Flake, Floyd H. (Floyd Harold), 1945-

<p>Reverend Dr. Floyd H. Flake was born on January 30, 1945. He grew up in segregated Houston as one of fifteen children to Robert Flake, Sr. and Rosie Lee Johnson-Flake. Their small two bedroom house lacked running water. Flake was heavily influenced by his parents' strong moral beliefs and by excellent teachers who challenged him.</p>

<p>After high school, Flake attended Wilberforce University, obtaining his B.A. in 1967 and becoming the first member of his family to graduate from college. After graduation, Flake served as a social worker and then as a marketing analyst with Xerox Corporation.</p>

<p>He was recruited to serve as Director of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Afro-American Center in Boston University. Then in 1976, he was asked to head the Allen African Methodist Episcopal Church (now The Greater Allen Cathedral of New York) in Jamaica, Queens, New York. At the time, the church had 1,400 members. Under Flake's leadership, the church's membership has grown to more than 23,000, complete with a private school, senior citizens center and hundreds of housing units for its members and other community residents. Allen A.M.E. Church has become one of the United States' largest non-profit corporations and the second largest African American employer in New York City.</p>

FLAKE, Floyd Harold, a Representative from New York; born in Los Angeles, Calif., January 30, 1945; attended public schools in Houston, Tex.; B.A., Wilberforce University, Wilberforce, Ohio, 1970; attended Northeastern University, Boston, Mass., 1974-1976, and St. John's University, Jamaica, N.Y., 1980-1984; M. Div., United Theological Seminary, Dayton, Ohio, 1995; pastor of Allen A.M.E. Church, Jamaica, N.Y., 1976-1986; unsuccessful candidate in 1986 for the vacancy in the Ninety-ninth Congress caused by the death of Joseph P. Addabbo; elected as a Democrat to the One Hundredth and to the five succeeding Congresses and served from January 3, 1987, until his resignation November 17, 1997, to return full time to his duties as pastor of Allen A.M.E. Church.

<p>Although Floyd Flake arrived in Congress without having held public office, he was bolstered by his experience managing one of the largest churches in New York City: the Allen African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church. As a provider of a broad range of social services, the church was the economic focal point of the Queens neighborhood of Jamaica. Flake was part of a new generation of black Representatives who sought to work within the congressional hierarchy and who viewed race as less important in their role as Representatives. A Democrat, Flake often found himself teamed with Republicans to fund urban renewal efforts. But Flake’s calling ultimately remained his church, and halfway through his sixth term in Congress he left to return to New York. “I realize I could never be a Beltway politician,” Flake noted. “[Back home] there are real people with real everyday problems that need to be addressed.”</p>

<p>Floyd Harold Flake was born in Los Angeles, California, on January 30, 1945, one of 13 children of Robert Flake, Sr., a janitor, and Rosie Lee Johnson–Flake, a homemaker. Both his parents had only an elementary school education. The Flakes moved to Houston, Texas, where Floyd Flake attended public schools and joined the AME church at the age of ten. Flake was the first in his family to attend college. He graduated from Ohio’s historically black college, Wilberforce University, with a B.A. in psychology in 1967, and subsequently did graduate work at Payne Theological Seminary at Wilberforce before earning his master’s degree in divinity at the United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio, in 1995. Flake later studied business administration at Northeastern University in Boston. Between his studies, he was employed as a social worker in Dayton, Ohio, a salesman for a large tobacco company, and a marketing analyst for an international technology and document management company. Flake eventually drew on his background in religious studies and education, working as the director of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Afro–American Center and the chaplain at Boston University. Flake married Margaret Elaine McCollins, also an ordained minister, and they raised four children: Aliya, Nailah, Robert Rasheed, and Harold Hasan.</p>

<p>In 1976, Flake and his wife took over the Allen AME Church in Jamaica, a primarily black neighborhood and one of the poorest sections of the mostly middle–class Queens Borough in New York. Named for Richard Allen of the Free African Society, Flake’s church was the oldest AME church in Queens, dating back to the 1860s. Under Flake’s leadership, Allen AME became the second–largest black church in New York City, swelling from 1,000 to more than 5,000 members in a little more than a decade. As a provider of community outreach services such as a health clinic, a primary school, and affordable housing, Allen AME became the economic focal point of the Jamaica neighborhood. Other local black pastors spoke highly of Flake’s ministry. “He is a master builder,” noted a local Pentecostal reverend. A regional Baptist leader called him “a role model for the clergy.”</p>

<p>Floyd Harold Flake (born January 30, 1945) is the senior pastor of the 23,000 member Greater Allen African Methodist Episcopal Cathedral in Jamaica, Queens, New York, and former president of Wilberforce University. He is a former member of the United States House of Representatives, serving from 1987 to 1997.</p>

<p>Born in Los Angeles, California, Flake grew up in Houston, Texas as one of fifteen children of Robert Flake, Sr. and Rosie Lee Johnson-Flake. During his childhood, he was influenced by his parents' Christian moral beliefs. After high school, he obtained his BA degree from Wilberforce University in Wilberforce, Ohio, becoming the first member of his family to graduate from college. He served as a social worker and then worked for Xerox as a marketing analyst. Flake next worked as Director of Student Affairs at Lincoln University, PA, and subsequently dean of students and director of the Afro-American Center at Boston University. In 1976, he was asked to head the Allen African Methodist Episcopal Church (now The Greater Allen Cathedral of New York). Under Flake's leadership, the church grew from having about 1,400 members to over 23,000 parishioners.</p>

<p>Flake is married to Margaret Elaine McCollins and has four children. He is also a fellow at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research.</p>

<p>Flake served as President of Wilberforce University from 2002 to 2008, leaving under heavy, publicized scrutiny and severe critique over his impact on the school. He is a political patron of New York Senate Democratic Leader Malcolm Smith and Democratic U.S. Representative Gregory Meeks. Despite his affiliation with the Democratic party, in 2006 he was the co-chair of conservative Republican Ken Blackwell's (R) campaign for governor of Ohio and endorsed Michael Bloomberg in the New York City mayoral election, 2005.</p>