About Charles A. Tindley
Charles A. Tindley’s legacy of sheer determination serves as an inspiration for this school.
Charles Albert Tindley was born in Maryland in the 19th century. His father was a slave, and he worked in those same fields for most of his young life. Tindley taught himself to read and write by the age of seventeen. He went to work as a sexton at the Calvary Methodist Church in Philadelphia while he took courses in theology by correspondence from Boston University. He went on to earn two doctoral degrees. Dissatisfied with reading translations of the Bible, Tindley taught himself to read Greek and Hebrew. Tindley was soon installed as pastor of the same church where he had worked as a laborer.
When the Rev. Dr. Tindley passed away in 1933, there were over 12,500 members of the Tindley Temple United Methodist Church (the church was renamed in his honor), which is still a vibrant part of the Philadelphia community.
Tindley is also known as the founder of gospel music. He wrote over 50 hymns which include, “We Shall Overcome” and “I’ll Understand it By and By.”