The Rev. Calvin O. Butts III, who led the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, died on Friday, according to the church. He was 73. Butts worked for more than 30 years at the Abyssinian Baptist Church, which is regarded as the state’s first Black Baptist congregation.
According to his official church biography, he was the Chairman of the Abyssinian Development Corporation, “a community-based, not-for-profit organization responsible for over $1 billion in housing and commercial development in Harlem.”
Butts was also the President Emeritus of the State University of New York College at Old Westbury and a visiting professor at the Fordham University Graduate School of Education’s Educational Leadership, Administration, and Policy Division.
Calvin O. Butts III Children: Did Calvin O. Butts III Have Kids?
He was married and had three children. Calvin Butts, Alexander Butts, and Patricia Jean Butts are the surviving children of the late Calvin O. Butts III.
