Father’s Kingdom

One of the most controversial figures of the 20th-century Civil Rights movement was a preacher who called himself Father Divine. At the height of his fame in the 1930s and ‘40s, he claimed to have brought one million followers to his highly distinctive theological message, which included the insistence that he was God incarnate. Lenny Feinberg’s documentary traces the unlikely rise of this colorful character from the ramshackle African American sharecropper community in Maryland where he was born as George Baker, up to a position of moral and political power in Harlem. Throughout his ministry, Father Divine ran afoul with the law; many of these clashes were the result of the repressive Jim Crow environment, although Father Divine’s often erratic behavior certainly contributed to some of his legal woes. He also advocated for racial harmony and attracted a large number of white followers, which was highly uncommon for the era. Although he passed away in 1965, Father Divine still maintains a following of elderly loyalists who gather at the Pennsylvania estate where he lived out his final years. Feinberg wisely refrains from passing judgment on the fanatic frenzy that his subject inspired, and he is a bit vague about certain areas of Father Divine’s religious teachings and the depth of his wealth. But overall this is a fascinating tribute to an iconoclastic figure most often overlooked in civil rights history lessons. Highly recommended. [Note: this is also available on home video for $14.99 on DVD and $16.99 on Blu-ray from Gravitas Ventures.] Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)