Tuscaloosa in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)
First African Baptist Church
Tuscaloosa Civil Rights History Trail
Photographed by Mark Hilton, January 19, 2020
1. First African Baptist Church Marker
Inscription.
First African Baptist Church played a central role in the fight for civil rights in Tuscaloosa because it was the home church of Rev. T. Y. Rogers, Jr., the most important local leader in the movement, and the primary site for mass protest meetings. The most violent local incident, known as "Bloody Tuesday," occurred here on June 9, 1964.
First African Baptist Church was established in 1866 by blacks who rejected the discriminatory practices of the predominantly white First Baptist Church. The founding pastor was a one-time enslaved person, Rev. Prince Murrell. Members initially met in private homes before securing a church building at 4th Street and 24th Avenue in the black neighborhood of Riverhill. In 1900, they built the current structure at a cost of $25,000. The architecture was inspired by the work of Robert Taylor, a Tuskegee faculty member and the first black person professionally trained and licensed as an architect at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
After Rev. T. Y. Rogers, Jr., became the church's pastor, Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered the Installation sermon in March 1964. Rev. Rogers had studied and served as assistant minister with Rev. King when he was pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery. Rev. Rogers led the campaign to overturn segregation in Tuscaloosa. When a new courthouse for Tuscaloosa County was opened in spring 1964, "white" and "colored” signs separated bathroom facilities and drinking fountains, dashing an earlier promise from officials that the facility would be fully integrated. At this point, the Tuscaloosa Citizens for Action Committee, of which Rev. Rogers was executive secretary, began organizing the local community to demand an end to segregated facilities. A peaceful march from the church to the courthouse was planned.
On June 9, 1964, more than six hundred protesters were beaten and tear gassed by the Tuscaloosa Police Department and white extremists. Thirty-four protesters were hospitalized, and ninety-four blacks were arrested and jailed. The violent incident led to a lawsuit filed by the local black community to demand a courthouse free of segregation. On June 26, 1964, Federal Judge Seybourn Lynne, citing the 14th Amendment, ordered Tuscaloosa County to remove the discriminatory courthouse signs.
First African Baptist Church played a
central role in the fight for civil rights
in Tuscaloosa because it was the home
church of Rev. T. Y. Rogers, Jr., the
most important local leader in the
movement, and the primary site for mass
protest meetings. The most violent local
incident, known as "Bloody Tuesday,"
occurred here on June 9, 1964.
First African Baptist Church was
established in 1866 by blacks who
rejected the discriminatory practices
of the predominantly white First Baptist
Church. The founding pastor was a
one-time enslaved person, Rev. Prince
Murrell. Members initially met in private
homes before securing a church building
at 4th Street and 24th Avenue in the
black neighborhood of Riverhill. In
1900, they built the current structure
at a cost of $25,000. The architecture
was inspired by the work of Robert
Taylor, a Tuskegee faculty member
and the first black person professionally
trained and licensed as an architect
at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology.
After Rev. T. Y. Rogers, Jr., became the
church's pastor, Rev. Martin Luther
King, Jr., delivered the Installation
sermon in March 1964. Rev. Rogers
had studied and served as assistant
minister with Rev. King when he was
pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church
in Montgomery. Rev. Rogers led the
campaign to overturn segregation in
Tuscaloosa. When a new courthouse
for Tuscaloosa County was opened in
spring 1964, "white" and "colored”
signs separated bathroom facilities
and drinking fountains, dashing an
earlier promise from officials that
the facility would be fully integrated.
At this point, the Tuscaloosa Citizens
for Action Committee, of which Rev.
Rogers was executive secretary, began
organizing the local community to
demand an end to segregated facilities.
A peaceful march from the church to
the courthouse was planned.
On June 9, 1964, more than six hundred
protesters were beaten and tear gassed
by the Tuscaloosa Police Department
and white extremists. Thirty-four
protesters were hospitalized, and
ninety-four blacks were arrested and
jailed. The violent incident led to a
lawsuit filed by the local black
community to demand a courthouse
free of segregation. On June 26, 1964,
Federal Judge Seybourn Lynne, citing
the 14th Amendment, ordered
Tuscaloosa County to remove the
discriminatory courthouse signs.
Erected 2019
Click or scan to see this page online
by Tuscaloosa Civil Rights History Task Force. (Marker Number 16.)
Location. 33° 12.292′ N, 87° 34.231′ W. Marker is in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, in Tuscaloosa County. It is on Stillman Boulevard east of T.Y. Rogers Jr Avenue, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2621 Stillman Boulevard, Tuscaloosa AL 35401, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the American South and specifically in the Deep South. Globally, it is in North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: A different marker also named First African Baptist Church (here, next to this marker);
3. View of this marker and another First African Baptist Church marker.
This is a view looking west on Stillman Boulevard.
Photographed by Mark Hilton, January 19, 2020
4. A nearby different First African Baptist Church marker.
Credits. This page was last revised on January 23, 2020. It was originally submitted on January 23, 2020, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 602 times since then and 26 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on January 23, 2020, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.
