Emancipation Oak is a historic tree on the campus of Hampton University in what is now the City of Hampton, Virginia in the United States. The large sprawling southern live oak, which is believed to be over 200 years old, is 98 feet in diameter, with branches which extend upward as well as laterally. It is designated one of the 10 Great Trees of the World by the National Geographic Society and is part of the National Historic Landmark district of Hampton University.
Mary Smith Peake, born Mary Smith Kelsey, was an American teacher, humanitarian and a member of the black elite in Hampton, best known for starting a school for the children of former slaves starting in the fall of 1861 under what became known as the Emancipation Oak tree in present-day Hampton, Virginia near Fort Monroe. The first teacher hired by the American Missionary Association, she was also associated with its later founding of Hampton University in 1868.
The 16th Street Baptist Church is a Baptist church in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. In 1963, the church was bombed by Ku Klux Klan members. The bombing killed four young girls in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement. The church is still in operation and is a central landmark in the Birmingham Civil Rights District. It was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 2006. Since 2008, it has also been on the UNESCO list of tentative World Heritage Sites.
The Grand Contraband Camp was located in Elizabeth City County, Virginia, on the Virginia Peninsula near Fort Monroe, during and immediately after the American Civil War. The area was a refuge for escaped slaves who the Union forces refused to return to their former Confederate masters, by defining them as "contraband of war". The Grand Contraband Camp was the first self-contained black community in the United States and occupied the area of the downtown section of the present-day independent city of Hampton, Virginia.
Alfred Street Baptist Church's is a Baptist church in Alexandria, Virginia, United States. It is affiliated with the National Baptist Convention, USA.
Gillfield Baptist Church is the second-oldest black Baptist congregation in Petersburg, Virginia and one of the oldest in the nation. It has the oldest handwritten record book of any black church. It was organized in 1797 as a separate, integrated congregation. In 1818 it built its first church at its current lot on Perry Street.
Historic First Bryan Baptist Church is an African-American church that was organized in Savannah, Georgia, by Andrew Bryan in 1788. Considered to be the Mother Church of Black Baptist, the site was purchased in 1793 by Bryan, a former slave who had also purchased his freedom. The first structure was erected there in 1794. By 1800 the congregation was large enough to split: those at Bryan Street took the name of First African Baptist Church, and Second and Third African Baptist churches were also established. The current sanctuary of First Bryan Baptist Church was constructed in 1873.
The Old Presbyterian Meeting House is a Christian church located at located at 321 South Fairfax Street in the Old Town neighborhood of Alexandria, Virginia. It is part of the National Capital Presbytery and the Synod of the Mid-Atlantic of the Presbyterian Church (USA).
First African Baptist Church is a Baptist church at 264-272 E. Short Street in Lexington, Kentucky. The congregation was founded c. 1790 by Peter Durrett and his wife, slaves who came to Kentucky with their master, Rev. Joseph Craig, in 1781 with "The Travelling Church" of Baptists from Spotsylvania, Virginia.
The Contrabands and Freedmen Cemetery at 1001 S. Washington St. in Alexandria, Virginia was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 15, 2012. It was established in February 1864 by the Union military commander of the Alexandria District for use as a cemetery for the burial of African Americans who had escaped slavery, known as contrabands and freedmen. During early Reconstruction, it was operated by the Freedmen's Bureau. It was closed in late 1868, after Congress ended most operations of the Bureau. The last recorded burial was made in January 1869.
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. Since its founding in 1839, the church has figured prominently within the historical and social fabric of Washington, D.C.'s African American community.
Beulah Normal and Theological Institute was the first Black school for educating teachers and preachers during the American Civil War and Reconstruction. It was founded in 1862 in Alexandria, Virginia by an African American preacher, Rev. Clem Robinson, as an upper division of the "The First Select Colored School," in that city. This effort preceded any other Black theological or Normal school in the Reconstruction period.
Saint Joseph Catholic Church is a predominantly Black Catholic church located at 711 N. Columbus St in historic Old Town Alexandria, Virginia. It was founded in 1916 to provide African-American parishioners of the local St. Mary's Roman Catholic Parish with their own church, freed from the customary restrictions segregation imposed on them.
Roberts Memorial United Methodist Church is the second oldest Black congregation in Alexandria, Virginia. Founded in 1834 and originally known as Davis Chapel, it has served a mostly Black community for almost two centuries. It is a member of the United Methodist Church.
John R. Anderson, also known as J. Richard Anderson, was an American minister from St. Louis, Missouri, who fought against slavery and for education for African Americans. As a boy, he was an indentured servant, who attained his freedom at the age of 12. Anderson worked as a typesetter for the Missouri Republican and for Elijah Parish Lovejoy's anti-slavery newspaper, the Alton Observer. He founded the Antioch Baptist Church in Brooklyn, Illinois and then returned to St. Louis where he was a co-founder and the second pastor of the Central Baptist Church. He served the church until his death in 1863.
Rev. Dr. Robert Simon Laws, a formerly enslaved person and Howard University graduate, founded two African American Baptist churches in the 19th century that have active congregations in the 21st century.
Meade Memorial Episcopal Church is a predominantly Black Episcopal Church in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia. Founded in 1870, the church today is supported by a congregation that includes descendants of the original founders of this parish. Meade Memorial belongs to the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia, whose members continue to serve the community and the Episcopal Church by participating in regional and Diocesan activities.
Shiloh Baptist Church is a predominantly Black Baptist Church at 1401 Duke Street in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia. At the time of its dedication in 1893, the historic building had a great bell tower, eight stained glass windows, modern circular oak pews, and a large reflector with glass prisms. While this historic building continues to be used as a youth center, the church has expanded to a large new sanctuary across Duke Street.
Mount Zion Baptist Church, established in 1866, is the oldest African American church in Arlington, Virginia. The church is a member of the National Baptist Convention USA and the Progressive National Baptist Convention.
