First Baptist Church (Montgomery, Alabama)
Encyclopedia
The First Baptist Church on North Ripley Street in Montgomery, Alabama
is a historic landmark
. Founded in downtown Montgomery in 1867 as one of the first black churches in the area, it provided an alternative to the second-class treatment and discrimination African-Americans faced at the other First Baptist Church in the city. It also had a role in the Civil Rights Movement in the United States
.
In the first few decades after its establishment the First Baptist Church became one of the largest black churches in the South, growing from hundreds parishioners to thousands. Almost a hundred years later, in the 1950s
and 1960s
, it was an important gathering place for activities related to the civil rights movement
, and became associated with the Montgomery Bus Boycott
and the Freedom ride
of May 1961. The church is listed by the Alabama Historical Commission
on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage
.
The first pastor was Nathan Ashby, who also became the first president of the Colored Baptist Convention in Alabama, founded in his church on December 17, 1868. Ashby retired in 1870, after being struck by paralysis. He was followed, briefly, by J.W. Stevens, and starting in 1871, James H. Foster was the pastor for twenty years. Foster is credited with increasing membership from a few hundred to several thousand; his successor, pastor Andrew Stokes, added even more.
Fire destroyed the first frame church. Between 1910 and 1915, the church was rebuilt (now facing east, toward Ripley Street) under the leadership of pastor Stokes. Members of the congregation were asked to each bring a brick a day to build it—hence the church's nickname, the "Brick-A-Day Church." The building was designed in the style of the Romanesque Revival
by W.T. Bailey of the Tuskegee University
.
From 1952 to 1961, the church was led by civil rights activist Ralph Abernathy
, a good friend of Martin Luther King, Jr.
, who preached a few blocks away, at the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church
, from 1954 to 1960. During the Montgomery Bus Boycott
(1955-1956), it was the location of mass meetings; Abernathy was a confidante of Edgar Nixon
and quickly became involved with the boycott. After the boycott was over, and the buses in Montgomery were desegregated, occasionally buses would get ambushed and shot at. One such shooting, on January 10, 1957, was followed by bombings at Montgomery's Bell Street Baptist Church, the Mount Olive Baptist Church, the Hutchinson Street Baptist Church, and the First Baptist Church and its parsonage (Abernathy's residence). Raymond C. Britt, Jr., was charged with the bombing of the First Baptist Church, and Henry Alexander and James D. York were charged with the bombing of Abernathy's house, but city prosecutor D. Eugene Loe ended up dropping the charges.
In the spring of 1958, the basement of the church was the site of the formal initiation of John Lewis into the civil rights movement. Lewis, who had been active at American Baptist College
and Fisk University
in Nashville, Tennessee
, was planning to enroll at Troy State University
in an attempt to desegregate the school, and was invited to Montgomery: at First Baptist Church in the pastor's office in the basement, he met Abernathy and King.
which met with violence at the Greyhound Bus Station
in downtown Montgomery. The church was filled with some 1500 worshipers and activists, including Martin Luther King, Jr.
, Fred Shuttlesworth
, Diane Nash
, and James Farmer
. The building was besieged by 3000 whites who threatened to burn it. In the basement, Dr. King, in the company of Abernathy, Wyatt Tee Walker
, James Farmer, and John Lewis, was on the phone with United States Attorney General
Robert F. Kennedy
, while bricks were thrown through the windows and tear gas came drifting in. According to Lewis, Kennedy jokingly asked King to say a prayer, since he was in a church anyway; the activists in the basement were not amused. The events of 20-21 May 1961, including the "siege of First Baptist," played a crucial part in the desegregation of interstate travel.
It was noted that as soon as James Farmer and Shuttlesworth had arrived at the church, the large mob had already formed. The mob could be seen rocking church member's vehicles back and forth. James Farmer and Shuttlesworth had to enter through the back entrance of the church. In order to this, they had to run through mob members in a graveyard leading to the back entrance. They escaped unscathed due to James Farmer pretending to be a “crazy negro” while running through the crowd.
From inside the church, Martin Luther King, Jr.
could be heard yelling that, “The ultimate responsibility for the hideous action in Alabama must be placed at the doorstep of the governor of the state. We hear the familiar cry that morals cannot be legislated. This may be true, but behavior can be regulated. The law may not be able to make a man love me, but it can keep him for lynching me.”
