Pitcher, W. Alvin

W. Alvin Pitcher (1913-1966), professor, minister, community and social justice activist. The Pitcher Papers include manuscripts, correspondence, press clippings, and extensive records from numerous political and civic organizations. The papers document Pitcher's scholarly career at Denison University and the University of Chicago, his ministerial work, and his participation in the civil rights movement and in various community organizations.

From the description of W. Alvin Pitcher Papers, 1928-1993 (inclusive) (University of Chicago Library). WorldCat record id: 707730227

William Alvin Pitcher (1913-1996) spent much of his academic career at the University of Chicago and served at several Hyde Park churches in both ministerial and lay capacities. He was deeply involved in civic life on the South Side of Chicago, working with Operation Breadbasket (an arm of Martin Luther King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference) in the 1960s and 1970s, helping to found a cooperative house in Woodlawn that is still in existence today, and participating in a variety of community development groups into the 1990s. Born in Downers Grove, Illinois, Pitcher received a B.S. from the University of Chicago in 1934 and a Ph.D. from the University’s Divinity School in 1955. He was ordained by the Congregational Church in 1940. Beginning in 1944 he served as an Associate Professor of Religion and Director of the Christian Emphasis Program at Denison University in Ohio, before returning to the University of Chicago as an Instructor in the Divinity School in 1952. He was appointed Assistant Professor in 1955 and promoted to Associate Professor in 1961, helping to shape the Ethics and Society field at the Divinity School and teaching courses in social ethics until his retirement in 1977. In 1994, he published Listen to the Crying of the Earth, which addressed the connection between theology and environmental issues. Pitcher was married to Emma Hayes Bickham from 1938 to 1971 and to Sara Wallace from 1971 until his death in 1996.

Pitcher was administrative assistant to Al Raby, head of the Coordinating Council of Community Organizations, from 1965-1970 and was involved in the Chicago Freedom Movement organized by the CCCO and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. He served on the Agenda Committee for Martin Luther King, Jr.’s 1965 visit to Chicago and then as secretary for the Chicago Freedom Movement and logistics coordinator for its open housing marches and demonstrations. After King’s assassination in 1968, Pitcher, with the sponsorship of the Urban Training Center for Christian Mission, formed the Committee for One Society, a group dedicated to fighting racism. From 1966-1970 he served on the staff of SCLC’s Operation Breadbasket, working closely with its head, Reverend Jesse Jackson, in campaigns to promote economic development in black communities and combat institutional racism among Chicago businesses. Operation Breadbasket formed agreements with several major retailers to ensure the hiring and promotion of black employees and the distribution of products sold by black-owned businesses. He served as coordinator for the Construction Spoke of the Breadbasket Commercial Association, a subsidiary group assisting black contractors and tradesmen. Pitcher remained a supporter of Jackson after the latter dissolved Breadbasket to found Operation PUSH.

Pitcher was active in Hyde Park Baptist Church (later Hyde Park Union Church) throughout the 1950s and 1960s, serving as a deacon, teaching Sunday school, and leading committees. He also belonged to the Chicago Baptist Association and to the Church Federation of Chicago, where he served on the Social Concerns Committee and as a Board member. In 1971 he left Hyde Park Union Church and later joined University Church, where he helped to found the Covenantal Community of University Church, an intentional community which formed a housing cooperative in the Woodlawn neighborhood. He served as University Church’s Minister for Christian Community Development and continued to live and work with the Covenantal Community after the ministry position was dissolved by the church. Pitcher also served on the board of the Covenant Development Corporation, an organization which rehabilitated buildings in Woodlawn and partnered with other community groups to promote development in the area. He also served on the board of Evangelical Health Systems and was active in the Woodlawn Ministerial Alliance. Pitcher continued to speak and write on social justice, ethics, theology, politics, and the environment until the end of his life. He died in Chicago in 1996 and was survived by his wife Sara, three sons, two daughters, and nine grandchildren.

From the guide to the Pitcher, W. Alvin. Papers, 1928-1993, (Special Collections Research Center University of Chicago Library 1100 East 57th Street Chicago, Illinois 60637 U.S.A.)