M. Moran Weston

M. Moran Weston
Born
Milton Moran Weston II

(1910-09-10)September 10, 1910
Tarboro, North Carolina, U.S.
DiedMay 18, 2002(2002-05-18) (aged 91)
Seminole County, Florida, U.S.
Education
Occupations
  • Priest
  • activist

Milton Moran Weston II (better known as M. Moran Weston,[1] September 10, 1910 – May 18, 2002) was an African-American Episcopal priest who "led one of Harlem's most prominent churches, helped found what became the nation's largest black-owned financial institution and built housing for thousands."[1] In 1969 Weston explained his eclectic career saying "A banker-priest is really no more strange than an educator-priest or a social worker priest." Although he told the New York Times in 1986 "I do nothing ... I cause things to happen. If I have a gift, it is to encourage people that they can do the impossible" he also was willing to make things not happen: He opposed a school boycott "by arguing that it did no good to keep children out of school."[1][2]

Fifteen years after accepting his position as rector of St. Philip's Episcopal Church in Manhattan,[3] "the largest Protestant Episcopal church in the country"[4] he was described as "one of the nation's busiest men, involved in a score of educational, financial, housing, health, youth and senior-citizen projects."[5]

When Knickerbocker Hospital closed, it was repurposed as senior housing with his name.[6][7]

  1. ^ a b c Douglas Martin (May 22, 2002). "M. Moran Weston, 91, Priest and Banker of Harlem, Dies". The New York Times. built housing for thousands .. a community center and a nursing home housing for the elderly and the mentally ill
  2. ^ "2 Harlem Pastors split on boycott;Powell for It '100 Per Cent' —Weston Is Opposed". The New York Times. February 3, 1964.
  3. ^ "Milton Moran Weston II". c250.columbia.edu. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  4. ^ "Donegan Calls on Dr.Weston to Champion Humanity in Episcopal Post". The New York Times. September 23, 1957.
  5. ^ "Shorter Reviews". The New York Times. May 6, 1973.
  6. ^ "Secretary Cuomo's Remarks at the Columbia University Moran Weston Lecture Series". September 12, 2000. Dr. Weston took a hospital, Knickerbocker Hospital, and remade it into housing. This was unheard of at that time.
  7. ^ "McGuire, James C. : Guides to Institute Records". Knickerbocker Hospital in New York City ... is now the M. Moran Weston Seniors' Residence.