Abstract
Elder Lightfoot Solomon Michaux (1884-1968) has been variously labeled prophet, cultist, showman, businessman, charlatan, and politician because of his blend of religious, social, and economic interests and activism. Upon hearing his name many people, who did not
live through the Thirties and early Forties, or who have had only fleeting introduction to this black man of the cloth, are quick to identify him as the “man with the long red, white, and blue fingernails,” or “the preacher who calls himself God and gives away food,” or “Michaux,
the Father Divine of Washington.” Michaux was closely identified with Bishop Grace and Father Divine by some of their contemporaries
as well.