Nineteenth Street Baptist Church (Washington, D.C.)

Nineteenth Street Baptist Church

Nineteenth Street Baptist Church
Basic information
Location 4606 16th Street N.W.. Washington, D.C. 20011
Geographic coordinates 38°56′48.5″N 77°2′12.5″W / 38.946806°N 77.036806°W / 38.946806; -77.036806Coordinates: 38°56′48.5″N 77°2′12.5″W / 38.946806°N 77.036806°W / 38.946806; -77.036806
Affiliation Baptist
Status Active
Leadership Reverend James A. Crosson, Jr., Interim Pastor
Website Nineteenth Street Baptist Church
Architectural description
Architect(s) Brandt, Waronoff and Westric[1]
Architectural style Art Deco[2]
Specifications
Materials Alabama limestone

The Nineteenth Street Baptist Church, located on 16th Street, NW, is considered to be the first and oldest black Baptist congregation in Washington, D.C.[3] Since its founding in 1839, the church has figured prominently within the historical and social fabric of Washington, D.C.'s African American community.[4]

The Founding

The original site of Nineteenth Street Baptist Church

Established as the First Colored Baptist Church of Washington, D.C. on August 29, 1839, the congregation was a part of The First Baptist Church of the City of Washington, DC which was founded on March 7, 1802.[5] Described initially as an interracial congregation, black members worshipped alongside whites. However, similar to other congregations of the time, the church gradually began to segregate its black members from white parishioners.[3] Given their discontent with being assigned to the gallery of what was now the new location of the First Baptist Church, the black members chose to leave the congregation and establish their own independent church on the original site at 19th and I Streets, N.W.[3] The founders of the First Colored Baptist Church of Washington, D.C. included Reverend Lewis Richards, Reverend Jeremiah Moore, Reverend Adam Freeman, Reverend William Parkinson, Cephas Fox, Charles P. Polk, Emily Coke, William Coke, Charles Rogers, John Buchan, Mary Emma Cabaniss, Joseph Borrows and Sarah Borrows.[5][6] Reverend Sampson White, who was also instrumental in the establishing of the Abyssinian Baptist Church of New York City, served as the first pastor of the newly formed church.[6]

The congregation eventually purchased property on the southwest corner of 19th and I Streets, N.W. The first structure was erected on the site and incorporated as the Baptist Church of Christ in Washington.[6] Soon after its founding, the church was admitted to the Philadelphia Baptist Association in October 1840. From 1839 to 1882, the church experienced rapid development including the organization of a Board of Deacons, a Board of Trustees, the Missionary Society, the Christian Mite Society, the Senior Choir, the Sunday School and the formulation of the church's Rules of Decorum.[7] In 1867, the American Baptist Home Mission Society used the basement of the church to offer courses to freedmen interested in entering the Baptist ministry. The program would eventually become the wayland Seminary.[8] On November 16, 1870 the church received its charter and was incorporated as the Nineteenth Street Baptist Church. A new edifice would be erected in 1871 and serve as the worship site for over a century.

Leadership

The Nineteenth Street Baptist Church's history includes a number of pastors since its inception in 1839; however, the church's sustained leadership, which has included only three pastors over the last 130 years, has contributed to its growth and notoriety among African American communities.

Walter Henderson Brooks

On November 12, 1882, Reverend Dr. Walter Henderson Brooks was installed as the pastor of Nineteenth Street Baptist Church. Under Brooks' pastorate, which spanned over sixty years, the church membership grew to over 3,500[3] and attracted leaders of the African American community.[7] The church became one of the nation's leading Baptist congregations and wielded considerable influence.[4]

Pastor of Nineteenth Street Baptist Church from 1882-1945

Walter Henderson Brooks had already established a reputation as an advocate for education, racial equality, and temperance.[4] Born a slave in Virginia and freed at the end of the Civil War, Brooks graduated from Lincoln University (Pennsylvania) where he studied with fellow contemporaries, Archibald and Francis Grimke'.[5] Brooks' wife, Eva Holmes Brooks, was the daughter of Reverend James H. Holmes who served as pastor of the renowned First African Baptist Church of Richmond, Virginia.[9] Brooks advocated for the inclusion of liberal arts courses within the curricula of black Baptist colleges, like those found at Howard and Fisk universities.[10] Brooks was among the black ministers and churchwomen who called for the inclusion of writings by black theologians within the American Baptist Publication Society's literature. In addition to influencing the establishment of both the National Baptist Publishing Board and the National Baptist Convention, U.S.A., Walter Henderson Brooks also served as vice-president of the Bethel Literary and Historical Society under John W. Cromwell and was a member of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History.[4] He also received honorary Doctorates of Divinity from Howard University, Roger Williams University in Nashville, Tennessee, and the State University in Louisville, Kentucky.

