Denver civil rights activist and pastor Rev. Dr. James D. Peters died on May 10. He was 92.
Peters was a friend of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and a founding member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. He was pastor emeritus of Denver’s New Hope Baptist Church.
Peters was known as a man of faith, principle and community, according to one friend who knew him for 30 years.
“He touched so many people through his ministry and through his messages. And he just didn't keep his message within the walls of the church,” said Rhonda Fields, an Arapahoe County commissioner and former state lawmaker. “He would meet people where they were. So, it could be in a senior citizen’s home. It could be at a gathering where people were out. He wasn't stingy with his time.”
Before moving to Denver, Peters led a church in Bridgeport, Conn., where he met King. He spoke with CBS Colorado in 2023 about his interactions with King.
"He presented me with a plaque, in front of my whole congregation and the whole city and everything," Peters said at the time.
Peters organized three cars on a train to travel from Bridgeport to Washington, D.C., to participate in the March on Washington in 1963.
"Martin was superb," Peters told CBS. "You promised us in the Bill of Rights and all these declarations that all people are created equal — well, we want our share."
Peters was considered one of King’s lieutenants during the Civil Rights Movement. He marched in Selma, Ala., on the night Rev. James Reeb, a white minister from Boston, was killed by Ku Klux Klan members.
He was present at the founding meeting of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957. The SCLC was founded after the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Along with organizing the March on Washington, the organization pushed for desegregation and the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Peters traveled with King for fundraising rallies across the North, as The Denver Post reported.
The connection never left Peters, according to Fields. Both men used ministry as a way to create justice and equality.
“(Peters) was such a beacon of hope during challenging times, not even back in those days, but even in the Denver metro area,” Fields said. “When we had issues, he wasn't shy or he didn't shake away from political or heart issues in the city, and he inspired so many other people to create a situation where we would resolve issues and not have to relive it every generation.”
Peters was pastor of New Hope Baptist Church for 28 years before retiring in 2007. He also served as a member of the Colorado Civil Rights Commission. Peters delivered the invocation at Gov. Jared Polis’ swearing-in ceremony in 2019.
Viewing is scheduled for Peters at New Hope Baptist Church on Friday at 6 p.m. The funeral will be held on Saturday at 11 a.m.
