Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church

Last updated

Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church
Metropolitan A.M.E. Church (Washington, D.C.).jpg
Metropolitan AME Church in 2020
Location map Washington, D.C. central.png
Red pog.svg
USA District of Columbia location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location1518 M Street, N.W., Washington, D.C.
Coordinates 38°54′19″N77°2′9″W / 38.90528°N 77.03583°W / 38.90528; -77.03583
Area0.3 acres (0.12 ha)
Built1886
ArchitectSamuel G. T. Morsell
Architectural style Gothic Revival
NRHP reference No. 73002102 [1]
Added to NRHPJuly 26, 1973

Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church ("Metropolitan AME Church") is a historic church located at 1518 M Street, N.W., in downtown Washington, D.C. It affiliates with the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

Contents

History

The congregation was founded in 1838, as Union Bethel (Metropolitan) A. M. E. Church. In 1880, John W. Stevenson was appointed by Bishop Daniel Payne to be pastor of the church for the purpose of building a new church, which would become Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church. The cornerstone was laid in September, 1881. However, Stevenson's methods were upsetting to some of his congregation, and Stevenson was removed before the building was finished [2] after asking for a salary that was deemed too high. [3] The new building was dedicated on May 30, 1886 [4] and was constructed by architect George Dearing. [5] According to the church, it is the oldest continuously black-owned property in the original 10-mile-square parcel of the District. [6] The funerals of abolitionist Frederick Douglass (1895) and civil-rights activist Rosa Parks (2005) were held in the church. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. In May 2010, the National Trust for Historic Preservation added the building to its list of 11 of America's Most Endangered Places due to water damage and other structural problems requiring $11 million in renovations. [6]

President Barack Obama attended services here on Sunday, January 20, 2013, before his second inauguration. [7]

A Black Lives Matter banner was stolen from the church and burned during a pro-Trump march on December 12, 2020. [8] Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio was later arrested by Washington, D.C. police and charged with one count of destruction of property, a misdemeanor offense. [9] [10] On January 4, 2021, the church filed a lawsuit against both Proud Boys International, LLC, and Tarrio; neither responded and the church sought default judgment against both. [11] [12] [13] In June, 2023, District of Columbia Superior Court Judge Neal E. Kravitz imposed civil penalties of over $1 million on the Proud Boys and four of its members, Tarrio, Joe Biggs, Jeremy Bertino and John Turano. Kravitz said that the four men had engaged in "hateful and overtly racist conduct". [14]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">African Methodist Episcopal Church</span> Predominantly African American Protestant denomination

The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a Methodist denomination based in the United States. It adheres to Wesleyan–Arminian theology and has a connexional polity. It cooperates with other Methodist bodies through the World Methodist Council and Wesleyan Holiness Connection.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Imani Temple African-American Catholic Congregation</span> Founded 1989 by George Augustus Stallings, Jr.

The African-American Catholic Congregation and its Imani Temples are an Independent Catholic church founded by Archbishop George Augustus Stallings, Jr., an Afrocentrist and former Roman Catholic priest, in Washington, D.C. Stallings left the Roman Catholic Church in 1989 and was excommunicated in 1990. In 2014, the church decided to relocate to nearby Prince George's County, Maryland; their current headquarters are located in Hillcrest Heights, Maryland.

The Metropolitan Baptist Church is a Baptist church founded in 1864 at 1200 Mercantile Lane in Largo, Maryland, U.S..

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asbury United Methodist Church (Washington, D.C.)</span> Historic church in Washington, D.C., United States

Asbury United Methodist Church, founded in 1836 as Asbury Chapel, is the oldest black United Methodist church in Washington, D.C.

The Reid Temple A.M.E. Church is an African Methodist Episcopal megachurch located in Glenn Dale, Maryland, USA to the northeast of Washington, DC. In 2008, Outreach Magazine reported that attendance was 7,500, making it the 88th largest church in the US at that time. Reid Temple is located in Glenn Dale, Maryland with a membership of well over 9,000 persons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern High School (Washington, D.C.)</span> Public high school in Washington, D.C., United States

Eastern High School is a public high school in Washington, D.C. The school is located on the eastern edge of the Capitol Hill neighborhood, at the intersection of 17th Street and East Capital Street Northeast. Eastern was a part of the District of Columbia Public Schools restructuring project, reopening in 2011 to incoming first-year students and growing by a grade level each year. It graduated its first class in 2015. In addition, Eastern was designated an International Baccalaureate school in 2013 and awarded its first IB diploma in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nineteenth Street Baptist Church (Washington, D.C.)</span> Church in Washington. D.C

The Nineteenth Street Baptist Church, located on 16th Street, NW, is considered to be the first and oldest Baptist, black 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church</span> Historic church in South Carolina, United States

Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, colloquially Mother Emanuel, is a church in Charleston, South Carolina, founded in 1817. It is the oldest AME church in the Southern United States; founded the previous year in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, AME was the first independent black denomination in the nation. Mother Emanuel has one of the oldest black congregations south of Baltimore.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Proud Boys</span> North American neo-fascist organization since 2016

The Proud Boys is a North American far-right, neo-fascist militant organization that promotes and engages in political violence. The group's leaders have been convicted of violently opposing the federal government of the United States, including its constitutionally prescribed transfer of presidential power. It has been called a street gang and was designated as a terrorist group in Canada and New Zealand. The Proud Boys are opposed to left-wing and progressive groups and support Donald Trump, the former president of the United States and current President-elect of the United States. While Proud Boys leadership has denied being a white supremacist organization, the group and some of its members have been connected to white supremacist events, ideologies, and other white-power groups throughout its existence.

