PEORIA MAGAZINE July 2023

T he Rev. Deveraux Hubbard didn’t plan to become a pastor. The East St. Louis native had other plans when he arrived at Bradley University. “I went to college wanting to make a lot of money,” the 52-year-old said with a sly smile in his office at St. Paul Baptist Church, 114 W. Forrest Hill Ave. Instead of chasing dollars, he became lead pastor at St. Paul — his first and only pastorship — in 1997. At the time, he promised to stay 25 years to foster his vision for the church. He is now in his 26th year. “The work,” he said, his smile widening, “is not done.” Still, the work has been impressive, said Peoria Mayor Rita Ali. “Over the years, I’ve watched Deveraux continue to grow and thrive in his ministry and within the Peoria community,” she said. “Because of his integrity, his leadership by example and his faithfulness, people followed him in large numbers. He grew the largest predominantly Black church in Peoria.” Not that he wanted to, not at first. “The last thing I wanted to be was a minister,” Hubbard said with a laugh. A WAKEUP CALL As a lad in East St. Louis, Hubbard attended Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church, where his father served as a third-generation pastor. Deveraux Hubbard, pictured with his family, son Deveraux II, son Dawson (front), daughter Drew (middle) and wife Kristie

A young Deveraux Hubbard (right) stands next to his father, Danny Hubbard, and older brother Daimorrio

university leaders and held peaceful demonstrations. In that way, Hale — now in prison following his 2004 conviction for attempting to solicit the murder of a federal judge — helped influence Hubbard’s future trajectory as a catalyst for racial harmony and social justice. “I saw the importance of not just complaining about the problem but being part of the solution,” he said. ‘I THINK GOD WANTS ME TO GO THIS WAY’ After graduating from Bradley, Hubbard took a job in Peoria as a social worker. Not long afterward, he married his college sweetheart, Kristie Moore, a Chicagoan who had parlayed a BU education degree into a teaching job at Peoria Public Schools. They would have three children together. The pair got heavily involved in volunteering at Zion Baptist Church in Peoria. Hubbard would share his biblical insights with others, and in time found himself enjoying it. He even began to preach on the occasional Sunday. “I started having a sense of, ‘Yeah, I think God wants me to go this way,’” Hubbard said. “And I didn’t want to do that.” However, in 1995, he met the Rev. Amos Abbott of St. Paul Baptist Church, then at 603 W. Nebraska Ave. Abbott, head pastor for nearly half of the church’s 81 years, became a mentor to Hubbard, encouraging him to take divinity classes. Deveraux Hubbard sings at a release party for his CD, “A Worshipper’s Lament.” The album chronicled his struggle with grief after the 2013 death of son Deveraux Hubbard II

The teenage Hubbard respected his family and served in youth leadership roles at the church. But he didn’t plan on preaching for a career. “I was young, and I saw first-hand the sacrifices … in ministry,” he said. “I didn’t want to be constantly available to people. I did not want to be a community leader.” So, in the footsteps of a friend who had attended and lauded Bradley, he came to Peoria in 1988 to study psychology. “I enjoyed learning about human behavior,” Hubbard said. He got many such lessons outside the classroom. For one, arriving on campus was a culture shock: East St. Louis was 99% black, while BU was just 7% minority. “I didn’t know what it meant to be a minority,” he said. “But it was a great experience in that I was able to develop community.” Humble yet gregarious, Hubbard made friends easily. But his most life changing moment came with the arrival of Matt Hale on campus in 1989. Until then, Hubbard had encountered no abject racism in Peoria. That changed with Hale, an East Peoria native who tried to form a White Student Union at Bradley and founded the American White Supremacist Party. Though boasting few followers, Hale would post racist fliers on campus and otherwise try to foment division. Hubbard felt the need to push back. He and other students met with

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