Academic Historian

Historian Felicia Mack who is interested in a number of important figures in African American history, holds a Ph.D. in Literacy from Washington State University.  She currently teaches at Eastern Kentucky State University in Richmond, Kentucky.

Mount Olive Missionary Baptist Church (1835- )

Mount Olive Missionary Baptist Church in Nashville, Tennessee is one of three churches that evolved out of Nashville’s historic First Colored Baptist Church (1865-1891).  It traces its origins back to black members of First Baptist Church who first met to hold prayer services in 1835.  … Read MoreMount Olive Missionary Baptist Church (1835- )

Spruce Street Baptist Church (1835- )

Spruce Street Baptist Church is one of the oldest black churches in Nashville, Tennessee. It is also one of three churches to evolve out of Nashville’s First Colored Baptist Church (1865-1891).  In 1835 First Colored Baptist Church (FCBC) began with separate prayer services for the … Read MoreSpruce Street Baptist Church (1835- )

First Baptist Church, Capitol Hill, Nashville, Tennessee (1835- )

First Baptist Church, Capitol Hill lays claim to the designation as the oldest continuously operating African American church in Tennessee because it traces its origin back to First Baptist Colored Mission which first met to hold prayer services in 1835.  Up to that point Nashville’s … Read MoreFirst Baptist Church, Capitol Hill, Nashville, Tennessee (1835- )

Historic Pleasant Green Missionary Baptist Church (1790- )

Historic Pleasant Green Missionary Baptist Church, located in downtown Lexington, Kentucky has the oldest African American active congregation west of the Alleghany Mountains. Historic Pleasant Green Missionary Baptist Church was originally founded as part of First African Baptist Church in 1790 by a slave preacher … Read MoreHistoric Pleasant Green Missionary Baptist Church (1790- )

Mother African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, New York City (1796- )

Mother African Methodist Episcopal Zion (AME) Church, founded in 1796, is currently located in Harlem, New York. It is the oldest African American church in the state of New York and was established when black parishioners left John Street Methodist Church in that city. The group, … Read MoreMother African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, New York City (1796- )

Abyssinian Baptist Church, New York City, New York (1808- )

Abyssinian Baptist church, currently located in Harlem, New York, was founded in 1808 when a group of black parishioners left First Baptist Church of New York due to the imposition of racially-segregated seating.  Reverend Thomas Paul, an African American minister from Boston, Massachusetts, assisted the … Read MoreAbyssinian Baptist Church, New York City, New York (1808- )

Gladys Kidd Jennings (1925- )

Gladys E. Kidd, educator, nutritionist, mentor, philanthropist, and granddaughter of slaves was born on October 11, 1925 in Columbus, Ohio to Henry Wesley Cooper, a Presbyterian minister and Charlotte Melinda Cooper, a schoolteacher. She attended the all black elementary and middle schools. While in high … Read MoreGladys Kidd Jennings (1925- )