Funding for this program was provided by Chattanooga Funeral Home Crematory and Florist.

Dedicated to helping you celebrate your life or the life of a loved one for over 85 years.

Chattanooga funeral home believes that each funeral should be as unique and memorable as the life being honored.

This program is also made possible by support from viewers like you.

Thank you.

[Upbeat Music].

Reverend Paul McDaniel died on August 22nd, 2021 at age 91.

I was fortunate to have an opportunity to sit down with him at Second Missionary Baptist Church, during our second season of this program, he left an incredible legacy of service in the community that he loved.

And we are blessed to be able to share his words with you, once again.

>>> REVEREND PAUL McDANIEL, BAPTIST MINISTER, POLITICIAN, AND HISTORY MAKER.

HE IS THE YOUNGEST OF FIVE SIBLINGS AND THE SON OF THE REVEREND ADAM T. AND MAGGIE McDANIEL.

HE'S SPENT THE LAST 44 YEARS LEADING FROM THE PULPIT AS WELL AS SERVING EIGHT CONSECUTIVE TERMS AS A HAMILTON COUNTY COMMISSIONER, THREE OF WHICH REVEREND McDANIEL WAS CHAIRMAN.

A CONSUMMATE PROFESSIONAL, THIS SPIRITUAL LEADER TOOK A MOMENT TO SIT DOWN WITH ME INSIDE THE CHAPEL OF THE SECOND MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH.

REVEREND McDANIEL, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR OKAY THE A LIST AND FOR HAVING US INTO YOUR BEAUTIFUL CHURCH TODAY.

>> GLAD TO BE HERE, OR GLAD TO HAVE YOU.

>> WELL, THANK YOU.

>> TO HAVE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO TALK, YOU KNOW.

>> TELL ME ABOUT YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR CHURCH?

>> JOHN I DON'T KNOW WHERE TO START.

>> HOW LARGE IS THIS CONGREGATION?

>> WE HAVE 300 FAMILIES OR 400 FAMILIES.

A LOT OF THEM NOT ACTIVE.

I THINK ONE OF THE JOYS THAT A PASTOR HAS, ESPECIALLY ONE OF LONG TENURE, IS THAT YOU SEE FOLKS DEVELOP, EVEN YOU SEE CHILDREN THAT YOU DEDICATE GROW UP AND TAKE RESPONSIBLE POSITIONS IN THE COMMUNITY AND OTHER PLACES.

AND YOU KNOW, A LOT OF FOLKS GROW OLD, YOU KNEW THEM WHEN THEY WERE YOUNG AND EVEN AT MANY FUNERALS I CAN SPEAK OF THEIR PRODUCTIVE YEARS AND IT GIVES YOU A SENSE OF JOY.

SOMETIMES I SIT BACK AND JUST WATCH, YOU KNOW, AND SEE THESE FOLKS GROW UP AS A BABY OR WHATEVER.

SO I'VE SEEN A GENERATION OR TWO COME UP.

>> AND AFTER 44 YEARS, I MEAN, IF MY MATH IS CORRECT -- YOU KNOW MY MATH ISN'T GREAT -- THAT'S MORE THAN 2,000 SERMONS.

HOW DO YOU CONSISTENTLY MAKE YOUR MESSAGE RELEVANT?

HOW DO YOU CONSISTENTLY MAKE IT UNIQUE, ESPECIALLY I'M SURE SOME OF THESE CONGREG GANTS HAVE BEEN HERE AS LONG AS YOU HAVE?

>> SOME OF IT IS GOING TO BE THE SAME THING.

SOMETIMES YOU NEED TO TEACH OVER AND OVER AGAIN.

I'VE BEEN SAYING EVER SINCE I'VE BEEN HERE, I'VE BEEN TEACHING ABOUT LOVE, AND I STILL HAVE TO TEACH ABOUT LOVE BECAUSE IN SOME SITUATIONS, WE DONE LOVE LIKE WE OUGHT TO LOVE.

SO I JUST HAVE TO CONTINUE TO TEACH ABOUT LOVING ONE ANOTHER, ABOUT BEING BROTHERLY, LOVING YOUR ENEMY, AND TRY TO MAKE IT A LITTLE DIFFERENT APPROACHES.

CONTINUING READING, STUDYING, AND VARIOUS EXPERIENCES, BUT A LOT OF TIMES, WE GOING TO COME DOWN THE SAME WAY.

SOME SERMONS NEED TO BE PREACHED.

THAT WE LEARN TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER AND IT BEGINS HERE.

YOU CAN'T EXPAND IT UNLESS IT BEGINS HERE.

JUST LIKE I THINK IT OUGHT TO BEGIN AT HOME AND SPAN FORTH.

SO I THINK THAT IS THE SAME WITH THE CHURCH LIFE.

WE WHO CALL OURSELVES CHRISTIANS, BAPTISTS, THAT WE OUGHT TO REFLECT IT HERE AND THEN HAVE AN IMPACT UPON THE COMMUNITY EVEN THROUGH HOW WE LOVE EACH OTHER HERE.

AND IT'S A CONTINUOUS PROCESS.

>> EVERY PROCESS OR PATH MUST HAVE A STARTING POINT, A BEGINNING.

FOR REVEREND McDANIEL, THIS POINT MANIFESTED ITSELF DURING HIS YOUTH, FEELING A SPIRITUAL CALLING MUCH EARLIER THAN MANY.

HIS JOURNEY REINFORCED HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS DAD AND FOSTERED FRIENDSHIPS THAT WOULD ONE DAY BRING ABOUT PARTNERSHIPS THAT IMPACT THE WAY WE LIVE TODAY.

TELL ME ABOUT YOUR CHILDHOOD, WHERE YOU GREW UP AND WHAT YOUR FAMILY LIFE WAS LIKE.

>> I GREW UP IN SOUTH CAROLINA, A LITTLE TOWN CALLED ROCK HILL, AND IT'S NOT AS LITTLE AS IT USED TO BE NOW BECAUSE LAST TIME I WAS THERE, I GOT LOST.

SO ROCK HILL HAS GROWN A LOT.

BUT THAT'S WHERE I WAS BORN IN THE FRONT BEDROOM OF THAT HOUSE, AND I'VE BEEN TO THAT HOUSE RECENTLY.

>> YOU WERE BORN IN THE HOUSE?

>> RIGHT.

>> ON PURPOSE?

>> WELL, I DON'T KNOW ON PURPOSE, BUT I THINK THAT ALL OF THE SIBLINGS WERE BORN IN THAT SAME ROOM.

>> OH, WOW.

>> BUT THAT'S WHERE I GREW UP AND WENT TO HIGH SCHOOL, AND A BAPTIST JUNIOR COLLEGE, SMALL SCHOOL THAT HAD TWO YEARS OF COLLEGE IN HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT.

I FINISHED THERE IN '47 AND THEN I WENT TO ATLANTA FOR MY COLLEGE TIME.

>> NOW, YOUR FATHER WAS A BAPTIST PREACHER AND YOUR MOTHER WAS A TEACHER FOR A LITTLE BIT.

>> RIGHT, AND EVEN DAD TAUGHT TOO.

LITTLE SMALL, ONE OR TWO SCHOOL -- OR SCHOOL ROOMS OR SCHOOL HOUSES OR SOMETHING.

AND OFTEN THE SCHOOL WAS LOCATED NEAR A CHURCH ANYWAY, SO YES, THEY TAUGHT, AND AT ONE TIME MOTHER BECAME AN INSURANCE AGENT NEAR THE END OF HER LIFE.

SHE DIED AT AN EARLY AGE.

BUT THERE WERE FIVE OF US, AND I WAS THE YOUNGEST AND THEY SAY THAT I WAS SPOILED BECAUSE I WAS A SICKLY CHILD.

AND I FOUND SOME HEALING, AND OUT OF THAT HEALING EXPERIENCE, THAT I AT AN EARLY ANEL, I MADE A COMMIT -- AGE, MADE A COMMITMENT TO PREACH, TO BECOME A MINISTER.

>> HOW EARLY?

>> OH, ABOUT NINE OR TEN.

>> THAT NERL.

>> THAT EARLY.

>> DO YOU REMEMBER THE MOMENT OR THE INCIDENT THAT REALLY PROPELLED YOU INTO THAT DECISION?

