]> PUBLIC "-//The New York Public Library//TEXT (US::NN::Sc MG 240::George W. Bennett Manuscript, n.d.)//ENG" "scmbenet.xml" Inventory of the George W. Bennett Manuscript, n.d. Processed by Hanna Bailey; Machine-readable finding aid created by Apex Data Services; revised by Terry Catapano.

©2000 The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations. All rights reserved.

 Text converted and initial EAD tagging provided by Apex Data Services, April 1999. Revised by Terry Catapano May 2000 Description is in English October 16, 2006 EAD v1.0 finding aid converted to EAD 2002 using UC Berkeley's eadv1to2002.pl perl script. Inventory of the George W. Bennett Manuscript, n.d. Sc MG 240 Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture The New York Public Library New York, New York Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. New York Public Library. 515 Malcolm X Boulevard New York, NY 10037-1801 (212) 491-2224 scmarbref@nypl.org http://nypl.org/research/sc/scm/marb.html Hanna Bailey July, 1991 Apex Data Services; Terry Catapano

©2000 The New York Public Library. Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations. All rights reserved.
PREFACE

This inventory was prepared under the auspices of the Preservation of the Black Religious Heritage Project of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. The project, which is funded by the Lilly Endowment, was established to identify, preserve and acquire primary research materials for the documentation of African-American religious life.

 Descriptive Summary George W. Bennett Manuscript, n.d. Sc MG 240 Bennett, George W. 3 boxes The New York Public Library Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture English Administrative Information Provenance

Donated by The Reverend George W. Bennett, September 15, 1977. SCM 77-64

 Biography

The Reverend George W. Bennett was born in Edenton, North Carolina in 1898. After finishing grade school Bennett began working as a laborer. A gambler and an excessive drinker, Bennett was arrested and charged with robbery twice. He was convicted and sentenced to thirty-five years in prison in 1932, following his second robbery arrest.

After four and one half years in jail Bennett became increasingly interested in Christianity. He claimed to have had religious visions and believed he had undergone a spiritual rebirth. He was transferred to Dannemoria State Hospital for the criminally insane in 1937 once he told prison doctors of his religious experiences. Eleven years later, he was sent to Clinton prison where he worked as secretary for the Protestant chaplain. In 1955, having served twenty-three years of his sentence, Bennett was released from jail.

Bennett was ordained by the Pentecostal Church and claimed to have established a church known as the King's Church of God; however no records exist regarding this church. While in prison, Bennett had begun writing of his life and his religious beliefs. He published three monographs: Life Behind the Walls of My Self-Made Fate (1964), an autobiography; The Meaning of Eternal Life (1966), and The Reality of God and the Interpretation of Being (1971), which were published by Vantage Press. Bennett lived in Brooklyn from 1974 until 1982. He is unlisted in New York City directories following this year.

*Much of the information from this biographical note was drawn from George Bennett's autobiography, Life Behind the Walls of My Self-Made Fate.

 Scope and Content

The George W. Bennett Manuscript consists of several drafts for a book he was writing. The manuscript contains an explanation of Bennett's philosophy of life and his perspective on society, as well as interpretations of several Biblical selections. The manuscript is undated, and is divided into two sections: Chapters and Miscellaneous.

 Container List 1 Chapters

The Chapters section begins with a list of chapters which appears to be the organization Bennett intended for his book. The folders following this list are arranged accordingly; most contain three drafts of each chapter, one handwritten, and two typewritten. Folders thirty-three to thirty-seven are drafts of chapters not mentioned in the chapter list. Because Bennett's intentions are unclear, these chapters are filed last.

 1 1 List Of Chapters 1 2 “Introduction To The Interpretation Of All Being” 1 3 “The Wisdom Of Contradiction And Deceptions” 1 4 “The Nature Of God, The Devil, The World, And Man” 1 5 “The Wisdom Of Cause And Effect” 1 6 “The Wisdom Of Normal And Abnormal Psychology” 1 7 “The Wisdom Of Art And Attraction” 1 8 “The Wisdom Of Justice And Injustice” 1 9 “The Wisdom Of Prophecy” 1 10 “The Perfect State As The Kingdom Of God” 1 11 “The Divisional Principle Of Rulership” 1 12 “Economics And The Organization Of Labor..” 1 13 “The Building Of The Kingdom Of God..” 1 14 “The System Of Education In The Perfect State: Pt.I” 2 15 “The System Of Education: Pt.Ii” 2 16 “The Correction Of The Criminal And The Insane” 2 17 “Laws And The Judicial Functioning Of The Courts” 2 18 “The Wisdom Of Reality” 2 19 “The Coming Of Christ Into The Perfect State” 2 20 “The Interpretation Of The Wisdom Of God..” 2 21 “Interpretation Of The Fifth Chapter Of St. Matthew, Pts.I-Iii” 2 22 “Interpretation Of Chs. 6 And 7 Of St. Matthew, Pts I And Ii” 2 23 “Interpretation Of Chs. 8-12 Of St. Matthew” 2 24 “Interpretation Of Chs. 13,15,16,18-21 Of St. Matthew” 3 25 “Interpretation Of Chs. 22-25 Of St. Matthew” 3 26 “Interpretation Of Chs. 3-8 Of St. John” 3 27 “Interpretation Of Chs. 10,12,14-18 Of St. John” 3 28 “Interpretation Of Romans As Given By St. Paul: Chs. 2-8,10,12-15” 3 29 “Interpretation Of First Corinthians: Chs. 1-3;4,6,7;8,10-15” 3 30 “Interpretation Of Second Corinthians: Chs. 1,3-5;6,8,10,11” 3 31 “Interpretation Of Galatians, Philippians, Timothy, Hebrews, St. James..” 3 32 “Interpretation Of Epistles Of St. Peter, St. John, And St. John The Divine Pts.I And Ii” 3 33 “Interpretation Of The Doctrine Of Christ As Reported By St.Luke” 3 34 “The Wisdom Of Perfect And Imperfect Reason, Logic And Judgement” 3 35 “The Fallacies Of Words And Organized Religions” 3 36 “The King's Church Of God” 3 37 “On Sinning Against The Holy Ghost, The Spirit Of Truth In God” Miscellaneous

The final section, Miscellaneous, includes hand and type written notes and texts that are untitled and unidentifiable.

 3 38 Handwritten And Typewritten Notes And Texts Separation Record

NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY

SCHOMBURG CENTER FOR RESEARCH IN BLACK CULTURE

RARE BOOKS, MANUSCRIPTS AND ARCHIVES DIVISION

SEPARATION RECORD

The following items were removed from:

Name of Collection/Papers Reverend George W. Bennett

Accession Number SCM 77-64

Donor: Reverend George W. Bennett

Date received: September 15, 1977

Date transferred: September 15, 1977

The item(s) listed below have been sent to the division indicated, either to be retained or disposed of there. Any items that should receive special disposition are clearly marked.

Schomburg Library:

three (3) books by Reverend Bennett:

The Reality of God and the Interpretation of Being (1971)

The Meaning of Eternal Life (1966)

Life Behind the Walls of My Self-Made Fate (1964)

Accessioned by: S. Sharlin (Davis)

Date: September 15, 1977