Civil rights & activism / Religion
Charleszetta Waddles
1912–2001 · Pentecostal minister, founder of the Mother Waddles Perpetual Mission
Pentecostal minister known as Mother Waddles who for more than four decades fed, clothed and trained Detroit's poor through her Perpetual Mission.
- Born
St. Louis, Missouri- Died
Detroit, Michigan
aged 88- Birth name
- Charleszetta Lena Campbell
- Also known as
- Mother Waddles
- Detroit years
- 1936–2001
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Charleszetta Campbell was born in St. Louis in 1912. Her father died when she was 12, and she left school after the eighth grade to work as a housemaid and help support the family. In 1936 the family moved to Detroit, where she raised a large family of her own. After years of Bible study she was ordained a minister in the Pentecostal church, and in the 1950s she opened what became the Mother Waddles Perpetual Mission for Saving Souls of All Nations. On the city's skid row, surrounded by flophouses, she served hot meals for as little as 35 cents in a dining room meant to feel dignified rather than charitable. The mission grew to offer clothing, emergency help, health care, counseling and job training to thousands of people, and it never turned anyone away. Known simply as Mother Waddles, she became one of Detroit's most beloved figures and was inducted into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame. She died in Detroit in 2001.
Highlights
- Founded the Mother Waddles Perpetual Mission in Detroit in the 1950s
- Served dignified 35-cent meals on Detroit's skid row
- Mission offered clothing, health care, counseling and job training
- Inducted into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame