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Since she was a little girl, Marcy DePina felt drawn to a man called Daddy Grace, a charismatic immigrant from Cabo Verde, West Africa, who – during the violent Jim Crow and Civil Rights eras – traveled around the United States preaching, healing, and building his megachurch.

But who was Daddy Grace? For all his accomplishments, he seems to raise more questions than answers. Like why isn’t he more known and celebrated in the Cape Verdean community? And when Marcy brings him up to her family, why do some people refuse to talk about him? And most importantly: Marcy wants to know, are she and Daddy Grace actually related?

For more on Sweet Daddy Grace, check out SweetDaddyGrace.com

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Both Daddy Grace’s family and Marcy’s family came to America from the same Cape Verdean island. And they landed in a place where many Cape Verdeans did – New Bedford, Massachusetts. But why did they immigrate? What pushed them toward America? And once then arrived, did they find the American Dream that they were looking for? And does that have anything to do with why Daddy Grace, as a Black man, called himself “colorless”?

For more on Sweet Daddy Grace, check out SweetDaddyGrace.com

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As a child, Marcy was never allowed to attend a United House of Prayer service — her family told her it was taboo. But the church — which Daddy Grace founded in 1919 — is still going strong. So what’s going on? Why did Daddy Grace want to start his own church in the first place? How did he manage to grow it so quickly? And what are the services actually like? Marcy travels down to Charlotte, NC to find out for herself.

For more on Sweet Daddy Grace, check out SweetDaddyGrace.com.

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One of Daddy Grace’s lasting legacies is shout music: specifically, the horn-driven shout bands, whose presence – even today – is a constant at almost all United House of Prayer functions. In this week’s bonus episode, Marcy sits down with Lovett Hines, Artistic Director of the Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz & Performing Arts (and former House of Prayer band member), to discuss his own musical upbringing in the church, as well as how he sees the tradition of shout music in the world today.

For more on Sweet Daddy Grace, check out SweetDaddyGrace.com

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Daddy Grace’s relationship with money – how much he seemed to have, how his followers practically threw cash at him – bothered many people outside the church, including Marcy’s relatives. But what was all that money used for? Sure, Daddy Grace had fancy cars and custom made suits. But in a time when it was hard for many Black people to get a mortgage, the United House of Prayer owned luxury buildings around the country: investment properties that guaranteed the church would last after Daddy Grace was gone. So was Daddy Grace just looking after his own well-being? Or was he actually a brilliant entrepreneur, ahead of his time?

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From the time Daddy Grace founded the United House of Prayer in 1919, his life was not without controversy: from his appearance, to how much money he made (and the taxes he paid – or didn’t pay), to suspicions of Communism, and worse. In fact, Daddy Grace seemed to be constantly battling the US government on various charges. But how much of this was real? And how much was just an excuse for Uncle Sam to try to bring down a powerful Black man?

For more on Sweet Daddy Grace, check out SweetDaddyGrace.com.

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Marcy receives a mysterious email, which answers some questions but raises more. And she finally speaks to someone who knew Daddy Grace personally.

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