Lindberg Sanders

LINDBERG SANDERS

Meanwhile, the man who had talked to the officers’ was upset that the Police were still considering him a suspect. He had spent the entire day , in fact, the past few days, at a home on Shannon Avenue, which was miles away from the grocery store. He had been at the home of Lindberg Sandburg along with some 13 other men. These men were there because Sanders would provide them with free wine, marijuana, and occasionally, a few dollars. In exchange for this, Sandburg would preach to his “flock”.

Some of his followers took him seriously and were genuinely interested in his teachings, but most just went because Sanders would provide for them. Good jobs were hard to come by in North Memphis and there was not a lot to do so Sandburg’s frequent get togethers gave the men something to do to pass the time. Sanders would preach for hours and hours on end. He had some pretty bizarre teachings that would make some of the non believers chuckle. But, since there was not anything better to do, they stayed. They all would listen to him talk but some were more zealous than others.

There were 12 basic beliefs taught by Sanders, They were:

1. Marijuana is an herb and therefore a gift from God.
2. Men should never cover their heads, but women should always have their heads covered.
3. Men should not shave nor should their hair cut.
4. The opinions of women were not worth consideration, and women should not attend religious meetings with men.
5. Cult members should not eat pork, or drink clear water: however, Kool-Aid, beer, and wine were acceptable.
6. Police are the Devils.
7. White people cannot go to heaven because the bible was written for black people only.
8. White people are heathens and so are black people who act like white people, such as black police officers and any black that worked with whites.
9. The Ten Commandments are to be obeyed; however cult members are not to attend any church because the churches are filled with false prophets and hypocrites.
10. Cult members should not shake hands.
11. Physicians are of no value.
12. Bible study should emphasize the Old Testament.

The group had no formal name, printed no literature, practiced no rituals, nor could they be identified by any religious symbols. Some thought that the source of the religious messages may have been from words found in the music of Jamaica known as Reggae.