WEBVTT - Introducing: Sweet Daddy Grace

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<v Speaker 1>This is the story of a man who's fascinated me,

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<v Speaker 1>haunted me, really for most of my life. His name

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<v Speaker 1>was Sweet Daddy Grace, and that's a name you don't forget.

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<v Speaker 2>Daddy Grace had seven dollars in his pocket when he.

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<v Speaker 1>Ends grad He was ahead of his time, a Cape

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<v Speaker 1>Ridian immigrant who built a fortune as a black man

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<v Speaker 1>during Jim Crow during the Depression. By the time he

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<v Speaker 1>passed in nineteen sixty, he was worth twenty five million dollars.

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<v Speaker 1>That's two hundred and fifty million dollars today.

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<v Speaker 2>He bought huge complex in Manhattan that didn't rent the

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<v Speaker 2>Negro He had a coffee farm in Brazil and egg

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<v Speaker 2>farm in Cuba.

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<v Speaker 1>His funeral procession traveled by train from California to Massachusetts.

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<v Speaker 1>Thousands of mourners turned out to say their final goodbye.

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<v Speaker 1>But today, outside of his church, not too many people

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<v Speaker 1>know about Bishop C. M. Grace, the man affectionately known

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<v Speaker 1>as Sweet Daddy Grace.

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<v Speaker 2>You race sort of wiped out, and I wonder if

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<v Speaker 2>this was done intentionally.

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<v Speaker 1>And there's one more piece of the puzzle, a big

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<v Speaker 1>one for me. My grandmother's a Grace, a Cape Verdie

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<v Speaker 1>and Grace my cousins always said that we were related

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<v Speaker 1>to Daddy Grace. But here's where things get murky. Every

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<v Speaker 1>time I asked the elder members of our family, they

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<v Speaker 1>flatly denied it. Not everyone has fond memories of Daddy Grace.

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<v Speaker 1>My dad kind of looked at him like the devil.

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<v Speaker 1>And I can remember him. Daddy Grace would be on

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<v Speaker 1>TV and he'd say, look at that guy with that

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<v Speaker 1>money suit.

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<v Speaker 2>My mother denied that they were related.

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<v Speaker 1>Nobody wanted to be because the man was out there.

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<v Speaker 1>He's a cult. I'm Marcy Depena. My entire life, Daddy

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<v Speaker 1>Grace has been there. I've always felt this strong connection

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<v Speaker 1>to him. When I went to visit his grave, I

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<v Speaker 1>literally heard him say, tell my story.

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<v Speaker 2>And doing this podcast?

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<v Speaker 1>Is this? Like?

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<v Speaker 2>What is it that you're looking to get out of this?

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<v Speaker 1>It's an extraordinary American story. I think it's a brilliant

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<v Speaker 1>Cape Verdian American story, an African story, and an exceptional

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<v Speaker 1>immigrant story of a man who let his faith lead

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<v Speaker 1>him all the way across the Atlantic into great success.

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<v Speaker 1>And I really do want to know are we connected

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<v Speaker 1>to this man or not? Is there a relation or not?

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<v Speaker 1>Listen to Sweet Daddy Grace starting July nineteenth, on the

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<v Speaker 1>iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.