Celebrating Black History Month – Week 2
First African Presbyterian Church – the First Black Presbyterian Congregation in the United States
Did you know that the first Black Presbyterian congregation in the United States was in nearby Philadelphia?
Thanks to the New River Presbyterian Church and its many predecessor churches, as well as the preservation efforts of the Presbyterian Historical Society, we can now celebrate the First African Presbyterian Church, the mother congregation of Black Presbyterianism.
First African was organized in 1807 by John Gloucester, who was born into slavery in 1776. He was freed by a Presbyterian missionary and moved to Philadelphia in 1807 where he began his preaching ministry. The congregation outgrew the house church where it began, and in May 1811 the First African Presbyterian Church was dedicated on the corner of 7th and Shippen (now Bainbridge) Streets.
Among its many pastors over the centuries was Sudor Q. Mitchell, the first African American to serve as a member of the Board of Foreign Missions, and Kermit Overton who would serve as president of the National Black Caucus. Throughout its history, dozens of famous Philadelphians have worshipped there including Underground Railroad conductor William Still, early civil rights activist Octavius Catto, abolitionist Samuel Cornish, and Tuskegee Airman Donald Harris.
Over the centuries, First African Presbyterian Church made its home in a number of places, including (clockwise starting at top left) 7th and Shippen [islandora:5103], 17th and Fitzwater [islandora:6017], Tabor Church at 18th and Christian [islandora:5989], and the current building at 42nd and Girard [islandora:5646].
The people of First African were deeply engaged in global and local struggles, Members organized the First African Housing Development Corporation in 1968 for the purpose of acquiring abandoned properties from absentee landlords.
Elizabeth Nolan, longtime elder, deacon, and trustee was active in global and local movements. This includes her arrest in 1989, at age 71, as she protested against the apartheid government of South Africa. Ms. Nolan is credited with preserving much of the First African’s history.
In 2019, First African joined two West Philadelphia congregations, Calvin and Good Shepherd, to form New River Presbyterian Church, still housed at 42nd Street and Girard Avenue.
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The complete article, written by Records Archivist David Staniunas, and access to photographs and other material can be found at the Presbyterian Historical Society and its Pearl Digital Collection