John W. Stevenson was an African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church minister. He was the financier and builder of the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church in Washington, DC, which was the largest black church in the country at the time of its building. He was a talented fundraiser and built a number of other churches and was pastor of many churches in Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, and New England. He was an important figure in the church and eventually held the position of presiding Elder of the New York district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holy Rosary Catholic Church (Washington, D.C.)</span> Church in D.C., United States

Holy Rosary was established in 1913 as a parish located in the Northwest-East Deanery of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington in an area known as Swampoodle. The parish is administered by the Scalabrinian Fathers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Enrique Tarrio</span> American far-right activist (born August 3, 1984)

Henry "Enrique" Tarrio is an American convicted seditionist and far-right activist. From 2018 to 2021, he was the chairman of the Proud Boys, a neo-fascist organization that promotes and engages in political violence in the United States. Along with three other Proud Boys leaders, Tarrio was convicted in May 2023 of seditious conspiracy for his role in the 2021 United States Capitol attack. In September 2023, Tarrio was sentenced to 22 years in prison.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Biggs</span> American felon and former Proud Boys organizer (born 1980s)

Joseph Randall Biggs is an American veteran, media personality, organizer of the Proud Boys, and convicted felon for his participation in the January 6 United States Capitol attack.

John Turano, also known as Based Spartan, has been described as an "icon of the alt-right 'Patriot' movement, who was known for brawling with Antifa protesters in the early days of the Trump administration in 2017. In 2018, Turano briefly left the far right movement.

Since its foundation in 2016, members of the Proud Boys, a far-right, neo-fascist, and exclusively male organization, have been involved in a number controversial and violent events. This list contains a number of those events, some of which have resulted in criminal charges being filed against participants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Singleton T. Jones</span> 19th century African Methodist religious leader

Bishop Singleton T. Jones was a religious leader in the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. Although he had little education, Jones taught himself to be an articulate orator and was awarded the position of bishop within the church. Besides being a pastor to churches, he also edited AME Zion publications, the Zion's Standard and Weekly Review and the Discipline.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Israel Metropolitan Christian Methodist Episcopal Church</span> Church in D.C., United States

Israel Metropolitan Christian Methodist Episcopal Church is a Christian Methodist Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C. It was the first independent African American church of the city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First African Methodist Episcopal Church</span> Church in Athens, Georgia, USA

The First African Methodist Episcopal Church, formerly known as Pierce’s Chapel, is an AME church established in 1866 by Rev. Henry McNeal Turner, and located at 521 North Hull Street in Athens, Georgia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeremy Bertino</span> American former Proud Boys leader

Jeremy Bertino is an American former member of the Proud Boys who testified against Enrique Tarrio during his trial for seditious conspiracy for his role in the 2021 United States Capitol attack. Bertino was the first Proud Boys member to plead guilty to the same charge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Washington Metropolitan A.M.E. Zion Church</span> Church in St. Louis, Missouri, US

Washington Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church is a religious organization and historic church building in St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.. The building originally housed the United Methodist Episcopal Church. It is one of the few surviving examples of Gothic Revival churches in St. Louis. It has been listed as one of the National Register of Historic Places since 2005, for the architecture.

References

  1. ↑ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. ↑ Cromwell, John W. "The First Negro Churches in the District of Columbia." The Journal of Negro History 7, no. 1 (1922): p73-75
  3. ↑ Pastor Stevenson's Scalp, The Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Brooklyn, New York) June 1, 1888, page 1, accessed December 9, 2016 at https://www.newspapers.com/clip/7789148/pastor_stevensons_scalp_the_brooklyn/
  4. ↑ Simmons, William J., and Henry McNeal Turner. Men of Mark: Eminent, Progressive and Rising. GM Rewell & Company, 1887. p820-828
  5. ↑ "Metropolitan AME Church". nps.gov. Retrieved July 7, 2016.
  6. 1 2 Ruane, Michael E. (May 19, 2010). "Historic D.C. church lands on most-endangered list". The Washington Post. p. B01. Retrieved May 20, 2010.
  7. ↑ Harris, Hamil R. (January 20, 2013). "Obamas attend church prior to White House swearing-in". The Washington Post . Image credits: Hamil Harris/TWP. Washington DC: WPC. ISSN   0190-8286. OCLC   464372658 . Retrieved May 14, 2014.
  8. ↑ Hermann, Peter (December 18, 2020). "Proud Boys leader says he burned Black Lives Matter banner stolen from church during demonstrations in D.C." The Washington Post . ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  9. ↑ Hermann, Peter; Weil, Martin (January 4, 2021). "Proud Boys leader arrested in the burning of Black Lives Matter banner, D.C. police say". The Washington Post . ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  10. ↑ Lambert, Evan (January 4, 2021). "Proud Boys' leader Enrique Tarrio arrested in DC, police say". Fox 5 DC. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  11. ↑ The case is numbered 2021 CA 000004 B and is on the D.C. Superior Court's Civil II calendar which may be searched at https://eaccess.dccourts.gov/eaccess/.
  12. ↑ "DC church suing Proud Boys over Black Lives Matter sign vandalism". Fox 5 DC. January 4, 2020. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  13. ↑ "Protesters Ripped, Set Fire to BLM Signs at DC Churches, Organizers Respond". NBC 5 Washington. January 4, 2020. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  14. ↑ Campbell, Josh (July 1, 2023). "Proud Boys members ordered to pay over $1 million in 'hateful and overtly racist' church destruction civil suit". CNN . Retrieved July 1, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.