Dexter Avenue Baptist Church | |
 Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, 2000 | |
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| Location | 454 Dexter Avenue Montgomery, Alabama |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 32°22′38.26″N86°18′10″W / 32.3772944°N 86.30278°W /32.3772944; -86.30278 |
| Built | 1883–89 |
| Architectural style | Late Victorian |
| NRHP reference No. | 74000431 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | July 1, 1974[1] |
| Designated NHL | May 30, 1974[2] |
Dexter Avenue Baptist Church is aBaptist church inMontgomery, Alabama, United States, affiliated with theProgressive National Baptist Convention. The church was designated as aNational Historic Landmark in 1974 because of its importance in the civil rights movement and American history.[2][3] In 1978 the official name was changed to theDexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, in memory of Dr.Martin Luther King Jr., who was pastor there and helped organize theMontgomery bus boycott in 1955 during the civil rights era. The church is located steps away from theAlabama State Capitol.
On January 1, 2008, the US Government submitted the church toUNESCO as part of an envisaged future World Heritage Site nomination, because of this important history. It is on the UNESCO "Tentative List ofWorld Heritage Sites".[4]
The Dexter Avenue Baptist Church congregation was organized in 1877 byfreedmen andfree people of color. It was first known as theSecond Colored Baptist Church. The founding pastor wasCharles Octavius Boothe. The church trustees paid $270 on January 30, 1879, for a lot at the corner of what is now Dexter Avenue and Decatur Street. The first church building was a small wood-frame building. The congregation began construction of a new building in 1883; the brick building was not completed until 1889. The church began serving the broaderAfrican American community on October 3, 1887, when it hosted the first registration of students forAlabama State University, ahistorically black college.[5]
In 1899,William H. McAlpine became pastor; he was a cofounder ofSelma University.Vernon Johns, an early leader of the Civil Rights Movement, served aspastor from 1947 to 1952. He was succeeded by Dr.Martin Luther King Jr., who was pastor of the church from 1954 to 1960. He organized the 1955Montgomery bus boycott from his basement office.[3]
Near the church is the former Dexter Parsonage, which served as home to twelve pastors of the church between 1920 and 1992. It is now operated as the Dexter Parsonage Museum, interpreting church history. The church was added, on its own merits, to theNational Register of Historic Places in 1982.[5]
Behind the church is theDexter Avenue King Memorial Legacy Center, on 455 Washington Avenue. The courtyard has a statue of Dr. King.[6]
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{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal= (help) andAccompanying 2 photos, exterior, from 1973 (1.29 MB)
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