During Brooks' tenure, the church played host to prominent historical events including the First Annual Convention of the National Federation of Afro-American Women during which the National Association of Colored Women was founded on July 21, 1896.[9][10] In 1915, black Civil War veterans of the Union Army met at the church to both commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the war’s end and organize a “colored citizens’ committee” to build a monument to honor black achievement. The meeting would be credited with serving as the catalyst for the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture. [11] [12] The church's membership included Brooks' daughter, Julia Evangeline Brooks who served as assistant principal and dean of girls at Washington's famed Paul Laurence Dunbar High School. She was also one of the incorporators of the nation's first black sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Noted Washington, D.C. clubwoman, educator, and suffragist, Nannie Helen Burroughs, as well as founder of the Manassas Industrial School for Colored Youth, Jennie Serepta Dean were both members during this time.[4][10][13] Charles R. Drew, renowned physician, surgeon, and medical researcher who was recognized as the authority on the preparation and preservation of blood plasma, also attended the church under Brooks' pastorate. Nineteenth Street Baptist also counted prominent black families in the district among its membership. These family names included Syphax, Parker and Pierre.[14] William P. Pierre, Albert Parker, and William Syphax, who was the first president of the board of trustees of the colored schools of Washington and Georgetown, all served as deacons during Brooks' pastorate.[3] Brooks' leadership and social advocacy ushered Nineteenth Street Baptist Church into an era of prominence and activism among African American elites that continued well after his death in 1945.

Jerry A. Moore, Jr.

In 1946, after the death of Walter Henderson Brooks, Reverend Dr. Jerry A. Moore, Jr. became the pastor of Nineteenth Street Baptist Church. Moore, who had previously served as Brooks' pastoral assistant and student at Howard University's School of Divinity, received a B.A. from Morehouse College in 1940 and B.S. degree from Howard University.[15] He later received an M.A. in 1957 from Howard University. Like his predecessor, Jerry A. Moore, Jr. was active within the life of the Washington, D.C. community. From 1974-1984, Moore served as a member-at-large on Washington, D.C.'s City Council. He also co-founded the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO) in 1971. Jerry A. Moore was also nominated to be the United States Ambassador to Lesotho,.[7][15] Moore's wife, Dr. Ettyce Hill Moore, served as a teacher, principal and executive administrator within the District of Columbia Public Schools system. She was also a professor at both Trinity College and Howard University.

Under Jerry A. Moore, Jr. Nineteenth Street Baptist Church grew to include several programs and services including the Weekly Bulletin (1945), The Church News (1962-66), and The Epistle (1977–present). He also created youth focused programs such as the Youth Church, Camp Mo-Tyce, vacation Bible School and scholarship and awards programs to encourage youth attendance.[7] He also oversaw the establishment of Noonday Lenten Services which initially focused on federal workers but now draws a number of older adults.[16] With the development of youth focused programs and expanding the outreach efforts of the church through the Radio-ministry, the Food Pantry and Homeless ministries, Moore's tenure focused on maintaining and strengthening the vitality of the church.

During this time, many of Nineteenth Street Baptist's parishioners had left the inner city neighborhood where the church had been located for 135 years. The church purchased the B'nai Israel Jewish Synagogue located along Washington, D.C.'s Gold Coast and on January 26, 1975, Jerry A. Moore, Jr. lead the church in its move from 19th and I Streets to its present location at 4606 16th Street, Northwest.[5] Moore served as pastor of Nineteenth Street Baptist Church for over 50 years, retiring in 1996 and serving as interim pastor until 1997.

Derrick Harkins

On July 25, 1997, the church elected Reverend Dr. Derrick Harkins as Pastor-Elect. He preached his first sermon at Nineteenth Street Baptist Church on August 31, 1997.[7] Harkins, who received his B.S. from Boston University, a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary of New York, and a Doctorate from United Seminary, was the senior pastor at New Hope Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas and had served as assistant minister at the Abyssinian Baptist Church in New York.[6] He is married to Juli Anne Davis Harkins.

