Booth was born in
Collins, Mississippi. He graduated from Hopewell High School in
Hopewell, Covington County, Mississippi in 1936 and has a bachelor's degree from
Alcorn A&M (1940). He also studied at
Gammon Theological Seminary and graduated from
Howard University's School of Religion in 1943 with honors and as president of his class. He founded the
Progressive National Baptist Convention in 1961 and was elected first President of the Convention. He also established the
Marva Collins Preparatory School in 1990. A lawsuit by
Marva Collins alleges the K-8 school in Cincinnati infringes on her trademark teaching method and name. ==References==