Second Baptist Church (Los Angeles)

Second Baptist Church
Second Baptist Church, June 2011
Location 2412 Griffith Avenue, Los Angeles, California
Coordinates 34°01′16″N 118°15′23″W / 34.02111°N 118.25639°W / 34.02111; -118.25639Coordinates: 34°01′16″N 118°15′23″W / 34.02111°N 118.25639°W / 34.02111; -118.25639
Built 1926
Architect Paul R. Williams, Norman F, Marsh
Architectural style Lombardy Romanesque Revival
NRHP Reference # 09000151[1]
LAHCM # 200
Significant dates
Added to NRHP March 17, 2009
Designated LAHCM October 18, 1978[2]

Second Baptist Church is a historically African-American Baptist church located in South Los Angeles, California. The current Lombardy Romanesque Revival building was built in 1926 and has been listed as a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument (1978) and on the National Register of Historic Places (2009). The church has been an important force in the African-American Civil Rights Movement, hosting national conventions of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored Persons ("NAACP") in 1928, 1942, and 1949, and also serving as the site of important speeches by Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and others. It is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA and the Progressive National Baptist Convention.

Church building

The Second Baptist Church occupies a Lombardy Romanesque Revival church structure located along 24th Street to the west of Central Avenue. The structure was built in 1926 at a total cost of approximately $175,000, including the land, building and furnishings.[3] The structure was designed by African-American architect Paul R. Williams in collaboration with Norman Marsh.[4][5] The church building opened in January 1926 with seating for more than 2,000 persons.[4] The church's pastor at the time the church was built was Dr. Thomas L. Griffith, who served in that position from 1921 to 1941.[3][5]

According to a history of the church, the congregation's leaders acquired the property on which the current structure sits after hiring a real estate agent "who was very light in complexion." The leaders were reportedly concerned that white property owners may not sell to an African-American organization and hoped that the white owners would be more inclined to sell to a light-skinned agent who appeared to be "a member of their racial group."[5]

Historical significance

The Second Baptist Church building was listed as a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument in 1978 and on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.[2] The Central Avenue Corridor became the cultural and business hub of the African-American community in Los Angeles from the 1920s to the 1950s. The Second Baptist Church building, located one block west of Central Avenue at 24th Street, was deemed to satisfy the registration requirements set forth in the Multiple Property Submission for African-Americans in Los Angeles.[4][6][7] Other sites listed pursuant to the same Multiple Property Submission include the Lincoln Theater (located one block east of the church on Central Avenue),[8] the 27th Street Historic District (a well-preserved residential neighborhood located three blocks south of the church),[9] the 28th Street YMCA (providing a swimming pool and other recreational activities in the years when the city's recreational facilities were racially segregated),[10] the Prince Hall Masonic Temple,[11] 52nd Place Historic District,[12] and two historic all-black segregated fire stations (Fire Station No. 14 and Fire Station No. 30).[13]

Among the historic institutions along the Central Avenue Corridor, the Second Baptist Church played a particularly vital role in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. With a seating capacity in excess of 2,000 persons, the church was the largest meeting space owned by the African-American community in the western United States in the era before World War II. The church hosted the national convention of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) on three occasions—1928, 1942, and 1949. When the NAACP convention came to Second Baptist in 1928, it was the first time that the NAACP held its national convention in the western United States.[4] Prominent speakers in the early years of the church included writer W. E. B. Du Bois and poet Alice Dunbar Nelson.[5]

The congregation was also active in campaigns against racial discrimination in housing, public beaches, swimming pools, and restaurants. In 1954, the congregation contributed $1,500 to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund to print the briefs used in the United States Supreme Court case, Brown v. Board of Education. The church also provided scholarship funds to enable future Nobel Peace Prize winner Ralph Bunche to attend the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). It was also "the West Coast 'home'" for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who spoke at Second Baptist on many occasions from May 1956 to March 1968.[4] Other noted persons to speak at Second Baptist include Malcolm X, who delivered an impassioned speech at the church in May 1962 after several Muslims were shot in a gun battle with police in front of the Muslim Temple, and Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.[4]

Changing demographics

In recent decades, the demographics of the neighborhood surrounding Second Baptist Church has changed from an overwhelmingly African-American community to one that, as of 2007, was 40% African American and more than 50% Latino. The demographic change saw many of Second Baptist's members move to other areas of the city. However, the pastor, Rev. William Epps, opted to keep Second Baptist in the building it has occupied since 1926.[5] Although the church remains predominantly African-American, the church's nursery school as of 2007 was 98% Latino. Second Baptist has also rented its sanctuary to Spanish-speaking Protestant congregations for services.[5]

Selected chronology

The following is a list of some of the important speeches and other milestone events in the history of the Second Baptist Church.