>> I DON'T REMEMBER THE MOMENT, YOU KNOW, THE SITUATION WAS OUT OF MY SICKNESS.

I SUFFERED INTERNALLY, AND I MADE A COMMITMENT IF YOU HEAL ME, I WOULD PREACH.

SO I STARTED PREACHING AT 15.

>> WERE YOU IN YOUR DAD'S CHURCH?

>> RIGHT.

>> DO YOU REMEMBER YOUR FIRST SERMON?

>> YES.

>> WHAT WAS IT ABOUT?

>> GOD IS A ROCK.

AND I REMEMBER ONE OR TWO OF THE POINTS.

HE WAS A SECURE ROCK, UNMOVABLE, AND HE WAS AN ETERNAL ROCK, SO I REMEMBER THOSE TWO POINTS IN THE FIRST SERMON.

DON'T ASK ME ABOUT THE THIRD OR FOURTH SERMON.

>> HE GRADUATED FROM MOREHOUSE COLLEGE WITH A BACHELOR OF ARTS IN POLITICAL SCIENCE AND HE HOLES A MASTER'S FROM ROCHESTER DIVINITY SCHOOL AS WELL AS A MASTER'S DEGREE FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER IN NEW YORK.

>> DID YOU ALWAYS KNOW YOU WERE GOING TO MOREHOUSE?

>> NO, I HAD A TEACHER WHO EVENTUALLY WAS A MINISTER HERE IN CHATTANOOGA, THE RECEIVE VENT H.H.

PACKUL, WHO CAME TO ROCK HILL BACK IN THE MID '40s TO BE A TEACHER THERE AT THE SCHOOL, AND HE WAS A MOREHOUSE GRADUATE.

AND HE IS THE ONE WHO INFLUENCED ME.

AND ANOTHER FRENZ OF MINE, HE ALSO WAS A FRIEND OF THE KINGS, AND THAT'S HOW I FIRST GOT TO KNOW THE KINGS.

>> AND NOW MARTIN LUTHER KING WAS A SENIOR WHEN YOU WERE A FRESHMAN?

IS THAT CORRECT?

>> RIGHT, RIGHT.

>> WHEN DID YOU FIRST MEET HIM?

>> WELL, DURING THE EARLY WEEKS OF MY STAY THERE BECAUSE, HAVING COMMITTED MYSELF TO BE A MINISTER, THEY HAD A GROUP THERE CALLED THE MINISTER'S GROUP.

AND KING WAS HEAD OF IT.

SO I BECAME A MEMBER OF THAT GROUP, AND I GOT TO KNOW HIM FAIRLY WELL BECAUSE A FRIEND ALSO WAS CLOSE TO HIM.

>> WHAT WAS HE LIKE?

>> OH, HE WAS LIKE ANOTHER STUDENT.

REALLY, A LITTLE DIFFERENT BECAUSE HIS FATHER WAS A PASTOR OF A LARGE CHURCH THERE, AND A TRUSTEE OF THE SCHOOL.

SO A LITTLE DIFFERENT, BUT YOU KNOW, NOBODY KNEW WHAT HE WOULD EVENTUALLY BECOME, NOT AT THAT TIME.

BUT HE WAS KIND OF SMART.

BUT HE WASN'T THE SMARTEST THERE.

NO, WE HAD SOME REAL SMART BOYS IN VARIOUS AREAS.

>> SO WHAT YOU I DO THINK DIFFERENTIATED MARTIN LUTHER KING POST MOREHOUSE FROM THE REST OF THE MINISTERS?

WHAT WAS DIFFERENT ABOUT HIS ACTIISM THAT MADE HIM STAND OUT F NOT AT SCHOOL, THEN AFTER THAT?

>> AFTER THAT IS WHEN THEY MADE HIM, REALLY.

HE GOT PREPARED WELL.

HE WAS A SMART FELLOW AND HE WENT TO MOREHOUSE AND WENT TO BOSTON FOR A Ph.D. AND THAT WAS A LITTLE, A LITTLE UNUSUAL.

BUT HE EVEN CAME TO CHATTANOOGA AS YOU MAY HAVE LEARNED TO CANDIDATE, BUT THE CHURCH DID NOT ACCEPT HIM.