Federal marshals with tear gas and truncheons eventually arrived on the scene. However they could barely contain the mob. King called Robert Kennedy for reinforcement. However, the attorney general wasn't too pleased about the fact that King had, once again, put himself in a dangerous situation that could have been avoided. He scolded the Freedom Riders for providing “good propaganda for America's enemies”. Robert then stated that he would not do anything more to help that night, for fear of infuriating the southern whites even more and making them suspect federal encroachment, which would create even further massive resistance.
While on the phone with Kennedy, the question whether or not the Freedom Riders should go into a “Cooling Period” came up. The term “Cooling Period” is a reference to the idea of the Freedom Rider's taking a break from their Freedom Rides and demonstrations, to give the South a chance to cool off and settle down. Robert Kennedy believed this would stop the violence from escalating to even further levels. King said he'd relay the question to Diane Nash and James Farmer. King almost wanted to agree with Kennedy's statement but, Diane Nash and James Farmer both refused. James Farmer stated, “Please tell the General that we've been cooling off for 350 years. If we cool off anymore, we will be in a deep freeze. The Freedom Ride will go on."
Robert and John F. Kennedy
both pleaded with John Malcom Patterson, governor of Alabama at the time, to cooperate and help protect the African Americans being held at First Baptist Church. Eventually, around 10 pm, Patterson had seen enough. He placed the city under “qualified-martial rule”. A large group of city policemen along with more than a hundred members of the Alabama National Guard had swarmed to First Baptist Church and created a shield around it. Former marshals on the scene were placed under the National Guard command. Shortly after the mob was finally dispersed. Yet; the citizens in the church continued to be held in a siege by the National Guardsmen. The Activists and worshipers were forced to spend the night uncomfortably squished in pews, while government officials tried to work out a deal for their release.
At around 4 am, Government Official, William Orrick, worked out a deal with the Adjutant General of the National Guards, Henry Graham, to release everyone in the church. National Guard trucks and Jeeps were sent to retrieve the Freedom Riders and parishioners out the church.
Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...
is a historic landmark
Landmark
This is a list of landmarks around the world.Landmarks may be split into two categories - natural phenomena and man-made features, like buildings, bridges, statues, public squares and so forth...
. Founded in downtown Montgomery in 1867 as one of the first black churches in the area, it provided an alternative to the second-class treatment and discrimination African-Americans faced at the other First Baptist Church in the city. It also had a role in the Civil Rights Movement in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
In the first few decades after its establishment the First Baptist Church became one of the largest black churches in the South, growing from hundreds parishioners to thousands. Almost a hundred years later, in the 1950s
1950s
The 1950s or The Fifties was the decade that began on January 1, 1950 and ended on December 31, 1959. The decade was the sixth decade of the 20th century...
and 1960s
1960s
The 1960s was the decade that started on January 1, 1960, and ended on December 31, 1969. It was the seventh decade of the 20th century.The 1960s term also refers to an era more often called The Sixties, denoting the complex of inter-related cultural and political trends across the globe...
, it was an important gathering place for activities related to the civil rights movement
Civil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change by nonviolent forms of resistance. In some situations it was...
, and became associated with the Montgomery Bus Boycott
Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a political and social protest campaign that started in 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, USA, intended to oppose the city's policy of racial segregation on its public transit system. Many important figures in the civil rights movement were involved in the boycott,...
and the Freedom ride
Freedom ride
Freedom Riders were civil rights activists who rode interstate buses into the segregated southern United States to test the United States Supreme Court decisions Boynton v. Virginia and Morgan v. Virginia...
of May 1961. The church is listed by the Alabama Historical Commission
Alabama Historical Commission
The Alabama Historical Commission is the historic preservation agency for the U. S. state of Alabama. The agency was created by an act of the state legislature in 1966 with a mission of safeguarding Alabama’s historic buildings and sites. It consists of twenty members appointed by the state...
on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage
Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage
The Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage, commonly referred to as the Alabama Register, is an official listing of buildings, sites, structures, objects, and districts deemed worthy of preservation in the U.S. state of Alabama. These properties, which may be of national, state, and local...
.
History
The congregation first organized in 1866; early parishioners had worshiped during slavery at the other First Baptist Church in Montgomery, on Perry Street. Before the American Civil War, blacks were allowed only on the balcony of that church: "they were never allowed on the main floor of the sanctuary unless they were sweeping or mopping." In 1867, 700 African-American communicants had marched to an empty lot on the corner of Ripley Street and Columbus Street, declaring themselves the "First Baptist Church (Colored)" and founding what became "the first 'free Negro' institution in the city." The wooden building itself, which faced north to Columbus Street, was called the Columbus Street Baptist Church.The first pastor was Nathan Ashby, who also became the first president of the Colored Baptist Convention in Alabama, founded in his church on December 17, 1868. Ashby retired in 1870, after being struck by paralysis. He was followed, briefly, by J.W. Stevens, and starting in 1871, James H. Foster was the pastor for twenty years. Foster is credited with increasing membership from a few hundred to several thousand; his successor, pastor Andrew Stokes, added even more.
