E. E. Cleveland was born in Huntsville, Alabama on March 11, 1921 and died at the Huntsville Hospital on August 30, 2009 following an illness. He was married to Celia Marie Abney Cleveland on May 29, 1943 until her death in 2003. They have one son, Earl Clifford Cleveland. He preached his first sermon at the age of 6. At the age of 13 he was the Sabbath School secretary at his local church in Chattanooga, Tennessee. In the course of his work he traveled extensively, visiting over 67 countries.
Church ministry
E. E. Cleveland served the Seventh-day Adventist Church for over 67 years in active and post-retirement ministry. His positions included:
1942–1946 Ministerial Intern at Carolina Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
1954–1977 Elected associate secretary for the Ministerial Association and became the first black man to integrate a department of the Adventist world church headquarters. He held that position for 23 years
1977–1986 Director of Department of Church Missions at Oakwood College in Huntsville, Alabama
1977– Instructor in the Department of Religion at Oakwood College
Evangelism
E. E. Cleveland was a very successful evangelist holding over 60 campaigns in 6 continents and training over 1,000 pastors. He was a Seventh-day Adventist church pioneer of the concept of evangelism in large cities and held national campaigns before satellite technology become common. In what has been called one of the most successful evangelistic campaigns in Adventist history Cleveland was the first Seventh-day Adventist to baptize more than 1,000 people in a single campaign. Held in 1966 in Port of Spain, Trinidad the series was housed in two large tents pitched side by side and opened with 3,300 people in attendance, swelling to 7,000 by the final service. In his campaigns, Cleveland baptized approximately 16,000 persons, including George Juko, the Crown Prince of Uganda. Many churches have been founded as a result of his campaigns. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Rev. Ralph Abernathy and Rosa Parks are said to have attended his services in Montgomery.
Civil Rights Activist
E. E. Cleveland was a long-time civil rights activist. He organized the N.A.A.C.P chapter for students on the campus of Oakwood College. As a black evangelist, he encountered difficulties related to racism. In 1954 in Montgomery, Alabama police patrolled his tent meetings after being reported in violation of Alabama ordinances prohibiting whites and blacks to comingle in a public meeting. Cleveland had insisted that these ordinances need not be obeyed. He participated in the first March on Washington with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and secured an 18-wheel tractor-trailer that served as a supply base for blankets and clothing. He was a member of the Washington, D.C. branch of the Organizing Committee of the Poor People's Campaign of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference dating back to 1968. Cleveland was twice the speaker for the SouthFlorida S.C.L.C. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day celebrations in 1986 and 1987 and was credited by the local Director of the S.C.L.C. with helping the branch get a street named for Dr. King in St. Petersburg, Florida. He has conducted Feed The Hungry programs in over 20 cities in the United States. Cleveland also helped to set up a feeding depot in Washington, D.C. for the relief of the hungry during the civil disturbance that followed the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. E. E. Cleveland was a co-founder and member of the Human Relations Committee of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. He was a member of the Flying Squad, a special unit of the church to investigate racial injustices and recommend action. In 1968, he became the first black to receive an honorary doctorate from Andrews University, a Seventh-day Adventist institution. Cleveland was the first African American church leader sent to Asia, Europe, South America and Australia. On February 25, 1993, Cleveland was inducted into the Martin Luther King, Jr. collegium of preachers and scholars at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia.
Inducted into the Martin Luther King, Jr. collegium of preachers and scholars at Morehouse College On February 25, 1993
Cleveland's life has been the subject of a biography E. E. Cleveland: Evangelist Extraordinary by Harold Lee with Monte Sahlin. His autobiography is titled Let the Church Roll On. The Bradford-Cleveland-Brooks Leadership Center at Oakwood University which opened in October 2007 is in part named for E. E. Cleveland. It houses a training center for evangelists and ministers as well as provides additional classroom space for the Department of Religion and Theology. This building is also home to the classes for the first master's degree program for the university.
Donation of papers
In November 2007 Cleveland donated his collection of personal manuscripts, sermons and papers to the Center for Adventist Research at Andrews University. This collection of nearly 2000 sermon manuscripts, hundreds of pictures, personal books and audio-visual materials has been termed "priceless" and is available to researchers.
