Andrew Fowler was an influential Baptist minister, pastor, educator, school administrator, counselor, political and religious adviser, church statesman, and civil rights activist in the nation's capital for more than six decades.
His early life
Childhood and family
Andrew Fowler was born on February 23, 1910, in Inman, Spartanburg County, South Carolina, the oldest of seven children born to John Calvin Fowler and Ina Nesbitt Fowler, both native of Spartanburg. While his father worked at various professions, he most enjoyed being a track man for the railroad. Like most women living in the south during this time period, his mother was a homemaker and also worked as a domestic. Later in life, Fowler spoke of his childhood as "a happy situation," and he enjoyed a close relationship with his parents. Both of his parents emphasized religion, requiring Sunday School and regular church attendance. Additionally, Fowler's paternal grandmother, Ellen, whose mother had been enslaved, was an important influence in Fowler's life, as she passed on stories of their family history and how people survived during the brutal and unjust system of enslavement in the United States.
Early work and education
Fowler sought employment from a young age. Fowler's first job was to assist a white farmer in putting down fertilizer for cotton, for which he was paid.75 cents per day. In the fall, Fowler picked cotton and in the summer he picked berries, peaches, and peas. He entered school about a year after securing his first job. A naturally gifted student, he lived to go to school and when the semester was over, he would "long for school again." His success in school was aided by an excellent memory and he often assisted older children with their reading. When he earned an early promotion to the fourth grade, his father removed him from school and insisted that he forget about his studies, get a regular job, and help support his family, which was typical during these times.
Early spiritual life
By the age of seven, Fowler realized that he wanted to become a preacher. When family, friends, and fellow church members mentioned who was sick, poor, orphaned, or bereaved, he dreamed of the day when he could help those who could not help themselves. At the age of 12, he was converted and baptized at his family's church in Inman, Zion Hill Baptist Church. Over the next several years, his religious life grew and held various positions within the church, including: Sunday School teacher, Assistant Superintendent of the Sunday School, and president of the Baptist Young Peoples Union, and when he turned 18, he was ordained a deacon. These formative years of religious service were under the tutelage of his childhood pastor Rev. W.M. Lipscomb, whom he described as "a great gospel preacher."
At the encouragement of the principal of the African American school in Inman, Fowler took and passed the senior class final examination test, which allowed him to graduate. A short time later, the president of the bank in which he worked introduced him to a gentleman named Acie Thompson, who was acquainted with the president of Tuskegee Institute, Dr. Robert Russa Moton. Thompson suggested that Fowler enroll at Tuskegee. Fowler took his advice and arrived at Tuskegee Institute in September 1929. Tuskegee was representative of industry, research, morality, religion, and wholesome traditions, and he was therefore assured the privilege to study academic subjects, but it also required to study a trade. During his time there, he met many members of the faculty, including Dr. Moton, George Washington Carver, and Benjamin O. Davis, Sr. By his second year at Tuskegee, Fowler had made a name for himself around campus because of his academic achievements, and he remained committed to his religious life, singing hymns in both the morning and evening vespers Chapel services. Fowler received his high school diploma in plumbing in 1933, graduating as the highest ranking male student academically. He entered college at Tuskegee in 1933, majoring in History and minoring in Sociology. He was interested in history because he knew it would be helpful in his study of church history and religion. Not a stranger to hard work, ever since he had arrived at Tuskegee, he had to work to pay for his tuition, to eat, have clothes to wear, and have a place to live. During this time, the entire country was in the midst of the Great Depression. Securing a job as a janitor, he worked the remaining semesters until, at the age of 27, after eight fruitful years at Tuskegee, he graduated from college with a Bachelor of Science degree in May 1937.
While initially considering matriculation at Harvard University upon graduation from Tuskegee, Fowler decided to move to the nation's capital, Washington, D.C., to attend the Howard University School of Religion. Since he planned to lead an African American congregation, he felt Howard would be the better choice. He arrived in Washington in August 1937, and stayed for the remainder of his life. With this period of transition, he became one of more than six million African Americans who came from the rural Southern United States to the urban Northeast, a movement that has come to be known and defined as the Great Migration. In September, he commenced study at the School of Religion and found his teachers, which included Benjamin Elijah Mays, Dean of the School of Religion, and Howard Thurman, Dean of the Chapel, to be capable and dedicated. He graduated from Howard in June 1940 with a Bachelor of Divinity degree. While working on his degree, Dr. Mays had secured him an apprenticeship at the historic Shiloh Baptist Church under the leadership of the Rev. Dr. Earl L. Harrison. In June 1943, Fowler earned his Master of Arts degree in Religious Education from Howard.
The Call to Pastor
Shepherding the flock at Capital View Baptist Church
In August 1940, Fowler was ordained a Baptist preacher by his childhood pastor, Rev. Lipscomb at his home church in Inman, Zion Hill Baptist. In early March 1941, at the age of 31, he was unanimously elected the third pastor of the Capital View Baptist Church in Northeast, Washington, D.C., after the church's second pastor had accepted a chaplaincy in the Army. Capital View had developed a fine fellowship with the churches throughout the city and Fowler impressed the church leadership by reorganizing its financial operations, bringing in new members, and sharing with the congregation his vision for the future. Within five years of his appointment, Fowler disbursed all of the church's debts, spearheaded the construction of a new $330,000 edifice, and led the church to contribute annually to denominational schools and affiliate with numerous local organizations, including the National Urban League, the Stoddard Baptist Nursing Home Association, the DC chapter of the Tuberculosis Association, the local branch of the NAACP, and the Mayor's Emergency Committee on Health. While initially elected to serve as pastor for one year, Fowler served Capital View faithfully until the day of his death—62 years.
