Haynes, Frederick Douglas, 1899-1971

Pastor, Third Baptist Church, San Francisco, Calif.

Frederick Douglas Haynes was the pastor of the Third Baptist Church, San Francisco, 1932-1971.

Charlie Mae Lomax Haynes was the first Black woman elected to the San Francisco Board of Education.

Biography of Reverend Frederick Douglas Haynes

Reverend Frederick Douglas Haynes was born in 1899 in Talcott, West Virginia. Orphaned at the age of four, he was raised by his sister in Pennsylvania. He began working at the age of ten and supported himself through high school by working in a bakery. In the early 1920s Haynes moved to Los Angeles, California where he attended Biola Institute, a Baptist Bible College. Licensed as a preacher by the age of seventeen, he organized the first junior church in California while serving as an assistant pastor in Los Angeles.

In 1928, Haynes was ordained and took over the pulpit of the Second Baptist Church in Fresno, California. Four years later, he came to San Francisco to serve as the pastor of the Third Baptist Church, a position he retained until his death in 1971. When Haynes arrived in San Francisco in 1932, the Third Baptist Church had a congregation of 150 and an annual budget of about $1,500. At his death the congregation had grown to over 3,000 members and the annual budget had increased to $150,000.

Founded in August 1852, the Third Baptist Church was the first African American Baptist congregation established west of the Rocky Mountains. Originally known as the First Colored Baptist Church of San Francisco, it was organized by nine individuals who met at the home of William and Eliza Davis on Kearny Street. The congregation was served by nearly a dozen pastors and housed in several different buildings prior to Haynes' arrival. His leadership, and changes in San Francisco's demographics brought about by World War II, resulted in dramatic growth for the church. In 1952 the congregation moved into a group of buildings at McAllister and Pierce Streets and in 1956 a Youth Building was erected. Additional construction at the site continued as membership grew and community service programs were expanded. Pastor of the largest African American congregation in Northern California, Haynes served as president of the California State Baptist Convention from 1960 to 1969. Earlier service, beginning in 1954, as chair of the scholarship committee of the National Baptist Convention, established Haynes as a leader. In recognition of his lifelong accomplishments, Haynes was awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree by Bishop College in Dallas, Texas in 1970.

Active in local and national politics, as well as church affairs, Haynes was a strong proponent of civil rights and social justice. In 1943 he marched with striking longshoremen and was instrumental in Pacific Telephone's decision to end racially based hiring restrictions. Paul Robeson and W.E.B. DuBois were among the many notable figures who sought counsel and support from Haynes. In 1945 Haynes became the first African American to run for Supervisor in San Francisco. Although unsuccessful each time, he ran again in 1947 and 1951. He did achieve local political success in 1956, however, when Mayor Christopher appointed him to the San Francisco Public Library Commission.

Haynes married his second wife, Charlie Mae Lomax, in 1945. Together they raised their three children, Harvey, Douglas and Sharon, along with Frederick Douglas Haynes, Jr., Haynes' son from his first marriage. After his death in 1971, Frederick Douglas Haynes, Jr. succeeded him as pastor of the Third Baptist Church.

Biography of Charlie Mae Haynes

Charlie Mae Crawford was born in Calvert, Texas in the early 1920's. Her father, Charlie Crawford, was a cement finisher. Her mother, Julia Orum Crawford, was a domestic maid. Although her early schooling took place in Groesbeck,Texas, her family moved to California when she was eleven years old. She graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in Los Angeles and eventually went on to attend the University of Southern California as a music major. She ultimately received her B.A. in Social Work from San Francisco State University.

In 1939 Charlie Mae married the Reverend Thurston Lomax. Until his death in 1941, she was considered the first lady of the Second Baptist Church of Long Beach, California where he served as a pastor. In 1945 she moved to San Francisco and married Reverend Frederick Douglas Haynes. A concert artist for many years, Charlie Mae Haynes was often the featured soloist at church events. Also involved in the leadership of the Third Baptist Church, she served as Youth Director, Youth Choir Director, and Counselor. President of Minister's Wives and a member of the NAACP and the San Francisco Opera Guild, she was active in a wide range of church and community organizations.

In addition to her volunteer activities, Charlie Mae Haynes worked for the San Francisco Department of Social Services for many years. After her husband's death, she became the first African American woman elected to the San Francisco Board of Education where she served as a Commissioner from 1972 to 1974. She died in San Francisco in 1980.

Biography of Frederick Douglas Haynes, Jr.

Frederick Douglas Haynes, Jr. was born in Los Angeles in 1928. His mother, Annette Reid Jordan of Los Angeles, was the first wife of Reverend Frederick Douglas Haynes. In 1932 Frederick Douglas Haynes, Jr. left his mother and moved to San Francisco to live with his father. Haynes attended school in San Francisco but eventually returned to Los Angeles where he graduated from the Manual Arts High School. He attended Fresno State College, Simpson Bible College, and Bishop College in Dallas. At the time of his death he was a student at the Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary.

He began preaching in 1950. In 1954 he became an ordained minister and went on to serve as an Assistant Minister at the Third Baptist Church under his father. In 1963 he left San Francisco to take course work at Bishop College. Upon returning to the Bay Area, he was called to the Pastorate of Jerusalem Baptist Church in Palo Alto, where he served until May of 1972. Shortly after his father passed away, he returned to the Third Baptist Church in San Francisco to serve as pastor. Drawn to the evangelical mission of the church, he began an extensive outreach program and became the first African American minister to preach behind prison walls.

He was married to Lynetta Doyle Haynes. The couple had one son, Frederick Douglas Haynes, III, and three daughters, Helena, Francine and Michelle. Frederick Douglas Haynes, Jr. died in 1975, only four years after the death of his father.