African American Churches All pictures taken by Percy White and are the property of FindFamilyRoots.com unless otherwise indicated. Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church 454 Dexter Avenue Montgomery, AL 36104 334-263-3970 |
Written on the Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church History Marker in front of the church are the words: Organized 1877. The second black Baptist church in Montgomery. First Pastor was Rev. C.O. Boothe. Present structure built 1885. Designed by Pelham J. Anderson: built by William Watkins, a member of the congregations. Many prominent citizens of Montgomery have been members. Rev. Martin Luther King. Jr. served as pastor (1954-1960). Montgomery Bus Boycott organized here December 2, 1955.
PICTURES: L: Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church. R: History Marker
SOURCES:
Site Visit Church Tour. Montgomery, AL. 5 Aug. 2009.
SUBMITTED: September 14, 2008. Picture taken August 5, 2009.
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First Baptist Church 236 Harrison Street Petersburg, VA 23803 804-732-2841 |
Oldest African American Congregation in the Nation First Baptist Church began in Prince Georges County, Virginia when a group of blacks known as the New Lights gathered for worship. Members lived in various locations throughout the county. The first service was held in 1756. Attempts were made in 1758 and 1759 to organize members into one church. In 1774, Rev. John Michaels consolidated members and formed First Baptist Church. The congregation moved to Petersburg after a fire destroyed their meeting place. The church relocated several more times before making the Harrison Street location their permanent place of worship.
PICTURES: Top L: First Baptist Church. Top R: First Baptist Church side view. Second: Engravings over front doors. Third L: Inside church. Third R: Inside church, balcony. Bottom L: Organ Bottom R: First Baptist Church Orchestra.
SOURCES: Internet First Baptist Church of Petersburg, Web. 15 Apr. 2010. Pamphlet Lee, Peggy, E. C.; Mickens, Sandra, J.; Thompkins, Garland and Dr. Tillman, Jeremiah. First Baptist Church of Petersburg, Petersburg: nd. Print Church Tour. Petersburg, VA. 26 Mar. 2011.
SUBMITTED: March 27, 2011. Pictures taken March 26, 2011. |
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First African Baptist Church 23 Montgomery Street Savannah, GA 31401 912-233-6597 |
First Black Baptist Congregation in North America George Leile, slave of a British Officer in Savannah was the first ordained black Baptist pastor in Georgia. He established in 1777, the First African Baptist Church which was originally called First Colored Baptist Church. It is considered the oldest African American Church in the United States. First Baptist Church in Petersburg, Virginia however, disputes this designation. Leile baptized and trained David George and became reverend after Leile and his master fled to Jamaica. They left after American forces regained control of Savannah. In 1802, First Colored Baptist Church divided into two separate congregations: Second Colored Church and the Ogeechee (Third) Baptist Church. First Colored Baptist Church and the Second Colored Baptist Church recombined in 1822 and changed its name to First African Baptist Church. The current structure was built by members of the congregation in 1859 and is the first black owned building in Georgia..
PICTURED: First African Baptist Church.
SOURCES: Books Appiah, Kwame Anthony and Gates Jr, Henry Louis, ed. "Africana The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience." 1st ed. New York: Civitas, 1999. Print.
Curtis, Nancy, "Black Heritage Sites: An African American Odyssey and Finder's Guide." Chicago: American Library Association. 1996. Print. Site Visit Church Tour. Savannah, GA. December 22, 2011.
SUBMITTED: March 30, 2011. Picture taken December 22, 2011.
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Michigan Street Baptist Church 511 Michigan Avenue Buffalo, NY 14203 |
Michigan Street Baptist church was also a meeting place for abolitionists. Many of the most prominent African Americans of the day spoke at or attended the Michigan Street Baptist Church including W.E.B. Dubois and Booker T. Washington.
PICTURES: Top L: Michigan Street Baptist Church. Top R: Close up of sign in front of church. Bottom L: A hole in the ceiling of the church that was believed to be a hiding place for escaped slaves. The pastor of the church stated that once inside, slaves would cover the hole and then put heavy bags on top of it so that the door could not be pushed open. Bottom R: Hiding place for escaped slaves deep within the church.
SOURCES: Site Visit Church Tour. Buffalo, NY. 10 Aug. 2008.
SUBMITTED: August 15, 2008. Pictures taken August 10, 2008.
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Mt. Nebo Missionary Baptist Church 257 Carver Avenue Philadelphia, MS 39350 601-656-1446 |
Located on the grounds of the church is a memorial to Schwerner, Chaney and Goodman.
PICTURED: Mt. Nebo Baptist Church.
SOURCES: Site Visit Monument in Front of Church. Philadelphia, MS. 24, Dec. 2008.
SUBMITTED: February 22, 2009. Picture taken December 24, 2008.
