“Image Ownership: Kenneth C. Zirkel (CC BY-SA 3.0)” Congdon Street Baptist Church is the oldest African American church in Rhode Island. The church, located on College Hill, sprang from the effort of the black community in the city to provide a place for people of … Read MoreCongdon Street Baptist Church (1819- )
Along with its neighbors Ebenezer Baptist and Big Bethel AME, Wheat Street Baptist Church has been a major contributor to the social, economic, and cultural fabric of Atlanta, Georgia, particularly within its African American community. A group of parishioners from First Baptist Church founded Wheat … Read MoreWheat Street Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia (1869- )
“Image Ownership: Public Domain” The African Zion Baptist Church is the first African American church in what is now West Virginia (West Virginia was a part of Virginia until 1863) and was the church of Booker T. Washington. The church is located in Malden, West … Read MoreAfrican Zion Baptist Church, Malden, West Virginia, (1852- )
The Second Baptist Church of Detroit, located in the Greektown district of downtown Detroit, is the oldest African American congregation in Michigan and, according to some sources, the Midwest. The church has been active in struggles for freedom and equality since its founding in 1836 … Read MoreSecond Baptist Church of Detroit (1836- )
First Baptist Church of Petersburg, Virginia, originally known as the First African Baptist Church, is the oldest continuously operating black church in the state and is the mother church of numerous Baptist congregations in Virginia. The evangelical anti-slavery message of the equality of all men who were … Read MoreFirst Baptist Church, Petersburg, Virginia (1756- )
The Olivet Baptist Church (OBC), founded on April 6, 1850, was at one time the largest Protestant church in the world, reaching 20,000 members under the leadership of Pastor Lacey Kirk Williams. It is the second oldest black church in Chicago, Illinois and the oldest … Read MoreOlivet Baptist Church, Chicago, Illinois (1850- )
An African American Baptist preacher, educator, author, and tireless advocate for African American advancement and uplift, Charles Octavius Boothe was one of the founders of Dexter Avenue-King Memorial Baptist Church (1877), Selma University (1878), and the Colored Baptist Missionary Convention for the State of Alabama … Read MoreCharles Octavius Boothe (1845-1924)
“Image Ownership: Public Domain” Mt. Calvary Missionary Baptist Church began its ministry to the black community of Tucson, Arizona in 1900 when Baptist missionary Rev. John B. Bell arrived, conducted services, and with ten other devoted men and women organized the Baptist Mission. Rev. Bell … Read MoreMt. Calvary Missionary Baptist Church, Tucson, Arizona (1900- )
Founded in 1886 by Pastor John Andrew Parker, a freedman, Ebenezer Baptist Church of Atlanta, Georgia had only 13 members and no church building upon Parker’s passing in 1894 and when Alfred Daniel Williams became its second pastor. Williams’ powerful sermons and strong leadership skills … Read MoreEbenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia (1885- )
Bethel Baptist Institutional Church is the oldest Baptist church congregation in the state of Florida. At the end of the Civil War, Bethel Baptist Church was recognized by the court in Jacksonville to be a black church, but the history of this church extends well … Read MoreBethel Baptist Institutional Church of Jacksonville, Florida (ca. 1865- )