>> REALLY?

>> NO, THE CHURCH ACCEPTED MY FORMER STRUCKOR.

>> SO THEY WERE VYING FOR THE SAME POSITION IN CHATTANOOGA?

>> RIGHT, RIGHT.

AND THEY KNEW EACH OTHER IN ATLANTA.

AT LEAST BATTLE WAS A FRIEND OF HIS FATHER, BUT THE CHURCH CHOSE HIM, PASTOR BATTLE, BECAUSE HE WAS MORE MATURE.

YOU MUST REMEMBER THAT KING WAS ONLY IN HIS MID 20s THEN WHEN HE CAME HERE.

>> MOVING FORWARD WITH HIS OWN PATH, PASTOR McDANIEL CAME TO CHATTANOOGA IN AUGUST 1966, IMMEDIATELY DISTINGUISHING HIMSELF AS A PASSIONATE AND DEDICATED LEADER.

USING HIS TALENTS TO BUILD AND DEVELOP THE CHURCH HE LEADS TODAY, BUT ALSO SHOWING GREAT CONCERN AND UNDERSTANDING FOR THE WELFARE OF ALL PEOPLE.

DID YOUR PARENTS RAISE YOU TO BE AN ACTIVIST AT THAT TIME IN YOUR LIFE?

DID THEY RAISE YOU TO GO WITH THE FLOW OR DID THEY RAISE YOU TO SPEAK OUT IF YOU SAW THESE INEQUITIES?

>> NO, THEY RAISED ME TO SURVIVE.

FOR THAT DAY AND TIME, YOU DIDN'T DO TOO MUCH SPEAKING OUT.

YOU USED WISDOM IN TERMS OF YOUR SPEAKING.

MY DAD TAUGHT ME A LOT OF HOW TO DEAL WITH A SEGREGATED SYSTEM, AND STILL BE SOMEWHAT OF AN ACTIVIST, AND I GUESS IT CAME FROM HIM BECAUSE HE WAS ACTIVE IN VOTING AND ACTIVE WITH THE NAACP AND WITH OTHER GROUPS WITHIN THE CITY.

>> DO YOU REMEMBER AN EXAMPLE OF HOW HIS LESSONS IMPACTED THE WAY YOU LIVED YOUR LIFE DURING THE SEGREGATED TIME?

>> I REMEMBER HIM TAKING ME TO THE VOTING PLACE ONCE, AND I NOTICED THE COOLNESS OF THE RECEPTION THERE, BUT IT WAS IN AN INSTALL STORE AND KIND OF THE MAIL SECTION.

BUT I REMEMBER THAT VERY WELL.

AND I REMEMBER HIS TAKING ME TO WHAT WE WOULD CALL EMANCIPATION DAY CELEBRATION.

SO THESE WERE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT HAPPENED, AND I GUESS UNCONSCIOUSLY AS WELL AS CONSCIOUSLY, HE INFLUENCED ME TO BECOME INVOLVED IN THE LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY.

>> SO HOW DID YOU GET TO CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE?

>> HOW DID I GET TO CHATTANOOGA AGAIN?

IT WAS THE MOREHOUSE CONNECTION.

I HAD A FRIEND WHO WAS REALLY AT THAT TIME A CLOSE FRIEND OF M.L.K.

'S, BUT HE WAS ALSO A BARBER.

HE CUT HAIR DURING HIS SCHOOL DAYS, AND I WENT TO HIM, HE WAS MY BARBER, AND WE TALKED.

WE GOT TO KNOW EACH OTHER ALSO.

HE WAS A MINISTER, HE WENT TO THE SAME SEMINARY AS KING.

>> HE WAS A HAIR-CUTTING MINISTER?

>> YES.

IN SCHOOL, YOU KNOW, YOU DO WHAT YOU CAN TO MAKE IT.

>> I WAS JUST THINKING THAT'S A PRESENTED DEDICATED AUDIENCE, THEY CAN'T LEAVE WHILE HE WAS PREACHING, SO -- >> NO, HE WASN'T -- HE WASN'T PREACHING THEN, I DON'T THINK.

>> OKAY.