While pastor of Capital View, Fowler had developed a relationship with Rev. Dr. William H. Jernagin, then President of the District of Columbia Baptist Convention, founder of the Washington Baptist Theological Seminary, chair of the National Fraternal Council of Negro Churches, and a nationally recognized figure in religion and civil rights. After delivering a message at the Seminary's chapel service, Fowler became an instructor at the school in 1947 teaching English and literature. The Seminary's purpose was "to train Christian ministers and religious workers the history and doctrines of the Baptist denomination." In May 1970, he was elected interim president of the school. In addition to acquiring the personal libraries of well-known African American Baptists, the school's alumni continually responded to Fowler's pleas for additional endowment funds. In 1976, Fowler was formally named president of the seminary, a vantage point from which he was able to continue to effect positive changes for the school and its students. By 2002, under Fowler's leadership, the Seminary had in its endowment well over a million dollars.
The country boy becomes a "Dr."
Fowler received recognition for his contributions in the religious spectrum over the course of his lifetime, and continued to maintain professional affiliations with several religious organizations. In 1960, he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Divinity Degree by the Lynchburg Seminary and College for his outstanding work as a denomination leader, teacher, builder, civic leader, missionary, and pastor.
Political work
Civil Rights Leader
Upon the deaths of Dr. William H. Jernagin, and later Drs. J.L.S. Holloman and Earl L. Harrison, Andrew Fowler became the principal leader in organizing the clergy and laity in the District of Columbia. He committed himself to a number of social causes, particularly civil rights. He spent six years as Commissioner of D.C. General Hospital. As a member of the board of the National Fraternal Council of Negro Churches, director of its Washington Bureau, and Executive Secretary of the Committee of 100 Ministers, Fowler launched a nationwide crusade to save America's public schools, labored to improve the social services system, lobbied to make jobs available to African Americans who could not be hired at federal agencies in D.C., such as the Bureau of Engraving and Printing; and he advocated for the integration of the armed forces and public transportation in D.C.
D.C. Home Rule
In early 1974, the proposed D.C. Home Rule Act would have given the District an elected mayor and a 13-member city council—that is, if the citizens passed the referendum scheduled for May 7, 1974. Several D.C. community leaders and home rule proponents denounced the legislation as a token effort, but Fowler and the Committee of 100 Ministers made it clear that it was not all they wanted, but it was all they had. Feeling that the citizens of the District needed to be educated regarding the Home Rule bill, and since the Committee of 100 represented over 25,000 people, he organized and conducted educational seminars aimed at turning out high numbers of “yes” votes. On January 2, 1975, the District's first elected officials took the oath of office. Walter E. Washington served one four-year term as elected mayor, and was succeeded by Marion Barry in 1979.
Presidential Adviser
Over the course of his political life, Fowler advised seven U.S. presidents, as well as mayors, and other political figures locally and nationally. He believed that morality could not be legislated, but that society should discipline itself, thus he opposed the D.C. City Council's attempts to legalize same-sex marriage, marijuana legalization, and proposals for legalized gambling. He felt the latter proposals would increase crime, deteriorate character, and dull the moral sense.
Family and private life
What it means to be "equally yoked"
While serving his apprenticeship at Shiloh Baptist Church, Fowler found himself attracted to one the parishioners, Miss Henrietta Roberta Hatter, Hatter was a native Washingtonian with roots in Stafford County, Virginia. She attended the public schools of the District of Columbia, graduating from Armstrong High School in 1931. Having developed a love for learning at an early age and consumed by the desire to share that love with others, Hatter immediately began matriculation at the Miner Teachers College and earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Education in 1935. In the fall of 1937, she enrolled at Howard University and completed her work towards a Master of Arts degree in History in 1939. Shortly after earning her undergraduate degree, her teaching career began in Baltimore where she taught geography, and in 1950, she was hired by the District of Columbia Public School System as a full-time substitute teacher. Upon meeting, Hatter and Fowler engaged one another in deep, meaningful conversations. After a period of courting, they were married on June 27, 1944. Over the years, they were blessed with four children: Andretta, Andrew H., Henrietta E., and John T. The four Fowler children were reared in a home that instilled in them a love of learning, as evidenced by each having earned multiple degrees, in addition to firsthand exposure to the joy that comes with living a life that is the outgrowth of spiritual enlightenment.
Mrs. Henrietta H. Fowler
In addition to her roles as wife and mother, Mrs. Fowler continued her career in education, and in 1968, she became a permanent faculty member at Woodrow Wilson High School teaching World History, Sociology, and American History, a position from which she retired in 1979. As First Lady of Capital View, she was also a tirelessly active and productive volunteer in her husband's church. Fowler credited much of his success to the support and love of his wife and children.
Death
Andrew Fowler died on January 4, 2003, at the age of 92. At the time of his death, he was one of the oldest and longest-serving pastors in the city and in the United States.
