to thrive today. Through census records, ship manifests, and FBI files, this dissertation documents the varied official racial classifications of Grace, a man who regarded himself as white and Portuguese, but who most Americans believed to be black. Additionally, it demonstrates that Grace offered his followers a coherent and consistent theology rooted in the Apostolic Faith of Azusa Street. Examining Grace from the points of view of the press, scholars, his followers, and himself provides a more thorough understanding of the man whose life has heretofore remained obscured. Taken as whole, the press coverage demonstrates why Grace was such a popular subject and why most people outside the House of Prayer viewed him as pure spectacle. Scholars frequently examined Grace within the context of other Black Gods of the Metropolis and failed to see the innovations he had created in the House of Prayer. His followers, however, saw beyond the spectacle and acknowledged his originality. By taking seriously the testimony of his followers, Grace’ significance within the House of Prayer becomes apparent. Grace’ role as father to his children explains his attitude toward his followers and his tendency to keep aspects of his personal life private. Furthermore, his status as an immigrant and a foreigner added a dramatic component to his ministry. Combining all of these perspectives provides a more dimensional and compelling account of Daddy Grace and the ways in which he influenced and was influenced by American culture.
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