| Mount Zion Baptist Church | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Baptist Christian |
| Location | |
| Location | Athens, Ohio, United States |
| Architecture | |
| Groundbreaking | November 12, 1905 |
| Completed | 1909 |
The Mount Zion Baptist Church is a Baptist church in Athens, Ohio, which was frequently used as a meeting place for the Black community from its inception in 1905 until the 1990s. [1] In 1980, the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Mount Zion Baptist Church has been more than a place of worship; it has been a cornerstone for the Black community's spiritual solace and social connection. At its public groundbreaking ceremony on November 12, 1905, copies of Black Ohio newspapers were placed within its cornerstone, emphasizing the church's mission to amplify the perspectives and accomplishments of Black Americans. Throughout the 20th century, Mount Zion served as a vital education hub, offering Bible classes and choir rehearsals as spaces free of cultural prejudice and racial discrimination. These activities provided opportunities for Black congregants to develop, hone, and expand their thought, speech, and voice. [2]
The black church is the faith and body of Christian denominations and congregations in the United States that minister predominantly to, and are led by, African Americans, as well as these churches collective traditions and members. The term "black church" may also refer to individual congregations, including in traditionally white-led denominations.
Samuel M. Plato (1882–1957) was an American architect and building contractor who is noted for his work on federal housing projects and U.S. post offices, as well as designing and building other structures in the United States such as private homes, banks, churches, and schools. During World War II, the Alabama native was one of the few African-American contractors in the country to be awarded wartime building contracts, which included Wake and Midway Halls. He also received contracts to build at least thirty-eight U.S. post offices across the country.
The Mount Zion Memorial Fund is a non-profit corporation formed in 1989 and named after the Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Morgan City, Mississippi, United States. The fund was organized by Raymond 'Skip' Henderson, a former social worker turned vintage guitar dealer and event promoter, in order to create a legal conduit to get financial support to rural African-American church communities in Mississippi, and to memorialize the contributions of numerous musicians interred in rural cemeteries without grave markers. For work with the Mount Zion Memorial Fund, Henderson received the W.C. Handy Award for historic preservation "Keeping the Blues Alive" in May 1995.
The Goodwin Memorial African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church is a historic church on Woodside Avenue in Amherst, Massachusetts. It is a member of the National African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church denomination, which is historically African American and began in the United States. The history of the Goodwin Memorial African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Zion Church in Amherst, Massachusetts is an important part of the broader context of African American history. The A.M.E. Zion denomination was created in conjunction with growing African American identities. Locally, the Goodwin Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church is one of the few physical structures that speaks to the rich African American history and heritage in the town of Amherst and surrounding areas.
Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church is a historic African Methodist Episcopal Church in Springtown, New Jersey, United States. The church was part of two free negro communities, Othello and Springtown, established by local Quaker families, like the Van Leer Family. The congregation was established in 1810 in Greenwich Township as the African Methodist Society and joined the African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1817. A previous church building was burned down in the 1830s in an arson incident and the current structure was built between 1838 and 1841.
Second Baptist Church is a historic church building in the village of Mechanicsburg, Ohio, United States. Constructed in the mid-19th century, it is the oldest church in the village, and it has been named a historic site.
Immaculate Conception Catholic Church is a parish of the Roman Catholic Church in Celina, Ohio, United States. Founded later than many other Catholic parishes in the heavily Catholic region of western Ohio, it owns a complex of buildings constructed in the early 20th century that have been designated historic sites because of their architecture. Leading among them is its massive church, built in the Romanesque Revival style just 43 years after the first Catholic moved into the city: it has been called northwestern Ohio's grandest church building.
Mount Zion Cemetery/Female Union Band Society Cemetery is a historic cemetery located at 27th Street NW and Mill Road NW in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C., in the United States. The cemetery is actually two adjoining burial grounds: the Mount Zion Cemetery and Female Union Band Society Cemetery. Together these cemeteries occupy approximately three and a half acres of land. The property fronts Mill Road NW and overlooks Rock Creek Park to the rear. Mount Zion Cemetery, positioned to the East, is approximately 67,300 square feet in area; the Female Union Band Cemetery, situated to the West, contains approximately 66,500 square feet. Mount Zion Cemetery, founded in 1808 as The Old Methodist Burial Ground, was leased property later sold to Mount Zion United Methodist Church. Although the cemetery buried both White and Black persons since its inception, it served an almost exclusively African American population after 1849. In 1842, the Female Union Band Society purchased the western lot to establish a secular burying ground for African Americans. Both cemeteries were abandoned by 1950.
Mount Zion Baptist Church is a historically significant church in the Greenwood District of Tulsa, Oklahoma. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 5, 2008. The original building was burned during the Tulsa race massacre on June 1, 1921. According to the Tulsa Preservation Commission, "... Mount Zion Baptist Church remains a testimony to the perseverance and tenacity of its congregants and the black community in Greenwood." The church building was rebuilt in 1952 on its original site.
Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church is a historic church at 409 S. Main Street in Brinkley, Arkansas. It is a red brick building with front facing gable roof, and a pair of square towers flanking the main structure. The left tower is slightly taller, an intentional element of the design that was maintained when one tower had to be shortened by removing of its belfry. The towers are joined by a three-bay porch sheltering the building's main entrance. The church was built in 1909 for an African-American congregation established in 1886, and has been a major cultural focus for that community since.
Gospel Pilgrim Cemetery was founded in 1882 as a cemetery for African Americans in the 216th general militia district, Athens, Georgia area. Nine acres in size, it contains an estimated 3,500, mostly unmarked, graves.
The African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund is a program formed in 2017 to aid stewards of Black cultural sites throughout the nation in preserving both physical landmarks, their material collections and associated narratives. It was organized under the auspices of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The initiative which awards grants to select applicants and advocates of Black history has been led by architectural historian Brent Leggs since 2019. It is the largest program in America to preserve places associated with Black history.
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.
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.