Clarence LaVaughn Franklin (January 22, 1915 – July 2, 1984), better known as Rev. C.L. Franklin, was born in rural Mississippi. He was called to the ministry when he was just 16 years old. He pastored several churches in the south before moving to Buffalo, NY and then to Detroit, MI where he founded the New Bethel Baptist Church. Reverend Franklin sang along with his daughter, Aretha Franklin when she was only 14 years old. “The man with the million dollar voice,” was a highly influential Baptist preacher and civil rights activist. He was a friend of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Rev. Franklin led a civil rights march in Detroit in 1963. Sadly he was severely wounded by a gunshot after thieves broke into his home in 1979. As a result he remained comatose until he died. Rev. C.L. Franklin was one of the most dynamic, anointed and articulate speakers of our times.