>> SO ONE AFTERNOON IN AUGUST, I RECEIVED A CALL AND IT WAS ONE OF MY FORMER SCHOOL MATES WHO MASS A CLASSMATE OF KING, THEREFORE HE WAS A SENIOR.

BUT I KNEW HIM BECAUSE HE WAS MY BARBER.

AND WE TALKED, HE CAME -- I INVITED HIM OVER, AND WE HAD A CHANCE TO TALK AND ALL.

HE TOLD ME HIS WIFE, WHO WAS WITH HIM, WAS GOING TO SPEAK AT THE SECOND BAPTIST, CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE, AND THEY WERE WITHOUT A PASTOR.

AND ASKED IF I WOULD BE INTERESTED IN GOING TO PREACH THERE, BUT AFTER THE CIVIL RIGHTS DEAL, I THOUGHT THAT IT WOULD BE DIFFERENT.

SO WHEN HE CAME BACK, IT WAS IN '65, AND I SAID YES, I WOULD GO AND PREACH.

SO THAT STARTED IT, AND MADE FOR THE CONNECTION AND EVENTUALLY I WAS INVITED TO COME AND PREACH HERE AND THEY EXTENDED THE CALL AND I ACCEPTED.

>> NOW, YOU'RE JUST NOT A PASTOR.

YOU'RE ALSO A POLITICIAN.

>> I'M A LITTLE OF IT.

AND I BELIEVE THAT A PERSON GOING TO BE -- GOING TO RUN FOR AN OFFICE AND HE SAYS HE'S NOT A POLITICIAN, SOMETHING'S WRONG BECAUSE THAT IS THE -- THAT IS THE FIELD.

AND IF YOU DON'T WANTZ TO BE A POLITICIAN, TONT RUN FOR AN OFFICE.

I SAID I'M A PREACHER POLITICIAN, MAYBE NOT MUCH OF EACH, BUT AT LEAST -- >> AT LEAST BOTH.

>> AT LEAST BOTH, YES.

>> AS WE SPEAK, IT BECOMES OBVIOUS THAT PASTOR McDONL NEVER TRULY SET OUT TO MAKE HISTORY, BUT HIS ROLE IN MINISTRY LAID THE FOUNDATION FOR HELPING OTHERS.

AND IT'S HIS DESIRE TO BE ACTIVE IN THE COMMUNITY THAT POSITIONED HIM TO IMPACT THE WAY STATE LAW WAS WRITTEN.

IN 1975, HE FILED TO RUN FOR A SEAT WITHIN THE TENNESSEE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION, BUT IT WOULD NOT BE AN EASY PROCESS.

>> THE CONFLICT BEGAN WHEN THE ELECTION BOARD QUALIFIED ME AS A CANDIDATE AND ONE OF MY OPPONENTS, AND THAT WAS '76, ONE OF MY OPPONENTS RECOGNIZED THAT PROHIBITION ARTICLE AND THAT THE REQUIREMENTS TO SIT IN THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION WERE THE SAME AS TO SIT IN THE ASSEMBLY.

AND SHE KNEW THAT THERE WAS A CONSTITUTIONAL PROHIBITION OF CLERGY SITTING IN THE ASSEMBLY.

SO ONCE THEY FILED, SHE CALLED ME AND ASKED ME WHAT I WAS GOING TO DO.

I HAD BEEN QUALIFIED BY THE ELECTION BOARD, BUT THIS PERSON CALLED ME AND TOLD ME ABOUT IT AND SAID WHAT WAS I GOING TO DO.

AND I SAID, WELL, WHY NOT LET RERUN?

I MAY NOT GET ELECTED AND IT WILL BE A MOOT QUESTION, BUT SHE INSISTED THAT PEOPLE OUGHT NOT BE FORCED TO MAKE A CHOICE BETWEEN A PERSON WHO'S UNQUALIFIED.

SO SHE WENT TO COURT, AND IN THAT COURT, IT RULED IN MY FAVOR, RULED THAT THE ARTICLE WAS UNCONSTITUTIONAL, AND WE WENT ON AND HAD THE ELECTION.

