Montgomery, AL

Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church
DESCRIPTION: The church was founded in 1877 in slave trader's pen; in 1879, the Church’s trustees purchased this lot for $270 on the corner of Dexter Avenue and Decatur Streets; in 1887, the first registration of students for Alabama State University (then the Alabama Colored Peoples University) was held in the lower unit of the church; the Church’s first name, Second Colored Baptist Church, was later changed to Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, when Market Street became Dexter Avenue in honor of Andrew Dexter, founder of the city; in 1978, the name was changed to Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, in memory of its 20th pastor, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who pastoed here from 1954 to 1960 during the epicenter of the civil rights movement in Montgomery; in the basement is Dr King’s original pulpit podium; in 1980, artist and Dexter deacon John W. Feagin, painted a large 10' by 47' mural in the church basement depicting scenes of Dr. King’s leadership in the Civil Rights Movement from Montgomery to Memphis; there are select memorabillia available in the church gift shop
DAYS & HOURS: tours Mon–Fri 10a–4p, Sat 10a-2p; $2 adults, $1 students

SUNDAY WORSHIP: 11a
ADDRESS: 454 Dexter Street  MAP
PHONE: 334-263-3970
WEBSITE: http://www.dexterkingmemorial.org

Holt Street Baptist Church
DESCRIPTION: an estimated 5,000 Montgomery citizens met here on 5 December 1955 to launch the Montgomery Bus Boycott; as such, it played one of the most critical roles ofthe Civil Rights Movement in America; In his speech that night, Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. described the mistreatment of black bus passengers and the civil disobedience of Rosa Parks, and then justified the nonviolent protest by appealing to African-American Christian faith in love and the American democratic tradition of legal protest; following King's address met with applause, Rev. Edgar N. French of the Hilliard Chapel AME Zion Church introduced Rosa Parks and Fred Daniel, a student at Alabama State College who had been arrested that morning on a disorderly conduct charge (later dismissed) for allegedly preventing a woman from getting on a bus; the congregation moved to 1870 South Court Street, while the original church is being renovated
DAYS & HOURS: open for tours by late 2013?
ADDRESS: 903 South Holt Street  MAP
PHONE: 334-263-0522

WEBSITE: coming

Mount Zion AME Zion Church
DESCRIPTION: The Montgomery Improvement Association was formed and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was named its president at this church; during the Selma to Montgomery marches in 1965, marchers rested at the church on their way to the State Capitol, so it is included on the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail; the congregation moved to a new location (455 West Jeff Davis Ave) in 1990, and in 2002, the building was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places; sides of the building are decorated with murals depicting Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, and the Selma to Montgomery marches

DAYS & HOURS: tours are planned once the renovation completes, date TBD
ADDRESS: 467 Holt Street  MAP
PHONE: 334-265-9361

WEBSITE: coming

 

First Baptist Church
DESCRIPTION: Found in 1867 as an alternative to discrimination African-Americans faced at the other First Baptist Church in the city; from 1952 to 1961, the church was led by civil rights activist Rev. Ralph Abernathy -- a good friend of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; John 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 he met Abernathy and Dr. King; on 21 May 21 1961, the church was a refuge for Freedom Riders who were violently met at Montgomery Greyhound Bus Station; filled with 1500 worshipers & activists, the building was besieged by 3000 whites who threatened to burn it with Dr. King, Abernathy, Wyatt Tee Walker, and James Farmer also there; a call was placed to U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy while bricks were thrown through the windows; RFK quickly sent U.S. marshals to keep the mob at bay until later dispersed by the Alabama National Guard; events that day played a crucial part in the desegregation of interstate travel that we take for granted today
ADDRESS: 347 North Ripley Street  MAP
PHONE: 334-264-6921

WEBSITE: coming

Selma, AL

Brown Chapel AME Church & Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial
DESCRIPTION: Brown Chapel was organized by freed men in 1866 after the Civil War; the current edifice by a Black architect A.J. Farley, was built in 1908 and is noted for its imposing twin towers and Romanesque Revival exterior; with its proximity to downtown and Edmond Pettus Bridge, this church was the staging ground for the historic Selma to Montgomery Marches of the Civil Rights Movement; despite a ban on protest marches by Governor George Wallace, the first march led by SCLC's Hosea Williams and SNCC's John Lewis took place on 7 March 1965, known as "Bloody Sunday" -- 600 civil rights marchers were attacked by state and local police with billy clubs and tear gas 6 blocks away on Edmond Pettus Bridge; John Lewis' skull was fractured in the melee as many white onlookers cheered; when national TV programming was interrupted that night to showcase the events, the nation's disapproving eyes finally gazed upon the Selma and other civil rights marches; the second march took place on 9 March 1965 but was halted at the bridge for fear of death -- even though national news cameras were there; on 21 March 1965, after Governor Wallace's ban was overruled by Federal Judge Frank M. Johnson, Jr., only the third march led by Dr. King, Aberbernathy, Hosea Williams, John Lewis, interfaith ministers and a host of celebrities and made it to Montgomery, 51 miles away 5 days later; as the meeting place and offices of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference during the Selma Movement the church played a major role in leading to the adoption of the Voting Rights Act of August 1965; a monument to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was dedicated in front of the chapel in 1979

DAYS & HOURS: tours by appt only

ADDRESS: 410 Martin Luther King, Jr. Street  MAP

PHONE: 334-874-7897

Tabernacle Baptist Church
DESCRIPTION: Established in 1894, this church was the site of the first mass meeting on voting rights in 1964 hosted by Rev. L. L. Anderson, when others were afraid to do so; prior to 1st mass meeting, this was the site of training for non-violent protests; Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and James Baldwin also spoke here

ADDRESS: 1431 Broad Street  MAP

PHONE: 334-874-5443