In the tradition of Nineteenth Street Baptist's previous pastors, during his psatorate, Derrick Harkins was involved in social activism at both the local and national levels. He was advocate for immigration reform and addressed issues around racially motivated violence. Harkins also served as National Director of Faith Outreach for the Democratic National Committee. In that position, Harkins was responsible for all aspects of engaging the faith community.[17] During his tenure, Nineteenth Street Baptist Church hosted President Barack Obama and his family twice during its Sunday service,.[18][19] Under the leadership of Rev. Dr. Derrick Harkins, Nineteenth Street Baptist Church has continued to build and expand its mission. From extending the church's missionary work to Burkina Faso to the establishment of new and more contemporary ministries, Nineteenth Street Baptist Church remained influential within the Washington, D.C. community. On February, 18, 2015, Dr. Harkins announced that after 17 years, he would step down as pastor of Nineteenth Street Baptist Church to take the position of Senior Vice President for Innovations in Public Programming at Union Theological Seminary in New York. He preached his last sermon as senior pastor of Nineteenth Street Baptist Church on Sunday, April 12, 2015.

The Mother Church

Throughout its history, the Nineteenth Street Baptist Church has produced several other prominent congregations.[3][7] They include, Second Baptist Church, which was originally named the Second Colored Baptist Church of Washington, D.C. (1848),[20] Third Baptist Church (1857), Metropolitan Baptist Church, which was originally named Fourth Baptist Church (1864),[3] Vermont Avenue Baptist, which was originally named the Fifth Baptist Church of Washington, D.C. (1866),[21] Salem Baptist Church (1874)[22] and Berean Baptist Church (1877).[3]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.jhsgw.org/exhibitions/online/goldberg/photographs/bnai-israel-congregation
  2. ↑ Washington Itself: An Informal Guide to the Capital of the United States By E. J. Applewhite, 1993.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 http://docsouth.unc.edu/church/cromwell/cromwell.html
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Moore, Jacqueline (1999)Leading the race: The transformation of the black elite in the nations capital 1880-1920, University Press of Virginia ISBN 0813919037
  5. 1 2 3 4 Fitzpatrick, Sandra & Goodwin, Maria (1993)The Guide to Black Washington, Hippocrene Books, Inc. ISBN 0870528327
  6. 1 2 3 4 http://everyblessing.org/about-us/
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Dozier, Lois (2009) A history worth repeating: One hundred and seventieth anniversary of Nineteenth Street Baptist Church
  8. ↑ Logan, Rayford (1968) Howard University: The first hundred years 1867-1967, New York University Press, ISBN 0814702635
  9. 1 2 Collier-Thomas, Bettye (2010) Jesus, jobs, and justice: African-American women and religion, Alfred A. Knopf ISBN 9781400044207
  10. 1 2 3 Higginbotham, Evelyn Brooks (1993) Righteous discontent: The women's movement in the black Baptist church 1880-1920, Harvard University Press ISBN 0674769783
  11. ↑ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2016/09/24/we-did-it-read-john-lewiss-emotional-speech-at-the-african-american-museum-opening/
  12. ↑ http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/08/29/analyzing-the-national-museum-of-african-american-history-and-culture
  13. ↑ van Zelm, Antoinette G. "Jennie Serepta Dean (1848–1913)". Encyclopedia Virginia/Dictionary of Virginia Biography. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  14. ↑ Gatewood, Willard (1990) Aristocrats of color: The black elite 1880-1920 Indiana University Press ISBN 0253325528
  15. 1 2 http://www.thehistorymakers.com/biography/rev-jerry-moore-41
  16. ↑ http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/at-nineteenth-street-baptist-church-lent-is-part-of-a-long-tradition/2014/04/11/d0474896-b5b9-11e3-8cb6-284052554d74_story.html
  17. ↑ http://religionandpolitics.org/2012/09/06/derrick-harkins-the-pastor-behind-the-democratic-partys-faith-outreach/
  18. ↑ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/18/AR2009011800786.html
  19. ↑ http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obamas-attend-easter-services-at-nineteenth-street-baptist-church/2014/04/20/ac78ef9e-c899-11e3-95f7-7ecdde72d2ea_story.html
  20. ↑ http://www.secondbaptistchurchdc.org/churchhistory
  21. ↑ http://www.vabc.org/history.html
  22. ↑ http://salembaptistchurchdc.org/about-us/
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