| Wheat Street Baptist Church | |
|---|---|
 Wheat Street Baptist Church (2020) | |
  Wheat Street Baptist Church  Wheat Street Baptist Church  Wheat Street Baptist Church | |
| 33°45′19″N84°22′32″W / 33.7551682°N 84.3756783°W /33.7551682; -84.3756783 | |
| Denomination | Baptist |
| Website | www |
| History | |
| Founded | 1869 |
| Architecture | |
| Completed | August 1921 |
Wheat Street Baptist Church is a historicblackBaptist church located in theSweet Auburn neighborhood ofAtlanta,Georgia. Founded in 1869, the current building was constructed in 1921 and is located adjacent to theMartin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park. The church is notable for the role it played in theCivil Rights Movement, especially under the leadership ofWilliam Holmes Borders, who served as pastor of the church from 1937 to 1988.
The church was founded in 1869 by members of First Baptist Church inAtlanta (now known as Friendship Baptist Church) who wanted a place of worship closer to where they lived.[1] Seven members foundedMt. Pleasant Baptist Church on Howell Street, originally holding service under abush 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 theAtlanta 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 theGreat Atlanta fire of 1917.[1] In 1932, Wheat Street hosted a meeting of theNAACP.[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 youngMartin 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 firstblack church, to sponsor afederal credit union.[1][8][9] The church also maintains a charitable foundation and housing ministry, and in 1999 held over $33 million worth ofreal estate, making it one of the richest black churches in the United States.[1][10]
Media related toWheat Street Baptist Church at Wikimedia Commons| International | |
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