AND I WON, BUT SHE APPEALED IT TO THE STATE SUPREME COURT, AND EVEN AFTER I HAD WON, THE STATE SUPREME COURT GAVE ITS DECISION AND IT OVERTURNED THE DECISION OF THE LOWER COURT AND DECK SCLAIRD MY SEAT VAK -- DECLARED MY SEE THE VACANT.

AND I REMEMBER REPORTERS COMING HERE THAT DAY AND MAYBE NAIVE AND JUST ENERGETIC YOUNG PERSON, THEY ASKED ME WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO?

AND I SAID I'M GOING TO THE U.S. SUPREME COURT.

AND I DIDN'T HAVE ANY MONEY.

I DIDN'T HAVE -- I DID HAVE A LAWYER.

BUT WE WENT ON TO THE U.S. SUPREME COURT, AND THE U.S. SUPREME COURT DECIDED TO HEAR MY CASE AT THE END OF ITS 77th SESSION IN JUNE.

AND THEREFORE THE -- ONE OF THE JUSTICES PUT AN INJUNCTION AGAINST TENNESSEE AND INSTRUCTED THEM TO SWEAR ME IN.

SO AT THE CONVENTION, THE FIRST DAY WHEN ALL THE OTHER MEMBERS WERE SWORN IN, I HAD TO STAND ASIDE.

AND AFTER EVERYBODY WAS SWORN IN, THEN THEY CALL ME UP AND WROTE THE STATEMENT FROM THE STEWARD -- I'VE FORGOTTEN HIS NAME.

STEWARD, ONE OF THE JUSTICES, AND THE PERSON WHO VOTED AGAINST ME ON THE STATE SUPREME COURT HAD TO SWEAR ME IN.

YEAH, I WAS SWORN IN BY MYSELF.

>> REALLY?

>> YES.

UNDER ORDERS OF THE U.S. SUPREME COURT.

I MADE HISTORY AT THAT POINT.

>> DID YOU REALIZE AT THE TIME, THOUGH, THAT YOU WERE NOT ONLY MAKING HISTORY, BUT CHANGING THE PATHS FOR FUTURE CLERGY WHO WOULD WANT TO ALSO SEEK PUBLIC OFFICE?

DID YOU REALIZE -- >> YES.

>> -- THE MOMENTOUS OCCASION THAT THAT WAS?

>> I GUESS SO BECAUSE THE PRESS, THE MEDIA FOLLOWED THE CASE FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY.

IT BECAME A NATIONAL CASE, AND WHEREVER I WENT, EVEN THE SUPREME COURT DIDN'T HEAR THE CASE UNTIL THE FALL.

IN DECEMBER, WE WERE ABOUT THROUGH WITH THE SESSION THEN, AND I SAID TO MYSELF, NOW, WHAT WOULD IT HAVE BEEN IF THEY HAD RULED AGAINST ME, BECAUSE IN THE SELECTION OF THE HEAD OF THE CONVENTION, I WAS ONE OF THE DECIDING VOTES.

AND I HELD MY VOTE BACK UNTIL I KNEW WHO WAS GOING TO WIN WITH MY VOTE, AND I SAID THAT WOULD HAVE MADE THE GREAT DIFFERENCE IN THE WORK OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION.

BUT THAT WASN'T THE CASE.

THEY SUSTAINED -- THEY OVERTHREW THE STATE SUPREME COURT DECISION.

>> SO FROM THERE, YOU GO ON TO SERVE 20 YEARS AS A HAMILTON COUNTY COMMISSIONER.

>> I GOT THE FEEL OF IT THEN AND I I WANTED TO SERVE, AND I DID NOT WANT TO SERVE IN THE TENNESSEE ASSEMBLY.

SO I WORKED ON THE GOVERNMENT, REORGANIZING OF COUNTY GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE, AND WE REORGANIZED COUNTY GOVERNMENT AND MOVED FROM AT LARGE ELECTIONS TO DISTRICT ELECTIONS, AND THEREFORE, WE HAD TO COME UNDER THAT LAW.

AND I DECIDED TO RUN FOR ONE OF THE DISTRICT SEATS.

