Father Divine The First Righteous God

George Baker Jr. began as a sharecropper in Georgia, but his rejection of religious indoctrination led him to a radical transformation. Reclaiming his identity as Father Divine, he built the Peace Mission-a racially integrated, self-sustaining movement that offered sanctuary and abundance to the dispossessed. Through his charisma, he created a reality where thousands viewed him as a living god. Yet, the foundation of this empire is under siege.
As state-led investigations, tax seizures, and public hostility threaten to dismantle his life's work, Father Divine faces a deeper, internal struggle. His marriage to Peninniah-the woman who knows the man behind the deity-is fracturing under the weight of his public persona. As Peninniah battles a terminal illness, Divine must grapple with the impossible task of maintaining the illusion of immortality while the mortal reality of his life and movement slowly disintegrates.
Spanning from the oppressive atmosphere of the Jim Crow South to the sprawling estate at Woodmont, this story explores the heavy psychological cost of power. It is a portrait of a man trapped by his own myth, the followers who depend on him for their survival, and the high price of demanding absolute devotion in an unforgiving world.