Wallace Hartsfield led by example for history and hope

Wallace S. Hartsfield Sr., Kansas City’s “godfather of ministers,” was a dogged champion of the people who was arrested for civil disobedience in Jefferson City at age 84. File photo by The Kansas City Star.

By Robert Lee Hill for The Kansas City Star

“Loving father, grandfather, great-grandfather.” “A preacher’s preacher.” “Godfather of ministers.” These and many more laudatory appellations can and should be accorded to the Rev. Dr. Wallace S. Hartsfield Sr., who died Thursday at his home in Kansas City.

Like Martin Luther King Jr., he was born in Atlanta in 1929. Like King, his life path would be imbued with consistent compassion for “the least of these.” And like King, he was an unashamed advocate for the African American community and an unapologetic champion for the unity of all people through the power of love.

I was privileged to know Rev. Hartsfield for a quarter century; to accept his invitations to work alongside him in racial reconciliation, voter registration and voter turnout endeavors; and to benefit from his wisdom, wit and affirming spirit. It was a tremendous grace to witness his loving care of the Metropolitan Missionary Baptist Church and his unparalleled work for justice in greater Kansas City.

I was once amazed to see how he and Alvin Brooks quelled potential gang violence in the heart of the urban core. Like legions of other admirers, whenever I was in Rev. Hartsfield’s presence, I felt encouraged about the human prospect.

Many will recall his mellifluous enunciation of the word “love” at the end of a sermon, and others will have cherished memories of his sonorous baritone singing “How Great Thou Art” and “I Won’t Complain.”

While serving Metropolitan’s congregation for 42 years, he was a stalwart member of the Baptist Ministers Union and the energizing founder of the ecumenical Concerned Clergy Coalition.

Health care for all was a central focus for Rev. Hartsfield. He valiantly worked to develop the Model Cities Health Corporation, today known as Swope Health. He assisted in the creation of the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City, now the Health Forward Foundation, when Health Midwest was sold to HCA. And at age 84, as a member of the “Medicaid 23,” he committed civil disobedience in the Missouri State Capitol, urging the expansion of Medicaid coverage for 300,000 Missourians.

(NOTE: Rev. Hartsfield joined with former LINC Chairman Landon Rowland in championing the use of the proceeds of the Health Midwest sale to improve the health of the Kansas City community with heightened regard for “the indigent, the underserved, the barely served and those truly in need.”)

Rev. Hartsfield’s perduring and prophetic wisdom was marked by twinned themes: history and hope. The importance of history was always part of his guidance for church members and clergy colleagues. And he was also quick to remind everyone of the essential location of hope in the human heart and at the center of any community worthy of the name.

One special memory of Rev. Hartsfield’s impact on my life will abide forever. In August 2006, I joined him, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II and 14 other Kansas Citians on a trip to Turkey sponsored by the Dialog Institute. For 10 days, we enjoyed Turkey’s rich cultural treasures and beheld a vibrant example of different faiths dwelling together in harmony. We experienced the troubled history of the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, walked where the apostle Paul had walked in Izmir, visited Rumi’s tomb in Konya and reveled in our hosts’ cuisine, music and excessive hospitality.

We also trekked through the underground cities of Cappadocia, where, for more than 2,500 years, various populations found safe haven from oppression and marauding armies. Not everyone in our group went down the steps and tunnels, which stretch 200 feet and six stories underground. But who was at the head of the line, challenging the more hesitant (and claustrophobic) of us to follow his lead? Rev. Hartsfield, of course.

As he was in Cappadocia, so he was throughout his life: Venturing where others feared to tread. Coursing through ancient pathways, seeking new light. Always trusting an unseen hand to lead him rightly. Always living by the law of love, the power of unfettered truth and an unalloyed affirmation of the dignity of all people. Always knowing that grace would bring him and all of us home.

Robert Lee Hill is a community consultant and minister emeritus of Community Christian Church.