>> AS A TRIB TO HIS MANY YEARS OF SERVICE IN THE COMMUNITY AND TO HONOR HIS IMPACT ON TENNESSEE HISTORY, IN FEBRUARY OF 2010, THE HAMILTON COUNTY COMMISSION BENT THE RULE OF NAMING BUILDINGS ONLY AFTER DECEASED COMMUNITY LEADERS AND NAME A NEW BUILDING AFTER THIS LIVING LEGEND.

AFTER 44 YEARS AND OVER 2,000 SERMONS, PRAYERS AND EULOGIES, REVEREND McDANIEL HAS SEEN PARISHIONERS GROW FROM CHILDREN INTO ADULTS AND HISTORY AS HE ONCE KNEW IT CHANGE.

>> WHAT DO YOU THINK DR. KING WOULD HAVE SAID ABOUT ELECTING THE FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN PRESIDENT?

>> I THINK HE WOULD HAVE BEEN GLAD.

HE MAY HAVE BEEN LIKE I WAS, DIDN'T BELIEVE IT.

I DON'T THINK HE COULD HAVE SEEN IT.

I DON'T REALLY KNOW HOW MANY POEM REALLY -- PEOPLE REALLY SAW IT.

I THOUGHT IT WAS A VENTURE IN FUT TILT.

I THOUGHT THERE WAS REALLY SOME OTHER POLITICAL RAMIFICATION ABOUT HIS RUNNING, AND I HAD TO BE SHOWN.

BECAUSE I DIDN'T BELIEVE IT.

AND IT TAUGHT ME SOMETHING TOO ABOUT PEOPLE, AND YOU -- THAT'S WHY I BELIEVE YOU GOT TO BE ON THE DRAWING EDGE.

I DON'T CARE HOW OLD YOU GET IF YOU'RE GOING TO BE EFFECTIVE BECAUSE YOU LEARN NEW LESSONS THROUGHOUT HISTORY.

YES.

AND SO I LEARNED A NEW LESSON IN THAT ELECTION.

NOW I'M SEEING SOME OF THE OLD LESSONS IN REACTION TO HIM, BUT IT WAS A NEW LESSON.

WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THIS NATION WOULD HAVE RISEN UP AND DONE SO?

IT'S A NEW DAY.

AND I SAY TO, YOU KNOW, TELL CHILDREN, WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?

AND LITTLE BLACK CHILDREN USED TO SAY PRESIDENT, AND FOLKS SAID THAT'S A JOKE, YOU KNOW.

BUT IT AIN'T NO JOKE ANYMORE.

>> SO IF IT'S A NEW DAY TODAY AND EVERYTHING YOU'VE SEEN IN YOUR LIFE GROWING UP IN THE SOUTH, STUDYING IN THE NORTH, COMING BACK TO YOUR SOUTHERN HERITAGE, WHEN YOU SAY THAT PRAYER TO GOD, WHAT IS IT THAT YOU HOPE FOR TOMORROW?

>> WELL, I HOPE THAT HIS KINGDOM WILL COME AND HIS WILL BE DONE.

SIMPLE PRAYER, WHAT WE CALL THE LORD'S PRAYER.

THAT'S WHAT YOU HOPE FOR AND YOU KNOW IT'S A PROCESS.

IT'S A CONTINUING THING, AND THERE'S NO CONTINUOUS MOVEMENT UPWARD, WE'RE UP AND WE'RE DOWN, YOU KNOW.

WE GO UP A LITTLE HIGHER, YOU COME BACK DOWN.

AND I THINK MUCH HAS CHANGED AND WE CAN'T GO BACK BUT SO FAR.

AND I'M JUST THANKFUL THAT THINGS ARE AS WELL AS THEY ARE.

>> WELL, WE'RE THANKFUL THAT WE GOT THIS OPPORTUNITY TO TALK WITH YOU TODAY, AND I HOPE YOUR PRAYERS DO COME TRUE.

>> WELL, WE HOPE SO.

>> THANK YOU.

>> FINE.

NICE TALKING TO YOU.

[Upbeat Music].

Funding for this program was provided by Chattanooga Funeral Home Crematory and Florist.

Dedicated to helping you celebrate your life or the life of a loved one for over 85 years.

Chattanooga funeral home believes that each funeral should be as unique and memorable as the life being honored.

This program is also made possible by support from viewers like you.

Thank you.