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Mt. Zion Baptist Church 419 N. Elgin Avenue Greenwood District
Tulsa, OK 74120
918-584-0510 |
Mt. Zion Baptist Church was organized in 1909. It held services in temporary locations before breaking ground for the church at Haskell Street and Elgin Avenue. The congregation raised funds and the church was finished in May of 1921, just two weeks before it was burned down in the burning and bombing of Tulsa.
PICTURED: Mt. Zion Baptist Church.
SOURCES: Site Visit Greenwood District of Tulsa, OK Tour. Tulsa, OK. 22 Dec. 2008.
SUBMITTED: December 29, 2008. Picture taken December 22, 2008.
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Sappony Baptist Church 10610 Concord Sappony Road
Stony Creek, Virginia 23882
434-246-4067 |
Written on the Virginia Civil War Trails history marker in front of the church are the words: "Sappony Baptist Church, originally called Sappony Meeting House, was erected here in 1773. It was a part of the Kehukee Association, which consisted of churches In North Carolina and Virginia. In 1791, these associations divided along state lines and the 19 Virginia churches became the Portsmouth Baptist Association* Church membership grew and at one point half of Sappony's congregants were enslaved people. During the Civil War battle here on 28 June 1864, the sanctuary served as a hospital. Bullets from the battle pierced the church Bible, and cannonball holes in the front of the church still exist today."
PICTURES: Top Row: Sappony Baptist Church. Bottom Row L: History Marker. Bottom Row R: Virginia Civil War Trail History Marker.
SOURCES: Site Visit Church. Sappony, VA. 27 Jun. 2009.
SUBMITTED: July 1, 2009. Picture taken June 27, 2009.
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Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church 14 W. Duval Street Richmond, VA 23220 804-648-7511 |
Written on the Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church History Marker in front of the church are the words: "The Rev. John Jasper, born a slave in Fluvanna County on 4 July 1812, organized the Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church congregation in Richmond on 3 Sept. 1867 in a former Confederate stable on Brown’s Island. A nationally celebrated preacher, Jasper was best known for his 1878 sermon “De Sun Do Move.” which he later delivered by invitation more than 250 times. He died on 30 Mar. 1901 and is buried in (Woodland) Cemetery in Richmond. In 1869, the congregation moved to this site. The present church (built 1887-1890) was remodeled in 1925 in the Gothic Revival style by noted black architect Charles T. Russell."
PICTURES: L: Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church. R: The grave monument of John Jasper.
SOURCES: Site Visit Church. Tour. Richmond, VA. 19 Sept. 2008.
SUBMITTED: September 21, 2008. Picture taken September 19, 2008.
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Sixteenth Street Baptist Church 1530 6th Avenue N. Birmingham, AL 35203 205-251-9402 |
On September 15, 1963, a bomb exploded in the basement of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church killing four little black girls, Addie Mae Collins, Carole Rosamond Robertson, Cynthia Wesley and Carol Denise McNair. They were killed as they prepared to lead the church's annual Youth Day service. The bomb was planted by four Ku Klux Klan members: Bobby Frank Cherry, Thomas Edwin Blanton, Herman Frank Cash and Robert Edward Chambliss. Initially only Chambliss was charged. He was tried on murder charges, acquitted and in 1977 found guilty. He was sentenced to several life terms. Bobby Frank Cherry was convicted in 2001 of all four murders and sentenced to life in prison. Thomas Edwin Blanton, Jr. was convicted in 2001 also of all four murders and sentenced to life in prison. Herman Frank Cash died in 1994 without being charged.
PICTURES: Top L: Front view of church. Top R: Side view of church. Second Row L: Kitchen in the basement. At the time of the bombing it was the changing room used by the four little girls. Their bodies were recovered from this location. Second Row R: The area inside the church, above the kitchen, damaged by the bomb. Third Row L: The church sanctuary. Third Row R: The four little girls killed in the church, holyangels.com. Bottom Row L: Right side of church after the bombing, Washington Post. Bottom Row R: Current view of right side of church.
SOURCES: Site Visit Church Tour. Birmingham, AL. 4 Aug. 2009.
SUBMITTED: July 17, 2008. Color pictures taken August 4, 2009.
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Vernon AME Church 311 N. Greenwood Avenue Greenwood District
Tulsa, OK 74120
918- 587-1428 |
Vernon AME Church, founded in 1905 is one of Greenwood's oldest churches. The congregation was in the process of building a new church when the building was burned to the ground during the burning of Tulsa in 1921. Determined to move forward, the congregation used existing funds and donations to rebuild the church's basement on the same site by the end of 1922. The church was completed in 1928 and still stands at the same location.
PICTURED: Vernon AME Church.
SOURCES: Site Visit Greenwood District of Tulsa, OK Tour. Tulsa, OK. 22 Dec. 2008.
SUBMITTED: May 15, 2009. Picture taken December 22, 2008.
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Pictures taken and submitted by Percy White unless otherwise indicated
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