Childhood and Education

His early childhood formative education began in Selma where he attended grades K through 3 at a church based school. In 1938, he moved to Birmingham where he attended Lane Educational School and graduated from Ulma Jr. High School. After graduating, he began working at a hardware company to help his mother and grandmother. He later enlisted in the U. S. Army, at 18 years of age, receiving basic training at Camp Apache, Louisiana. Afforded the opportunity to travel and continue his education, Clifford was admitted to Tokyo College in Japan where he studied Business / English / Typing and Music. After being discharged in 1947, he returned to New York and studied Radio/ Television and Electronics at Manhattan Technical Institute.

With a quest for learning, Clifford found it easy to work with his hands, and that afforded him entry into courses including upholstery, slip cover making and interior decorating at Manhattan Trade Center in New York. He lived in New York approximately 11 years, where he also attended Manhattan Trade Center on his GI loan. He visited California in 1957; and returned to Los Angeles in 1969 where he remained, moving to Altadena in 1973 and later to Victorville in 1994. He attended Pasadena City College in 1973, taking courses in Skill Reading / Vocabulary Building / Speech / Auto Mechanics / Auto Tune Ups and Auto Transmission. He received a Certificate of completion in Upholstery.

 

New Hope Ministry

Attending church services with his mother, Clifford joined New Hope in 1960 and began teaching Sr. Mission in 1961. He was the youngest teacher in the Auxiliary. He began visiting the Sick and Shut-In members in 1967, singing and praying in an outreach ministry, a practice he continues to date. Clifford received his Call into the ministry in 1976 and was ordained at New Hope Baptist Church in 1977 by (the late) Dr. B. 0. Byrd. Clifford retired from General Motors as a forklift driver in 1991 after 27 years of employment. He enjoys golf, body building, roller skating (jokingly stating he still has his roller skates in the house) and jogging.