Fire destroyed the first frame church. Between 1910 and 1915, the church was rebuilt (now facing east, toward Ripley Street) under the leadership of pastor Stokes. Members of the congregation were asked to each bring a brick a day to build it—hence the church's nickname, the "Brick-A-Day Church." The building was designed in the style of the Romanesque Revival
Romanesque Revival architecture
Romanesque Revival is a style of building employed beginning in the mid 19th century inspired by the 11th and 12th century Romanesque architecture...
by W.T. Bailey of the Tuskegee University
Tuskegee University
Tuskegee University is a private, historically black university located in Tuskegee, Alabama, United States. It is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund...
.
First Baptist Church during the Civil Rights movement
Ralph Abernathy
Ralph David Abernathy, Sr. was a leader of the American Civil Rights Movement, a minister, and a close associate of Martin Luther King, Jr. in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Following King's assassination, Dr. Abernathy took up the leadership of the SCLC Poor People's Campaign and...
, a good friend of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...
, who preached a few blocks away, at the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church
Dexter Avenue Baptist Church
Dexter Avenue Baptist Church is a Baptist church in Montgomery, Alabama. The church was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1974. In 1978 the official name was changed to the Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, in memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who helped to organize the...
, from 1954 to 1960. During the Montgomery Bus Boycott
Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a political and social protest campaign that started in 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, USA, intended to oppose the city's policy of racial segregation on its public transit system. Many important figures in the civil rights movement were involved in the boycott,...
(1955-1956), it was the location of mass meetings; Abernathy was a confidante of Edgar Nixon
Edgar Nixon
Edgar Daniel Nixon was an African American civil rights leader and union organizer who played a crucial role in organizing the famous Montgomery Bus Boycott in Montgomery, Alabama. Nixon also led the Montgomery branch of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters union, known as the Pullman Porters...
and quickly became involved with the boycott. After the boycott was over, and the buses in Montgomery were desegregated, occasionally buses would get ambushed and shot at. One such shooting, on January 10, 1957, was followed by bombings at Montgomery's Bell Street Baptist Church, the Mount Olive Baptist Church, the Hutchinson Street Baptist Church, and the First Baptist Church and its parsonage (Abernathy's residence). Raymond C. Britt, Jr., was charged with the bombing of the First Baptist Church, and Henry Alexander and James D. York were charged with the bombing of Abernathy's house, but city prosecutor D. Eugene Loe ended up dropping the charges.
In the spring of 1958, the basement of the church was the site of the formal initiation of John Lewis into the civil rights movement. Lewis, who had been active at American Baptist College
American Baptist College
American Baptist College is a small, predominantly African American liberal arts college located in Nashville, Tennessee...
and Fisk University
Fisk University
Fisk University is an historically black university founded in 1866 in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. The world-famous Fisk Jubilee Singers started as a group of students who performed to earn enough money to save the school at a critical time of financial shortages. They toured to raise funds to...
in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, was planning to enroll at Troy State University
Troy University
Troy University is a public university that is located in Troy, Alabama, United States. It was originally founded in 1887 as Troy Normal School. Its main campus enrollment is 7,194 students. The total enrollment of all Troy University campuses is 29,689...
in an attempt to desegregate the school, and was invited to Montgomery: at First Baptist Church in the pastor's office in the basement, he met Abernathy and King.
First Baptist Church Siege
On May 21, 1961, the church was a refuge for the passengers on the Freedom rideFreedom ride
Freedom Riders were civil rights activists who rode interstate buses into the segregated southern United States to test the United States Supreme Court decisions Boynton v. Virginia and Morgan v. Virginia...
which met with violence at the Greyhound Bus Station
Greyhound Bus Station (Montgomery, Alabama)
The Greyhound Bus Station at 210 South Court Street in Montgomery, Alabama, was the site of a violent attack on participants in the 1961 Freedom Ride during the Civil Rights Movement...
in downtown Montgomery. The church was filled with some 1500 worshipers and activists, including Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...
