Harlem Civil Rights Virtual Tour

1. Canaan Baptist Church of Christ

New York, NY

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Canaan Baptist Church of Christ, located at 132 West 116th Street, was originally built as the Loew’s on 116th Street Theater in 1911 by Henry B. Herts. It was not as extravagant as the Loew’s Bedford in Brooklyn. In 1956, the theater had the honor of hosting the contest of “Miss Exquisite Form,” featuring prizes over $10,000 and Burt Lancaster as a celebrity judge. This theater even boasted of a new air conditioning system in 1958, which was the answer to Harlem’s heatwave. It eventually closed its doors and was purchased by Canaan Baptist Church of Christ, founded in 1932, an offshoot of Mount Moriah Baptist Church. Under the leadership of their second pastor, Rev. Edward M. Moore purchased the former Loew’s theater for $210,000, spent $250,000 on renovations, and walked from their church located on 118th Street to their new house of worship on the fifth Sunday of October 1965. Rev. Wyatt Tee Walker took over the helm of the church in 1967 and was there until 2004. During his tenure, Rev. Walker led the church through the turbulence of the civil rights movement and was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s chief of staff. Rev. Walker and his secretary Willie Pearl Mackey were instrumental in getting the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” together from the bits and pieces of paper given to them by Dr. King’s lawyers. He was extremely active in Harlem as a housing developer and human rights activist, and was known for his advocacy for the poor, needy, disenfranchised, and voiceless people of society. Rev. Walker invited significant civil rights figures to speak at the church, including South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Reverend Jesse Jackson, as well as Dr. King. In October of 1994, the newly elected president of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, made a stop at this church on his tour of the United States.