Benjamin "Pap" Singleton - Final Years

Final Years

In 1881, Benjamin Singleton was seventy-two-years-old, and most people referred to him affectionately as "old Pap." He was still a formidable figure and used his reputation to bring together blacks into an organization called the Colored United Links (CUL). The goal of the CUL, which he created in Topeka, Kansas, was to combine the financial resources of all black people to build black-owned businesses, factories, and trade schools. The CUL formed in 1881 and held several conventions. The organization was successful enough locally that Republican Party officials in Kansas became interested in its potential political strength. Presidential candidate James B. Weaver of the Greenback Party met with CUL leaders, to discuss fusion between the two groups. After 1881, CUL membership faltered, however, and the organization soon fell apart.

After the failure of the CUL, Singleton became convinced that blacks would never be allowed to succeed in the United States. In 1883 Singleton briefly joined with St. Louis, Missouri, businessman Joseph Ware and black minister John Williams in proposing that blacks migrate to the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. That idea did not develop. In 1885 Singleton moved to Kansas City where he began to organize around Pan-Africanism. In 1885 Singleton founded the United Transatlantic Society (UTS) with the goal of having all blacks relocate from the United States to Africa. This was a time when Bishop Henry McNeil Turner had his own proposed African migration movement.

The UTS lasted till 1887 but never managed to send anyone to Africa. In poor health, Singleton retired from his life of activism. He raised his voice one final time in 1889 to call for a portion of the newly opening Oklahoma Territory to be reserved as an all-black state. Benjamin Singleton died in 1892. The location of his grave is unknown.

Benjamin Singleton was survived by several children. His son, Joshua Singleton, eventually settled in Allensworth, California, a black agricultural settlement in Tulare County. Joshua's grandchildren through his daughter Virginia Louise Williams were John Williams, Jr., Midge Williams (1915-1952), Charles and Robert, who started singing together in the Bay Area as the Williams Quartette. In 1928 they started touring as the Williams Four. In 1933 they had a successful tour in Shanghai, China and Japan. Midge Williams also sang as a swing jazz soloist in the late 1930s and 1940s. She recorded with a group as Midge Williams and Her Jazz Jesters. In 2002, American scholar Molefi Kete Asante listed "Pap" Singleton on his list of 100 Greatest African Americans.