Eugene Callender

Dr Eugene S. Callender was an American pastor and activist in the civil rights movement.

Biography

Eugene St. Clair Callender was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to parents who were immigrants from Barbados. He studied at Cambridge [Rindge and Latin School] and Boston University, before becoming the first African American to study at Westminster Theological Seminary. He later studied at New York Law School.
For most of his life, Callender lived and worked in Harlem. He was the first black ordained minister in the Christian [Reformed Church in North America]. A past executive director of the New York Urban League and a former president of the New York Urban Coalition, he also served as deputy administrator of the New [York City Housing Authority|New York City Housing and Development Administration].
In 1970, Callender hosted the hour-long WNBC‐TV series Positively Black, which aired weekly, featuring Black artists, writers, actors, musicians, sports figures and activists, as well as news about life and culture in the community.