Cleveland Buchanan Sparrow Sr., b. ca1937 (Virginia) -
VP candidate for Third World Assembly (1988)
Running mate with nominee: John Governor Martin (b. ca1928)
Popular vote: 236 (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 0/538
The campaign:
The Baptist minister John Governor Martin and his party called the Third World Assembly ran in 1980 and 1984 for President but failed to attain ballot status. I could not identify any running mates for him in those elections. In 1988 he was a making a third bid, and this time with a VP nominee, the Rev. Cleveland Sparrow of Washington, DC. So this ticket had two African American ministers as the standard bearers.
Getting a handle on what the Third World Assembly was all about is a bit tricky. It appears to have been a faith-based combination of culturally conservative Protestant beliefs combined with Afrocentric policies. Sparrow in particular had made the news for his views opposing abortion, Gay rights, and AIDS anti-discrimination laws. He was known as the Secretary of Black Coalition for Traditional Values and also as the President of the DC Moral Majority.
To muddy the waters a bit more, Sparrow had also been associated with the Schiller Institute, an organization founded in 1984 by Helga Zepp-LaRouche and was basically considered the "think tank" for Lyndon LaRouche's operations. Sparrow liked to frequently work in the word "genocide" no matter what the topic at hand was about.
The Martin/Sparrow ticket was on the ballot in the District of Columbia only, earning 236 popular votes (0.12%). Martin had filed with the FEC as a resident of Washington, DC, and since Sparrow also lived there that would have posed a Constitutional problem in the event they won the election.
Martin and Sparrow teamed up again in 1990 and filed a civil suit against Rep. Barney Frank seeking, among other things, $25,000 in damages due to being driven to a state of "mortification" by his homosexual activities as well as a loss in real estate values. The suit was funded by the Conservative Caucus. The judge quickly dismissed the case.
Election history: none.
Other occupations: US Navy, minister of the Sparrow World Baptist Temple, member of League for Universal Justice and Goodwill, Secretary of Black Coalition for Traditional Values, President of the DC Moral Majority, member of Washington Liberty Alliance
Notes:
Relocated to Michigan.
His first and middle names are also the surnames of two former Presidents!
In 2001 his name appeared in connection with the Unification Church's Family Federation for World
Peace and Unification.
