C.L. Bryant

Cleon Lewis "C. L." Bryant
Born (1956-03-28) March 28, 1956
Shreveport, Caddo Parish
Louisiana, USA
Residence Grand Cane, DeSoto Parish
Alma mater

Fair Park High School in Shreveport

Name of college missing
Occupation

Baptist minister

Radio talk show host
Political party Republican since 1998
Spouse(s) Jane Carline Pruitt Bryant
Children

Four children

Twelve grandchildren
Parent(s) Lewis C. and Elnola Bryant

Cleon Lewis Bryant, known as C. L. Bryant (born March 28, 1956),[1] is an African-American Baptist minister and radio and television host based in his native Shreveport, Louisiana. When he formerly resided in Garland, Texas, he was the president of the NAACP chapter there.[2]

Background

He is the only child of the late Lewis C. Bryant, a World War II veteran, a long-time employee of the Shreveport Club, and Elnola G. Bryant (1917-2005); Mrs. Bryant is interred at Carver Memorial Cemetery in Shreveport.[3]

Bryant was one of the first black children to attend Lake Shore Junior High School in Shreveport at the beginning of school desegregation in the late 1960s. He graduated in 1974 from Fair Park High School in Shreveport, along with the Fox Sports announcer Tim Brando.[4]

Bryant earned a master's degree in theology.

Career

Bryant was ordained as a minister and has served in several church positions, beginning in Longview, Texas, where his struggling congregation received financial assistance from the Shreveport philanthropist Virginia Shehee.[5] At the time of his mother's death in 2005, Bryant was pastor of the Cedar Hill Baptist Church in Grand Cane in DeSoto Parish south of Shreveport.[3]

His C. L. Bryant Show, subtitled American on the Edge, airs weekday evenings from 5:30 to 7:30 Central Time over KEEL Radio in Shreveport. Often he shares the microphone with a white partner, Stephen Parr (born c. 1972), formerly the meteorologist at KSLA-TV, the CBS affiliate in Shreveport. The C. L. Bryant Show compares loosely to Rush Limbaugh and Moon Griffon.

Bryant is a member of the Republican Party and the Tea Party movement, which he has defended against allegations of racism.[6][7]

Often at odds with liberal leaders in the African-American community, Bryant in March 2012 criticized Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton for their role over protests stemming from the controversial shooting of Trayvon Martin in Florida.[8]

Bryant is the founder of the group, "One Nation Back to God", which has a website. In 2012, he produced and released the independent film documentary, Runaway Slave, "a movie about the race to free the Black community from the slavery of tyranny and progressive policies." [8][9][10] He has also penned the 2010 non-fiction book, Lead Us to Temptation, Deliver Us to Evil.[11]

On January 19, 2016, Bryant endorsed U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas for the Republican presidential nomination.[12]

Personal life

He has been married thirty-six years to Jane Carline Pruitt Bryant (born January 1947).[13] The Bryants have four children and eight grandchildren. Bryant and his wife reside in Grand Cane, where they are both registered Republican voters.[1][13]

The couple formerly resided in Tampa, Florida; Mrs. Bryant previously lived in Inglewood, California, dates unavailable.[14] On July 1, 2015, Bryant told a caller that his wife Jane is now free of cancer, for which she had previously been undergoing treatment but continues to have other health issues.

References

  1. 1 2 "Cleon Bryant, March 1956". Louisiana Secretary of State. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  2. ↑ Leaders with Ginni Thomas: Rev C. L. Bryant, Daily Caller, 23 October 2011
  3. 1 2 "Elnola G. Bryant". findagrave.com. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  4. ↑ "Cleon Bryant (Class of 1974)". classmates.com. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  5. ↑ The C. L. Bryant Show, July 13, 2015
  6. ↑ "Michelle Obama Rouses NAACP Before Vote Condemning 'Racist' Elements of Tea Party", ABC News, 2 July 12, 2010
  7. ↑ David A. Patten "Blacks Call for Democrat Carson to Resign Over Tea Party 'Hanging' Slam", Newsmax, 31 August 2011
  8. 1 2 "New York Post's Trayvon Martin Front Page Calls Hooded Lawmakers 'Race Hustlers', Huffington Post, 03/27/2012
  9. ↑ "Runaway Slave". Internet Movie Data Base. April 30, 2015.
  10. ↑ Carter, R.J. "C.L. Bryant: Breaking the New Chains with "Runaway Slave"". CriticalBlast.com. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  11. ↑ Lead Us to Temptation, Deliver Us to Evil. Slaithwaite, West Yorkshire, England: RAS Publishing. 2010. p. 102. ISBN 978-0615427904. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
  12. ↑ KEEL (AM) Radio, January 19, 2016
  13. 1 2 "Jane Bryant, January 1947". Louisiana Secretary of State. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  14. ↑ "Jane Carline Bryant". intelius.com. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
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