1920s and 1930s

1940s and 1950s

1960s

1970s and beyond

See also

External links

References

  1. Staff (2009-03-13). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. 1 2 Los Angeles Department of City Planning (2007-09-07). "Historic - Cultural Monuments (HCM) Listing: City Declared Monuments" (PDF). City of Los Angeles. Retrieved 2008-06-03.
  3. 1 2 "Negroes To Dedicate Edifice: Congregation Completes Building". Los Angeles Times. January 3, 1926.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Teresa Grimes and Christina Chiang, Christopher A. Joseph & Associates (June 1, 2008). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form for Second Baptist Church" (PDF). LA Conservancy. Retrieved June 11, 2011.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Susan Anderson (May 20, 2007). "Only the walls will change; Steeped in L.A. history, Second Baptist Church is getting ready for the future". Los Angeles Times.
  6. Teresa Grimes, Christopher A. Joseph & Associates (December 31, 2008). "National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation Form for Historic Resources Associated with African Americans in Los Angeles" (PDF). caltek.net. Retrieved June 11, 2011.
  7. "Second Baptist Church - Los Angeles". Paul R. Williams Project.
  8. Teresa Grimes, Christopher A. Joseph & Associates (August 2008). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form for Lincoln Theater" (PDF). Los Angeles Conservancy. Retrieved June 11, 2011.
  9. Teresa Grimess and Jay Fantone, Christopher A. Joseph & Associates (February 1, 2009). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form for 27th Street Historic District" (PDF). LA Conservancy.
  10. Teresa Grimes, Christopher A. Joseph & Associates (June 1, 2008). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form for 28th Street YMCA" (PDF). LA Conservancy. Retrieved June 11, 2011.
  11. Teresa Grimes, Christopher A. Joseph & Associates (June 1, 2008). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form for Prince Hall Masonic Temple" (PDF). LA Conservancy.
  12. Teresa Grimes, Jay Fantone, Christina Chiang, Christopher A. Joseph & Associates (February 1, 2009). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form for 52nd Place Historic District" (PDF). LA Conservancy.
  13. Teresa Grimes and Jay Fantone, Christopher A. Joseph & Associates (June 1, 2008). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form for Fire Station #30, Engine Company #30" (PDF). LA Conservancy.
  14. "Church Dedication Today". Los Angeles Times. January 3, 1926.
  15. "COLORED AID ASSOCIATION OPENS DRIVE: Los Angeles Branch Will Campaign for Membership of Five Thousand". Los Angeles Times. March 1, 1926.
  16. "NEGRO WELFARE TOPICS DEBATED: Association Holds Two Business Sesions; Meetings Attended by 800 Delegates". Los Angeles Times. June 29, 1928.
  17. "Conference Delegates Due Today: Negro Race Association Slated to Open Sessions Here Tomorrow". Los Angeles Times. June 26, 1928.
  18. "Delegates Arrive for Negro Meet: Mass Meeting Will Open Conference of National Association Here". Los Angeles Times. June 27, 1928.
  19. "MODERATOR OF BAPTISTS RE-ELECTED". Los Angeles Times. August 13, 1932.
  20. "People Can Expect No Hope From New Deal, Martin Says". Los Angeles Times. September 25, 1941.
  21. "Willkie to Address Session of Colored People's Convention". Los Angeles Times. July 13, 1942.
