The Second Baptist Church, Bismarck, North Dakota, organized in 1917 to serve the African American residents of the city, including some who had previously attended the predominantly white First Methodist Episcopal Church. The immediate impetus for organization of Second Baptist came from a series of … Read MoreSecond Baptist Church (1917-ca. 1930)
Image Ownership: Public domain Twenty-three-year-old Sean Elijah Bell, the victim of a violent police shooting in 2006, was born on May 18, 1983, to William and Valerie Bell. As a child, Bell was interested in acting and played baseball. According to Bell’s fiancée, Nicole Poultre, … Read MoreSean Elijah Bell (1983-2006)
Following emancipation in 1865, former slaves across the South detached themselves from white-controlled congregations and established independent churches. In Fort Worth, Texas, historic Mt. Gilead Baptist Church was one of those new congregations. Over time it would serve the spiritual and cultural needs of African … Read MoreMt. Gilead Baptist Church, Fort Worth, Texas (1875- )
Morning Star Baptist Missionary Church opened in 1946 on 631 South Douglas Avenue in Pasco, Washington, where it stands to this day. The church was founded to provide for the spiritual needs of the thousands of black workers who came to Hanford Atomic Facility during … Read MoreMorning Star Baptist Missionary Church Pasco, Washington (1946- )
Image Ownership: Public domain Soul Singer Wilson Pickett was born on March 18, 1941, in Prattville, Alabama, as the fourth of eleven children. Throughout his childhood, he sang in Baptist church choirs and was trained as a gospel singer. During this period, he began to … Read MoreWilson Pickett (1941-2006)
Image Ownership: Public domain Throughout his 20 seasons in baseball, Derek Jeter established himself as a New York Yankees legend. Growing up as a Yankee fan and having played his entire career with the franchise, his play was synonymous with the team’s success. With on-field … Read MoreDerek Jeter (1974- )
Reverend Joseph Harrison Jackson was the pastor of Olivet Baptist Church in Chicago, Illinois (1941–1990), the longest-serving president of the National Baptist Convention (1953-1982), and a leading conservative voice during the Civil Rights era. To this day, Rev. Jackson remains a deeply controversial figure, in … Read MoreReverend Joseph H. Jackson (1900-1990)
“Image Ownership: Public Domain” Jenean Hampton, at the age of fifty-eight, became the first statewide, black, elected official in Kentucky’s history when she was elected lieutenant governor on November 3, 2015. Hampton ran on the Republican Party ticket headed by GOP gubernatorial candidate Matt Bevin … Read MoreJenean Hampton (1958– )
Salem Baptist Church, in Alton, Illinois, first organized in 1819, still stands as the only predominantly African American congregation in Madison County, which is situated along the Mississippi River across from Missouri. African American stonemason Madison Banks and white contractor Samuel Marshall, both from Alton, … Read MoreSalem Baptist Church, Alton, Illinois (1819- )
“Image Ownership: Public Domain” 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 … Read MoreMount Olive Missionary Baptist Church (1835- )