Rosa Brown Bracy was born to Elder and Mrs. King R. Brown in Port Gibson, Mississippi on August 16, 1895. She attended Mary Holmes College in West Point, Mississippi and Southern Christian Institute in Edwards, Mississippi, earning a BS in 1913. From 1912 to 1914, she served as a teacher and dean at Alabama Christian Institute in Lum, Alabama.
In 1914, she was called by the Christian Women’s Board of Missions to serve as field secretary for the Women’s Missionary Society for Negro Churches. She remained in the position after the formation of the United Christian Missionary Society in 1919 and served as a field worker to Black congregations for nearly 25 years. As the promotional secretary of an “Emergency Campaign” for the National Christian Missionary Convention in 1920, she raised $75,000.
Because she fostered Black Disciples’ confidence in their leadership and financial stewardship capabilities, Bracy became known as the Sojourner Truth of the National Christian Missionary Convention (the African American Disciples organization from 1917 to 1969).
In 1938, L. H. Crawford called Bracy to serve as the General Secretary of the National Christian Missionary Convention. With Crawford, she set forth an ambitious plan to build an office headquarters, fund scholarships for Black ministers and leaders, and publish a journal for Black laity. In 1957, she was appointed honorary Minister-at-Large of the National Convention. She also served as the president of Christian Women’s Fellowship of the National Convention for two years.
Bracy lived in St. Louis, Missouri for many years and worshiped at Centennial Christian Church. In 1949, she moved to Memphis, Tennessee and worshiped at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church. In addition to her ministry work, Bracy served on committees for a number of organizations in Memphis, including the YMCA, YWCA, Boy Scouts of America, and the NAACP, and she was active in the National Negro Business League.
Bracy died on July 17, 1960.
Image Credit: Rosa Brown Bracy Biographical File, Disciples of Christ Historical Society