Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
DETROIT (AP) — To many black clergy, Maryland Rep. Elijah E. Cummings was more than a formidable orator, civil rights champion and passionate public servant.
He was also one of them — in practice, if not profession.
Ministers and historians say Cummings, son of a sharecropper and pastors who died last Thursday at 68, is one of the last leaders from a generation forged by the African American church and its concentrated influence on society during the Civil Rights era.
Cummings used his fiery voice to highlight the struggles and needs of inner-city residents.
The Rev. Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas of Union Theological Seminary says Cummings' actions embodied the black church "at its best."
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.