The Rev. Calvin O. Butts III, who welcomed generations of worshippers as well as political leaders from across the nation and around the world at Harlem’s landmark Abyssinian Baptist Church, has died at 73, the church says.
John Paraskevas / Newsday via Getty ImagesThe Rev. Calvin O. Butts III, who welcomed generations of worshippers as well as political leaders from across the nation and around the world at Harlem’s landmark Abyssinian Baptist Church, died Friday at age 73, the church announced.
“The Butts Family and entire Abyssinian Baptist Church membership solicit your prayers for us in our bereavement,” the churchButts began serving as a youth minister at Abyssinian in 1972 and was senior pastor there for more than 30 years. He also served as president of the State University of New York at Old Westbury, on Long Island, from 1999 to 2020.
Hillary Clinton stands with Rev. Dr. Calvin O. Butts outside the Abyssinian Baptist Church on Jan. 20, 2008 as Butts endorses Clinton's candidacy in Harlem, New York on Jan. 20, 2008 .In 1995, Republican Gov. George Pataki appointed Butts to two state boards that controlled economic development grants to businesses. That same year, Butts hosted then-Cuban leader Fidel Castro at Abyssinian, where the fatigues-wearing communist received a hero’s welcome.
The Rev. Calvin Butts addresses the congregation gathered to hear the speech by Cuban President Fidel Castro inside Harlem's Abyssinian Baptist Church on Oct. 22, 1995 in New York. Butts died Friday, Oct. 28, 2022 at age 73, the church announced.that Butts presided over at Abyssinian last year. Butts praised Tyson as an example of “an example of how we all might live.”
Rev. Calvin O. Butts III speaks onstage during the André Leon Talley Celebration of Life at The Abyssinian Baptist Church on April 29, 2022 in New York City.The Rev. Al Sharpton called Butts a major pillar in the Harlem community. “He was a dominant faith and academic leader for decades,” Sharpton said in a statement. “We knew each other for more than 40 years, and while we did not always agree we always came back together.