Committee on Historic Designation met today to consider nomination of the First African Baptist Church for listing on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places.

1. Good morning. My name is Faye Anderson. I am the founder and director of All That
Philly Jazz, a public history project that is telling the story of Philadelphia's rich jazz
heritage. We are mapping jazz-related historic resources, including the Academy of
Music, Royal Theater, Mercantile Hall (better known as the Blue Horizon), Pyramid
Club, Church of the Advocate and Tindley Temple Methodist Church. I am also the
recipient of a diversity scholarship to attend the National Trust for Historic
Preservation's upcoming annual conference.
I support the listing of First African Baptist Church on the Philadelphia Register of
Historic Places. The nomination is thorough so I won't repeat what's before you. By
any measure, the First African Baptist Church is of significance to the development,
heritage and cultural characteristics of Philadelphia, the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania and indeed the nation.
On June 4, 2009, City Council passed Resolution No. 09049. The resolution reads in
part:
WHEREAS, The First African Baptist Church of Philadelphia is the
oldest African American-founded Baptist congregation in the City of
Philadelphia and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and one of the
oldest African American-founded Baptist congregations in the United
States of America; and
WHEREAS, Two freemen, John and Samuel Bivens, sold themselves into
slavery so that James Burrows of Northampton County, Virginia could
become the third pastor; and
WHEREAS, The First African Baptist Church of Philadelphia has been
instrumental in the birth of many notable organizations including the
Christian Street YMCA and the Downingtown Industrial School.

2. BE IT RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA,
That it recognizes, honors, celebrates and thanks the First African
Baptist Church of Philadelphia for its invaluable contributions to the
City of Philadelphia on the joyous occasion of its 200th Anniversary.
Similarly, at the August 20th hearing on the Department of License & Inspections'
complaint, Municipal Court Judge Craig Washington said, “It's a very important
building to America, not just to Philadelphia, not just to the Baptists.”
In a study conducted for the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia, “From
Refuge to Strength: The Rise of the African American Church in Philadelphia, 1787-
1949,” Matthew S. Hopper concluded:
The church buildings of modern African American congregations in
Philadelphia, both those that were built by black congregations and those
that were purchased, tell the stories of religious institutions that grew with
their communities, relocated over time, and remained at the heart of black
social, political, and religious life through times of prosperity and despair.
First African Baptist Church is no exception. It was a place of refuge, “a great rock in
a weary land.” From Emancipation to the Great Migration through the Civil Rights
era, First African Baptist Church tells an American story of faith, defiance and
triumph. It tells the story of how we got over.
Almost 86 years ago to the day on September 4, 1929, Thurgood Marshall wed
Vivien Burey at First African Baptist Church. As Chief Counsel for the NAACP,
Marshall won Brown v. Board of Education, the landmark United States Supreme
Court decision that desegregated public schools. Marshall later became the first
African American to serve on the Supreme Court.
So in the names of John and Samuel Bivens and Thurgood Marshall, I urge you to
grant historic designation to First African Baptist Church.
Faye M. Anderson
Director
All That Philly Jazz
(215) 995-5028
http://phillyjazz.us
andersonatlarge@gmail.com
@andersonatlarge | @PhillyJazzApp