, Fred Shuttlesworth
Fred Shuttlesworth
Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth, born Freddie Lee Robinson, was a U.S. civil rights activist who led the fight against segregation and other forms of racism as a minister in Birmingham, Alabama...
, Diane Nash
Diane Nash
Diane Judith Nash was a leader and strategist of the student wing of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement. A historian described her as: "…bright, focused, utterly fearless, with an unerring instinct for the correct tactical move at each increment of the crisis; as a leader, her instincts had been...
, and James Farmer
James L. Farmer, Jr.
James Leonard Farmer, Jr. was a civil rights activist and leader in the American Civil Rights Movement. He was the initiator and organizer of the 1961 Freedom Ride, which eventually led to the desegregation of inter-state transportation in the United States.In 1942, Farmer co-founded the Committee...
. The building was besieged by 3000 whites who threatened to burn it. In the basement, Dr. King, in the company of Abernathy, Wyatt Tee Walker
Wyatt Tee Walker
Wyatt Tee Walker is a United States black pastor, national civil rights leader, theologian, and cultural historian. He was a Chief of Staff for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and in 1958 became an early board member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference . He helped found the Congress for...
, James Farmer, and John Lewis, was on the phone with United States Attorney General
United States Attorney General
The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States government. The attorney general is considered to be the chief lawyer of the U.S. government...
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy , also referred to by his initials RFK, was an American politician, a Democratic senator from New York, and a noted civil rights activist. An icon of modern American liberalism and member of the Kennedy family, he was a younger brother of President John F...
, while bricks were thrown through the windows and tear gas came drifting in. According to Lewis, Kennedy jokingly asked King to say a prayer, since he was in a church anyway; the activists in the basement were not amused. The events of 20-21 May 1961, including the "siege of First Baptist," played a crucial part in the desegregation of interstate travel.
It was noted that as soon as James Farmer and Shuttlesworth had arrived at the church, the large mob had already formed. The mob could be seen rocking church member's vehicles back and forth. James Farmer and Shuttlesworth had to enter through the back entrance of the church. In order to this, they had to run through mob members in a graveyard leading to the back entrance. They escaped unscathed due to James Farmer pretending to be a “crazy negro” while running through the crowd.
From inside the church, Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...
could be heard yelling that, “The ultimate responsibility for the hideous action in Alabama must be placed at the doorstep of the governor of the state. We hear the familiar cry that morals cannot be legislated. This may be true, but behavior can be regulated. The law may not be able to make a man love me, but it can keep him for lynching me.”
Federal marshals with tear gas and truncheons eventually arrived on the scene. However they could barely contain the mob. King called Robert Kennedy for reinforcement. However, the attorney general wasn't too pleased about the fact that King had, once again, put himself in a dangerous situation that could have been avoided. He scolded the Freedom Riders for providing “good propaganda for America's enemies”. Robert then stated that he would not do anything more to help that night, for fear of infuriating the southern whites even more and making them suspect federal encroachment, which would create even further massive resistance.
While on the phone with Kennedy, the question whether or not the Freedom Riders should go into a “Cooling Period” came up. The term “Cooling Period” is a reference to the idea of the Freedom Rider's taking a break from their Freedom Rides and demonstrations, to give the South a chance to cool off and settle down. Robert Kennedy believed this would stop the violence from escalating to even further levels. King said he'd relay the question to Diane Nash and James Farmer. King almost wanted to agree with Kennedy's statement but, Diane Nash and James Farmer both refused. James Farmer stated, “Please tell the General that we've been cooling off for 350 years. If we cool off anymore, we will be in a deep freeze. The Freedom Ride will go on."
Robert and John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
both pleaded with John Malcom Patterson, governor of Alabama at the time, to cooperate and help protect the African Americans being held at First Baptist Church. Eventually, around 10 pm, Patterson had seen enough. He placed the city under “qualified-martial rule”. A large group of city policemen along with more than a hundred members of the Alabama National Guard had swarmed to First Baptist Church and created a shield around it. Former marshals on the scene were placed under the National Guard command. Shortly after the mob was finally dispersed. Yet; the citizens in the church continued to be held in a siege by the National Guardsmen. The Activists and worshipers were forced to spend the night uncomfortably squished in pews, while government officials tried to work out a deal for their release.
At around 4 am, Government Official, William Orrick, worked out a deal with the Adjutant General of the National Guards, Henry Graham, to release everyone in the church. National Guard trucks and Jeeps were sent to retrieve the Freedom Riders and parishioners out the church.