Civil rights leader Rev. James Netters dead at 93
Rev. James Netters, prominent civil rights leader, beloved pastor and one of the first Black members of Memphis City Council, has died at age 93.
Netters' death was announced Sunday by Mt. Vernon Baptist Church in Westwood, where Netters served as pastor for more than 60 years. Netters is believed to hold the record for the longest tenure at one church in Memphis.
He was surrounded by family at the time of his passing, according to a video announcement from the Rev. Melvin Watkins, Mt. Vernon's senior pastor.
Netters began his decadeslong work of advancing civil rights for Black Americans and Black Memphians after he attended the March on Washington in 1963. He was galvanized into action after observing two giants of the civil rights movement — Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and John Lewis, who later became a congressman.
Following Lewis' death this year from pancreatic cancer, Netters spoke with The Commercial Appeal about the pivotal moment in his life.
“I was so impressed with the march that I came back to Memphis and started to march here in Memphis and also did a bus boycott and I went to jail and successfully integrated the bus system here in Memphis,” Netters said. “It was all because of the inspiration I received during the march that Dr. Lewis helped organize in Washington.”
Netters' efforts to integrate buses in Memphis culminated in 1964, when he
was one of seven area pastors arrested after refusing to give up their seats in a section of the bus reserved for white riders.
The arrest of Netters and six other pastors triggered the eventual integration of the bus system in Memphis. After he was released from jail, Netters met with city leaders who then agreed to integrate public transportation within two weeks.
Netters went on to organize and participate in countless marches in Memphis. On Jan.1, 1968, he was sworn in as a member of the Memphis City Council alongside Fred Davis and J.O. Patterson Jr. The three men were the first Black Memphians to serve on city council.
As word spread about Netters’ death, social media tributes from Memphis leaders and clergy began to mount.
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland, in a Facebook post, called Netters “a giant in Memphis as a religious, elected and civic leader.”
“He was instrumental on the 1st city council in 1968. I always enjoyed listening to his sermons at Mt. Vernon Baptist Church, or simply visiting with him in a small group, because I learned so much about faith, life, and service,” Strickland wrote.
Congressman Steve Cohen released a statement after learning of Netters’ passing.
“The Reverend James Netters was a giant in the pulpit as a stand-up pastor and in our community where his friendships and influence knew no limits,” said Cohen, D-memphis.
“I valued his friendship and his solid support, particularly in my campaigns for Congress. I extend my deepest condolences to his family and to the Mount Vernon Baptist Church community. He led an exemplary life and will be missed.”
The Rev. Andre E. Johnson, a pastor at Gifts of Life Ministries in Raleigh, described Netters’ journey through all realms that he occupied in Memphis as one propelled by both faith and a pursuit of liberation.
Johnson, as a professor at the Memphis Theological Seminary, held a professorial position named after Netters, who sought his masters of divinity through the seminary long after he es
tablished himself as a pastor. Johnson called Netters “a minister’s minister.”
“All the stuff that he did within the sphere of civil rights, economic justice, voting rights, fair wages, liberation....all of that centered, and was grounded in his faith. He was first and foremost a Baptist preacher. It was his call as a minister of the gospel of Jesus that lead him to do all those things,” Johnson said.
Netters, Johnson said, served as a mentor to vast numbers of clergy members as they sought to find their stride as church leaders.
Netters’ acuity as a minister, Johnson said, was expansive. And included in the acuity was the keen ability to align himself with the tone and spirit of his congregation on any given day, whether it was a time of celebration or a more difficult moment.
Netters was the type of pastor, he
said, “that could do a little bit of it all.”
“If there’s a high time going on the in the church, and every body is shouting, he could get into that way and ride it. If everybody was somber, and the occasion was one of sadness, he could get into that and ride that,” Johnson said. “He could shout and hoot, but he was also someone who could just lay it out there for everybody to hear it. You could hear a pin drop in the congregation, because he is saying something so profound, that you dare not move.”
Netters continued to support and stay apprised of the continued push for equity and justice in Memphis, carried out by grassroots organizations and individuals today.
His legacy, Johnson said, will always be one of both liberation and boundless faith.
“When we say ‘walk by faith and not by sight’...that was James Netters,” Johnson said.
The Rev. Keith Norman, pastor of First Baptist C-broad, said Netters “will always be remembered as a pastor of pastors and a loving father to many men and women aspiring to serve God’s Kingdom.”
“His legacy of leadership will forever be engraved into the pastoral and political DNA of Memphis prophetic engagement fighting for the poor and oppressed,” said Norman, a former president of the Memphis NAACP branch.
Norman also added that Netters was the “quintessential Man of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Incorporated, embodying the principles of all true Omega men: manhood, scholarship, perseverance and uplift.”