Sutton E. Griggs was born Elbert Sutton Griggs on June 19, 1872 to Allen R. Griggs and Emma Hodge in Chatfield, Texas. Later in his life, he changed the order of his names. His father was a former slave who became a Baptist minister and founded the first black newspaper and high school in Texas.

Sutton E. Griggs attended the Bishop College in Marshall, Texas and Richmond Theological Seminary. After his graduation, he moved to Berkley, Virginia and became a pastor of the First Baptist Church there. In 1897, he married Emma Williams. They had a daughter together, Eunice. They moved to Nashville, Tennessee and in 1899 Griggs became the pastor of Tabernacle Baptist Church.

Between 1894 and 1898, Sutton E. Griggs was the publisher and co-founder of the Virginia Baptist newspaper. Griggs was an accomplished writer, having published over thirty books and pamphlets. His most notable works are “Imperium in Imperio” and “The Hindered Hand”. He would sell copies of his writings door-to-door or at revival meetings he preached at. In 1901, he founded the Orion Publishing Company. The aim was to support African American works.

Sutton E. Griggs was a social activist. He was a supporter of the Niagara Movement and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. He believed social virtues played a significant part in the economic and advancements of a culture.

Griggs moved his family to Denison, Texas after the Wall Street Crash of 1929, bankrupting the Tabernacle Baptist Church. He became a pastor at the Hopewell Baptist Church. Shortly after, he moved to Houston. In 1933, Griggs died and he was buried in Dallas, Texas.

John Gruesser is a professor at Sam Houston State University. He donated these research materials to the SHSU Special Collections.