Wheat Street Baptist Church

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Wheat Street Baptist Church
Baptist
Websitewww.wearewheatstreet.org
History
Founded1869
Architecture
CompletedAugust 1921

Wheat Street Baptist Church is a historic

Civil Rights Movement, especially under the leadership of William Holmes Borders
, who served as pastor of the church from 1937 to 1988.

History

The church was founded in 1869 by members of First Baptist Church in

bush arbor.[1][2] Andrew Jackson would serve as the church's first pastor, a position he would hold until 1874.[3] The church would relocate several times before moving to its present location on Auburn Avenue (at the time known as Wheat Street, hence the present name).[2][4] In 1881, the church played a role in the Atlanta washerwomen strike, as a meeting of over 500 strikers was held in the church.[5] In 1894, the Butler Street YMCA was formed in the basement of the church building.[3][6] From 1898 to 1928, P. James Bryant served as the church's pastor.[3]

The current building was built in August 1921 after the previous building was destroyed in the Great Atlanta fire of 1917.[1] In 1932, Wheat Street hosted a meeting of the NAACP.[7] In 1937, William Holmes Borders became the church pastor, a position he would hold until 1988.[1] Borders would become a prominent activist in the civil rights movement, influencing a young Martin Luther King Jr. King would often attend sermons held by Borders, and Borders's wife had been King's English teacher.[7]

Wheat Street is notable for its community outreach programs. On March 7, 1956, it became one of the first churches in the United States, and the first

federal credit union.[1][8][9] The church also maintains a charitable foundation and housing ministry, and in 1999 held over $33 million worth of real estate, making it one of the richest black churches in the United States.[1][10]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Schott-Bresler 2014.
  2. ^ a b Smith & Harris 2005, p. 10.
  3. ^ a b c "Our Story". Wheat Street Baptist Church. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  4. ^ Tillery 2006, p. xxii.
  5. ^ Hunter 2007, p. 135.
  6. ^ "A home in Atlanta, the Butler YMCA". African American Registry. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  7. ^ a b Baldwin 2010, p. 32.
  8. ^ Billingsley 1999, pp. 162–163.
  9. ^ Du Bois & Pollard III 2011, p. xxvi.
  10. ^ Billingsley 1999, p. 162.

Bibliography

External links
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