Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church

Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church. Dallas County. , In 1922, Rev. Love Tolbert founded Ebenezer in a former dance hall on the corner of St. Phillips Street and Philpot Avenue in Selma. After Rev. Tolbert's brief tenure. Rev. Jerry McGinnis served as interim pastor until Rev. Abraham White was elected in 1924 and brought stability, vision, and progress to the church. During Rev. White's tenure, the congregation moved to its permanent site at 1939 Philpot Avenue. Known as the "church on legs." Rev. White carried the church to the community. Beginning in 1965 when the church selected Frederick Douglas Reese as the third pastor, Ebenezer became a visible and vital part of the East Selma community and the city of Selma. Rev. Reese, born in Selma on November 28. 1929. graduated from high school in 1947. received his BS degree from Alabama State University in 1951, and began his teaching career at Miller's Ferry in Wilcox County., In 1960, Reese returned to Selma and taught at R.B. Hudson High School. Having received a master's degree in education from Livingston University and a doctorate from Selma University, Reese involved himself in both educational and civil endeavors. He was president of the Selma Teacher's Association and led the infamous "Teachers March to the Dallas County Courthouse.” known nationally as an unprecedented initiative and pivotal march for the right to vote. Reese commented, "We were ready to give our lives to let those who controlled voting in Selma know we were going to determine our own destiny. We weren't going to stop until we became registered voters.” Reese joined and became president of the Dallas County Voters League and is one of the "Courageous Eight” leaders of the local Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s to the mid-1960s.