Rockville Centre in Nassau County, New York — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

The Civil Rights Conscience of the Community

— Mill River Green Way Trail —

Photographed by Ian Lefkowitz, September 20, 2025

1. The Civil Rights Conscience of the Community Marker

Inscription. Shiloh Baptist Church has been a pillar of the Rockville Centre community since the turn of the 20th Century. In 1968, the congregation's revered leadership helped bring the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to the village for a standing-room-only speech at South Side Middle School only a few days before his death.

First organized in 1907, the church has stood at its current location on North Centre Avenue since 1954. Shiloh was the first Black Baptist Church in Nassau County to own its property. The church was at the forefront of civil rights actions and has remained active in education, housing, and other issues. In 1941, Rosa Lee Young, one of Shiloh's founders and elders, helped lead a strike by parents challenging the local school board for giving Black children an inferior education.

On the one-year anniversary of Dr. King's speech, the village held a memorial tribute to him. At Shiloh and beyond, the visit will never be forgotten.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Civil Rights • Religion & Religious Structures. A significant historical date for this entry is March 26, 1968.

Location. 40° 39.606′ N,

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73° 38.997′ W. Marker is in Rockville Centre, New York, in Nassau County. It can be reached from the intersection of North Centre Avenue and Morgan Days Lane, on the right when traveling west. The marker is located on Morgan Days Lane, facing the church on the northwest corner of the intersection. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 96 N Centre Avenue, Rockville Centre NY 11570, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the New York City Metropolitan Area

and on Long Island.

It is also in the American Northeast

and in the Mid-Atlantic.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Netherland

and also one of the original Thirteen Colonies.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: A Sacred and Significant Landmark (about 600 feet away, measured in a direct line); The Church of the Ascension (about 700 feet away); The Rev. Dr. Morgan Days Park (approx. 0.2 miles away);

Shiloh Baptist Church image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Ian Lefkowitz, September 20, 2025

2. Shiloh Baptist Church

The marker can be seen on the left-hand side of the image, facing Morgan Days Lane.

English Laws and the Native American Experience (approx. 0.2 miles away); The History of Rockville Centre's Smith Pond (approx. 0.2 miles away); DeMott Millstone (approx. 0.2 miles away); Anvil (approx. 0.2 miles away); St. Agnes World War II Memorial (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Rockville Centre.

Also see . . . Locals recall Dr. King's 1968 visit (Long Island Herald, Jan. 15, 2009).

Late in the afternoon on March 26, 1968, an audience that was mostly white and young, but which included many members of the village's African-American community as well, listened as King spoke about poverty, ignorance, indifference and intolerance. He touched on discrimination, the need for brotherhood and understanding, and on what the Vietnam War was doing to the country, calling the war draining, divisive and unjust, not worthy of America.

(Submitted on September 21, 2025, by Ian Lefkowitz of New York, New York.)

Photographed by Ian Lefkowitz, September 20, 2025

3. The Civil Rights Conscience of the Community Marker

The marker is part of the Mill River Green Way Trail, which extends from Hempstead Lake State Park to Bay Park along the Mill River.

Credits. This page was last revised on September 23, 2025. It was originally submitted on September 21, 2025, by Ian Lefkowitz of New York, New York. This page has been viewed 48 times since then and 15 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on September 21, 2025, by Ian Lefkowitz of New York, New York. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.