Harlem Civil Rights Virtual Tour

12. Friendship Baptist Church

New York, NY

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Friendship Baptist Church, located at 144-146 West 131st Street, was actively involved in mobilizing its membership to support the fight for civil rights. This Romanesque Revival style structure was designed by William J. Merritt, built in 1883, and was home to several outstanding religious institutions. From 1883, it was home to the Baptist Church of the Redeemer. In 1907, it was sold to the Congregation Anshe Emeth of West Harlem. In 1916, the Congregation sold it to the Greater New York Corporation of Seventh Day Adventist. Founded in 1905, the First Harlem Seventh Day Adventist Church was the first African-American Seventh Day Adventist Church in New York. James K. Humphreys was their pastor at this location from 1916 until 1936 when the building was sold to the Friendship Baptist Church. Founded by Rev. Dr. John Iverson Mumford, the church has provided for the psychical, spiritual, social, and cultural needs of its community, and continues to own and hold services in the building. The church was under the leadership of Dr. Thomas Kilgore, Jr. from 1947 to 1963, who was an associate of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in the 1950s and 1960s, worked closely with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was the eastern representative to the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), and the Vice-president of the New York City chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Because of Dr. Kilgore, Jr.’s association with the NAACP, many of the members of the church were active in the New York City chapter of the NAACP as well. On July 3, 1955, Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave a sermon at Friendship Baptist Church. The church was a strong supporter of the March on Washington, offering their space to help organize food and supplies for the New York City members of the March. Rev. Kilgore was a primary organizer of the Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom to Washington in 1957 and helped the New York City efforts for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963. The congregation participated in the March, organized fundraisers, worked with residents in the neighborhood, and provided literature, campaign posters, and refreshments for the several Harlem community groups going to the March.