A Short History of The
Fellowship of Humanity
▬ J. Arthur Ragsdale
If one should take a stroll along the south side of 28th Street, between Telegraph Avenue and Webster Street, in the City of Oakland, one will notice a large garden, with trees of several varieties, most prominent of which are a number of live oaks, natives of the soil of Oakland, California. Toward the rear of this garden is seen a small building, over the entrance of which are inscribed the words, “Fellowship Center.” This has been the home of an organization, unique in the annals of American Humanism, since August 4, 1941. Its name is The Fellowship of Humanity.
The origins of The Fellowship of Humanity can hardly be explained without some description of the social environment that gave birth to it. It was the year 1934. Franklin Roosevelt had been elected President two years previously. Many millions of people were out of work; some of them since 1929, the year of the stock market crash, which was followed by the Great Depression. Thousands of people roamed around the country, going from state to state, looking for work. But there were no jobs to be had. Banks failed, and industry came to a standstill. A large savings and loan company in San Francisco was forced into bankruptcy because some of its biggest borrowers, large hotels and restaurants, up and down the state, could make no payments on their loans. The loan company foreclosed the mortgages and tried to operate these “frozen assets” directly, but this also proved to be a failure as there was insufficient public patronage to sustain the offered services.
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The Roosevelt administration was struggling to bring order out of chaos and to get the wheels of industry turning again. Many bills were rushed through a panic-stricken Congress. Some of these measures proved to be useless for the purpose intended. Months and years passed by, and many people were still without work. The government began handing out doles, some of them in the form of make-work jobs, but it also established the Works Project Administration and the Public Works Administration, which gave employment to many people. However, there was still much unemployment, and people began to gather into groups and discuss what might be done to relieve the situation. Some of these groups formulated plans, and leaders sprang forth who sought to publicize the plans and to build organizations to put them into execution in the hope of solving the problem of unemployment.
One such plan was that which was advocated by Upton Sinclair, a long-time socialist and a prolific writer of many novels, most of them bearing on the problems of poverty and unemployment. Sinclair entitled his program “End Poverty in California.” His plan consisted in having the State Legislature pass a law that would legalize the seizure of factories that had been closed by the depression by the state and to have them operated by the State and thus put some of the unemployed people to work. Sinclair announced that he was going to run for governor on this program and managed to form a large statewide organization which became known as “EPIC,“ an acronym formed from the initials of the title of the plan. Sinclair ran in the Democratic primary election and won the nomination for governor as the candidate of the Democratic Party. However, he was defeated by a reactionary Republican candidate who was backed by all the wealthy interests who feared that their property was about to be taken away from them. Thus the “EPIC” plan was never given a trial. Whether it would have worked or not is another question.
Some of the people who were Sinclair supporters were members of a Unitarian Church in Oakland. During the “EPIC” campaign, there was great excitement, which did not abate after Sinclair’s defeat. The hopes of the unemployed had been raised high by his plan, and his followers felt that something had to be done. Among the Sinclair supporters in the Unitarian Church was a minister, Reverend Absolom David Faupell, who taught Sunday School there. Faupell had a magnetic personality, a charisma, and built up a following. He was a man with a dream. He envisioned a string of churches throughout California which would be called “The Church of Humanity.” Thus even though Sinclair had been defeated, his message would be carried on.
So on January 12, 1935, a group of individuals, dedicated to the cause of humanity, gathered together in the City of Oakland and signed a document entitled “Articles of Incorporation of the Church of Humanity.” This document was filed in the office of the Secretary of State in Sacramento on January 28, 1935. The Church of Humanity thus became a nonprofit corporation according to the provisions of the General Non-Profit Corporation Law of the State of California.
There were seven articles set forth in these Articles of Incorporation. The first article provided that the name should be The Church of Humanity. The second article set forth the purpose in three subparagraphs. The first of these detailed the purpose, as now incorporated in the Constitution and By-Laws, as Section 4, Paragraph 1. The second subparagraph of Article II stated that it was the purpose to organize other Churches of Humanity throughout California. The third subparagraph stated the intention to lease, buy or sell property, etc. Article III stated that the existence of this corporation is to be perpetual. Article IV provided that the principal office is to be in Alameda County. Article V stated that the Directors are: A. D. Faupell, Frank W. Hooper, Anna Belle Van Tassel, J. I. Mclntosh, and Constance Roberts. Articles VI and VII provided that the By-laws may be adopted by the Board of Directors and by the members. The Board of Directors named in the Articles of Incorporation represented a membership of about 200.
On February 7, 1938, a resolution was adopted by the Board of Directors, changing the name to The Fellowship of Humanity. This change was approved by a large majority of the membership. The Resolution was filed in the office of the Secretary of State on February 8, 1938. It was signed by A. D. Faupell, President; Anna Belle Van Tassel, Secretary; and Directors Frank W. Hooper, Robert Robertson, and A. Berlucci.
During the first six years of its existence, The Fellowship met in different halls, among them Jenny Lind Hall and Sons of Norway Hall on Piedmont Avenue. Then on August 4, 1941, the building and lot at the present location, 411 - 28th Street, was purchased from the Central Lutheran Church. This was made possible through the generosity of J. George Kullmer, whose name is preserved on a bronze tablet fastened to the wall just inside the 28th Street entrance. The members were very enthusiastic over the acquisition of their beautiful new home and garden and set to work with a will to put everything in order. The sign near the 28th Street entrance to the garden was made by Jessie Bradley and her son, Theodore. It reads as follows: FELLOWSHIP OF HUMANITY HUMANISTS Affirm that Man, by His Own Power, Through Scientific Knowledge, Enlightened Social Purposes, and Democratic Cooperation, Must and Can Build a Better Human World. The inscription on the bronze tablet inside the building reads: FELLOWSHIP FOUNDATION This Building and Grounds are The Gift of J. GEORGE KULLMER, Born in Hess Nassau, Germany, Dec. 21, 1859, Died Apr. 23, 1940 “He Being Dead, Yet Speaketh” Heb. 11:4. The dedication ceremonies for the new hall were held on October 26, 1941. One of the speakers was Rabbi Stearn of the Reform Synagogue.
The first President and the first Leader of The Fellowship was Reverend Absolom David Faupell. He suffered several strokes in 1944 and was forced to retire. E. O. Corson was chosen as President to succeed Mr. Faupell, and remained in office until the annual election August 29, 1948. During Mr. Corson’s administration Philip Mayer, a former college teacher, was chosen as the second Leader.