  22. "Delegates to Colored People's Convention Back War Effort". Los Angeles Times. July 19, 1942.
  23. 1 2 "Willkie Raps Race Bias as Imperialism: War Breaking Down Color Barriers, Speaker Tells Negro Convention". Los Angeles Times. July 20, 1942.
  24. "NAACP Hears U.N. Condemned on Rights Issue". Los Angeles Times. July 15, 1949.
  25. "NEED OF FEPC LAW STRESSED AT RALLY". Los Angeles Times. July 16, 1949.
  26. "MEETING HERE EXPECTS 500 NEGRO DELEGATES". Los Angeles Times. July 10, 1949.
  27. "PORTERS' UNION CHIEF BLASTS ROBESON AS NEGRO SPOKESMAN". Los Angeles Times. November 7, 1949.
  28. "Second Oldest L.A. Baptist Church Active in Local and Foreign Work". Los Angeles Times. April 11, 1953.
  29. "AFL Chief Due Today for Porters Convention". Los Angeles Times. October 4, 1953.
  30. "World Peace Top Problem, AFL Chief Says". Los Angeles Times. October 5, 1953.
  31. 1 2 Anne-Marie O'Connor (August 12, 2001). "Good Turns; Historic Black Church Dreams of Resurrecting Itself; With help of a Getty grant, Second Baptist takes steps to restore its landmark building. It must raise millions for a new roof, other repairs". Los Angeles Times.
  32. "Doctor Tells of Bid for U.S. Move in Mississippi". Los Angeles Times. October 9, 1955.
  33. "12 L.A. 'Riders' Off for South, Likely Jailing". Los Angeles Times. July 13, 1961.
  34. 1 2 3 4 "1,200 Negroes Charge Police With Brutality". Los Angeles Times. May 14, 1962.
  35. "Dr. Kilgore Takes Office at 2nd Baptist". Los Angeles Times. January 20, 1964.
  36. "2,000 Jam L.A. Church for Talk by Dr. King: Integration Leader Reads Imaginary Letter From St. Paul to Americans". Los Angeles Times. February 17, 1964.
  37. "Evangelistic Mission Planned by Dr. Abernathy". Los Angeles Times. March 14, 1964.
  38. Lance Brisson (August 30, 1964). "Negro Charges Rights Leaders Betray Cause". Los Angeles Times.
  39. "L.A. Negro Leaders Call for Hoover Resignation". Los Angeles Times. November 21, 1964.
  40. 1 2 3 "DR. KING URGES U.S. TO ADMIT VIETNAM WAR IS 'MISTAKE'". Los Angeles Times. March 18, 1968.
  41. Ray Rogers (April 7, 1968). "Dr. King's Murder Spurs Unity Display by L.A. Negro Groups". Los Angeles Times.
  42. Ray Rogers (October 26, 1968). "Abernathy in L.A. to Turn Out Negro 'Conscience' Vote Nov. 5". Los Angeles Times.
  43. Betty Liddick (May 19, 1972). "'All Victimized by the Same Evil Force'---Mrs. King". Los Angeles Times.
  44. "FORUM SCHEDULED ON QUALITY OF LIFE". Los Angeles Times. October 19, 1974.
  45. 1 2 Doug Smith (September 12, 1977). "Young Says Illegal Aliens Seekinq 'a New Freedom'". Los Angeles Times.
  46. John Dart (February 23, 1985). "Thomas Kilgore: Second Baptist Church Leader for 21 Years". Los Angeles Times.
  47. Bill Boyarsky (March 27, 1979). "MAYOR TAKES CITY COUNCIL CAMPAIGN TO THE PULPIT". Los Angeles Times.
  48. "Pat Brown Backs Carter". Los Angeles Times. May 16, 1980.
  49. John L. Mitchell (September 21, 1981). "Mondale Accuses Reagan of 'Closing Door' on Poor". Los Angeles Times.
  50. John Dart (October 3, 1987). "Southern California File". Los Angeles Times.
  51. "Church hits out at unfair attacks on Jackson". New Straits Times. February 20, 1994.
  52. Jim Newton, James Rainery (December 18, 2000). "Mayor Vows to Revive Troubled Parks; Politics: He pledges to have one fixed every two weeks until he leaves office. In race to replace him, Hahn also addresses congregation in South-Central". Los Angeles Times.
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