Biography Search Display Name: Robert Bradby Year of Birth: 1877 Year of Death: 1946       Biography: Robert Bradby was pastor of the Second Avenue Baptist Church from 1910 to 1946. He led the church through the upheavals caused by the Great Migration, the Great Depression, and World War II and served as a community leader. Never content to restrain his work inside the church, Bradby developed numerous programs to help Detroit's African Americans. Robert Bradby was born in Ontario, Canada on September 17, 1877. He worked on his family farm until the age of 22 when he had a sudden calling to the ministry. He took his first ministerial position at the First Baptist Church in Chatham, Ontario in 1901 and in 1902 moved on to the First Baptist Church in Windsor, Ontario. In 1909 he became minister of the Third Baptist Church in Toledo, Ohio. During this time he earned a degree from McMasters University, and a Doctor of Divinity degree from Virginia Technological Seminary. Bradby came to Detroit in 1910 to serve as Minister of the Second Avenue Baptist Church. He was remembered for his passionate sermons that covered a variety of topics from the teachings of the Bible to issues pertinent to the daily lives of the church members. He was not satisfied, however, with remaining in the pulpit and used his skills to better the lives of countless Detroiters. In an effort to improve the neighborhood surrounding his church, Bradby investigated local bars, restaurants, and music halls and tried to convince owners to clean up their establishments. In the summer he preached on the street corners and went door-to-door through the neighborhood to recruit church members. As large numbers of African Americans migrated to Detroit during and after World War I, Bradby instituted a number of programs to help them adjust to life in Detroit. For a period, committees from his church met every incoming train from the South to help migrants find housing and employment. The church hall served as temporary shelter for many migrants. Bradby understood, however, that the growing African-American population in Detroit needed more than temporary shelter. To meet the needs of the growing community surrounding his church, he established a social service department that provided classes in dressmaking, basic electronics, stenography, and other job-related skills. In 1919, Bradby entered into an agreement with the Ford Motor Company in which Ford agreed to hire men who came with Bradby's recommendation. In return Bradby promised that every man he recommended would be of the highest quality. His recommendation became such a sure ticket to a job at Ford that many observers speculated that men joined the Second Avenue Baptist Church in order to get a job at Ford. He also helped pressure the Detroit Street Railway Company to hire African Americans, helped African-American women to get jobs as schoolteachers, and protested the segregated seating practices at Northwestern High School. Bradby worked to better the African-American community in several other ways. From 1925 to 1926 he served as president of the Detroit National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Understanding the importance of African-American political power, he constantly urged church members to vote and in 1925 he unsuccessfully ran for a seat on the Detroit Common Council.

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