The Arcane World of Professor Warren, Beale Street Mystic

Memphis has a deep history of spiritualists, prophets and traditional healers. One of the most fascinating personalities was Memphis born spiritualist Professor William H. Warren. Professor Warren combined elements of African-American hoodoo and Eastern mysticism to create a spiritual organization for black Memphians that focused on personal success, magic and racial pride.
The ‘War is Din’ Institute and Bible League (W.I.D. League) originally operated on South Lauderdale in downtown Memphis then later on Vance Street. The name ‘War is Din’ pronounced ‘War isa Din’ comes from the word that strangers used to call Warren while he was in India. Warren later on went on to explain to a reporter in 1939 that the words come from the “Indian” words for ‘Wisdom I Desire’ while author Shields McIlwaine in the 1948 book ‘Memphis Down in Dixie’ claims that Warren told her that the words were ‘Arabic’. Warren traveled to India with a white physician that his mother worked for during his younger days. It was in India where Warren claimed he learned what he called the ‘mystic sciences’ that he brought home to teach black Memphians.
Warren’s spiritual practices included the use of candle magic and incense, roots and herbs along with Christian and Asian religious iconography. He would use the Bible as well as playing cards to gain insight into spiritual wisdom. He would advertise himself as a ‘Spiritual Adviser’ and would give lectures about his spiritual beliefs along with classes on creating spiritual art. He also conducted organized philosophical debates among members of his organization. Spiritual lessons were often taught during ritual dramas that re-enacted Biblical stories. Group ‘feasts’ known as ‘War is Dinners’ were conducted for fellowship, recruitment and learning.

Members of the ‘War is Din’ community were divided into groups named after the months of the year. Groups like the ‘Januarians’ were charged with taking care of fellow Januarians and likewise for the other groups. Warren conducted individual and group sessions for his devotees that included lessons and advice on financial matters. Members were encouraged to save their money and not spend it frivolously to further the success of the race and black society. The cost to join ‘War is Din’ was $5 with a monthly membership fee of 25 cents.
Potential members underwent a strict physical examination by a black and white physician as Professor Warren said he didn’t want ‘bad disease’ in the organization. Warren operated a savings club for member investments in which he kept the interest from the investment. Members in various professions would use their positions as official members of the institute. For example, a member who was a barber became an official ‘War is Din’ barber dedicating his work to the organization. Members were encouraged to spend their money among ‘War is Din’ official members thereby keeping finances flowing among group members. The organization provided healthcare for many of its members and even purchased medicine for them on occasion.
Professor Warren led classes in arts and craft encouraging members to create crafts using woodworking, ceramic materials and clothing to sell to make money for the group. He claimed to have learned secrets of creating artwork while he was in India.
Charity toward others was emphasized among the group. During the holiday season members handed out hundreds of food baskets and clothing to those in need throughout the city. The organization changed its focus as an educational organization and began to call itself a ‘temple’. Several black operated newspapers including the Atlanta Daily World boasted of the work that Warren ‘a noted spiritualist’ as he was called and the temple were doing throughout the southern U.S. Several local organizations in the city of Memphis joined with the temple to conduct various food and clothing drives during the Christmas holidays.
Warren’s ‘War is Din Bible League’ spawned several splinter branches throughout the U.S. in cities like New Orleans, Clarksdale, Chicago and in Canada. In April of 1940 Warren boasted of a membership of well over 30,000 members throughout the world.

In his personal life Professor Warren married his secretary Hattie Mae who was known locally as being the 1939 ‘Queen of the Beale Street Cotton Makers Jubilee’. Local media reported that Hattie Mae was queened at midnight of the festival and that as soon as her name was announced that Warren’s followers began to sing a spiritual. A celebratory feast was held down at the temple following the announcement. Hattie Mae and Warren took part in building the ‘War is Din’ community over the years including taking part in a complex ritual drama at the War is Din headquarters that included a 3 night play known as the ‘King Solomon Tour’.

As Warren’s reputation and influence began to grow in Memphis, he began to be noticed outside the black community. Some white operated newspapers began to call him the ‘Father Divine of the South’ referring to the scandalous black spiritual leader who once claimed to be God. National newspapers began to refer to Professor Warren as an obscure ‘cult leader’ despite gaining over 5,000 votes to be elected as ‘vice mayor’ of Beale Street in October of 1939. The Department of Commerce in 1936 produced a booklet featuring statistics regarding religious organizations throughout the United States. The booklet mentions ‘War is Din’ as one of many ‘cults’ that it avoided collecting data on the group because it did not have ‘distinctive membership’.
Professor Warren’s kingdom continued to grow in downtown Memphis until April of 1940. Warren’s wife asked for a divorce as she claimed to a Memphis court that her husband had exhibited violence toward her and threatened to kill her. She also claimed that the Professor was cheating on her with a new secretary in the temple. The issue of money was brought up in court for alimony and Warren admitted that he had made over $17,000.00 in a year from devotee’s ‘Christmas presents’ to the leader. Professor Warren told the court that his wife had begun cheating on him while working with the Memphis Cotton Carnival.
The Professor also showed the court an injury he had sustained the night before the trial. He revealed that as he was in his backyard feeding his dog that two men had jumped out and hit him on the head and then fired a gun. The Professor’s attorney looked at the Court and asked “Do you believe this half-pint husband was cruel and beat this №10 size woman?”
The jury refused to grant Warren’s wife a divorce and said there was no sufficient evidence to prove that he had been violent toward her. Over 250 devotees of the temple showed up to the courthouse during the trial. Warren boasted to the press that there would have been thousands but he had advised against that many attending. Following the judgement, members of Warren’s spiritualist temple began to hurl insults calling his wife ‘Haughty Hattie’. Many of them told members of the on looking press that she had been extremely arrogant and had been given a mansion, fine clothes and anything she wanted from the Professor.

Professor Warren and his War is Din League disappeared as the aging spiritualist struggled with much of the negative attention given to his group by the press and local community. Yet he stands as one of the many examples of Memphis historical figures with ties to Memphis hoodoo and spiritualist history.

