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Rev. Calvin Butts, pillar of Harlem, dies at 73
The Rev. Calvin O. Butts III, pastor of Harlem’s landmark Abyssinian Baptist Church, has died. He was 73.
NEW YORK - Reverend Dr. Calvin O. Butts, lll, who was the pastor at Harlem's historic Abyssinian Baptist Church has died, the church announced on Friday.
"The Butts Family and entire Abyssinian Baptist Church membership solicit your prayers for us in our bereavement," a statement read.
Butts spent 50 years in ministry and service to The Abyssinian Baptist Church and was the pastor for more than 30 years.
Dr. Butts was also instrumental in establishing the Thurgood Marshall Academy for Learning and Social Change – a public, state-of-the-art, intermediate and high school in Harlem, and he was the visionary behind the Thurgood Marshall Academy Lower School.
During his presidential tenure at SUNY College - Old Westbury, Dr. Butts reinvigorated one of the most diverse public college campuses in America to its largest enrollment ever, adding full-time faculty and expanding student support services. Under his leadership, SUNY College at Old Westbury earned new accreditations and created its first-ever graduate programs, conferring graduate degrees in more than fifteen disciplines.
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Vigil for Rev. Calivin Butts in Harlem
A candlelight vigil in honor of the late Rev. Calvin Butts III was held outside Thurgood Marshall Academy for Learning and Social Change in Harlem on Wednesday evening. Butts was the senior pastor of the Abyssinian Baptist Church for more than 30 years. The reverend died at home in New York on Oct. 28, 2022, of pancreatic cancer. He was 73.
The Reverend served as President of Africare NYC, an independent organization dedicated to the improvement of the quality of life in rural Africa, and was a member of the board of the September 11th Fund.
Dr. Butts received honorary degrees from Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; the City University of New York/The City College of New York and many others.
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NYC Houses of Worship: Abyssinian Baptist Church
The steady voice of the Rev. Calvin Butts has guided countless in New York for decades in a house of worship that defined this city. The Abyssinian Baptist Church we know of sits on West 138th Street. But it has roots all the way down on Worth Street, where the First Baptist Church segregated its congregants, igniting social protest.
For his community activism, Dr. Butts received innumerable honors and commendations, including the United Negro College Fund’s Shirley Chisholm Community Service Award; The Medal for Distinguished Service from Teachers College, Columbia University and Man of the Year, Morehouse College Alumni Association.
Dr. Butts was married, with three children and six grandchildren.