Downtown Memphis in Shelby County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)

Sara Roberta Church

1914-1995

Photographed by Judith Barber, February 5, 2013

1. Sara Roberta Church Marker

Inscription. In 1952, Roberta Church became the first black woman in Memphis to be elected to public office and to the Tennessee Republican State Executive Committee. She served as an official in the administrations of Presidents Eisenhower and Nixon. In 1987, Church was the first woman and the first Black named Senior Citizen of the Year by the Kiwanis Club of Memphis. The daughter of Republican leader Robert R. Church, Jr., and the granddaughter of Robert R. Church, Sr., her death ended three generations of Churches who were economically, politically and socially active in Memphis.

Erected by Tennessee Historical Commission. (Marker Number 4E 138.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Government & Politics • Women. In addition, it is included in the Former U.S. Presidents: #34 Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Former U.S. Presidents: #37 Richard M. Nixon, and the Tennessee Historical Commission series lists. A significant historical year for this entry is 1952.

Location. 35° 8.342′ N, 90° 2.863′ W. Marker is in Memphis, Tennessee, in Shelby County. It is in Downtown Memphis. It is on Beale Street east of South 4th Street, on the right when traveling east. Located in Robert Church

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Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 410 Beale St, Memphis TN 38103, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in West Tennessee.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Deep South,

in the Upper South,

in the Mississippi Delta,

and in the Great River Road Region.

Globally, it is in North America,

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: Church Park (a few steps from this marker); Mary Church Terrell (a few steps from this marker); Phi Beta Sigma/Abram Langston Taylor (within shouting distance of this marker); Church Park Auditorium (within shouting distance of this marker); This Plaque is Dedicated to Father and Son, Leaders of Their Race (within shouting distance of this marker); Solvent Savings Bank (within shouting distance of this marker); Beale Street Baptist Church (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); "The Tree of Strange Fruit" (about 400 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Memphis.

Photographed by Judith Barber, February 5, 2013

2. Sara Roberta Church Marker

Robert Church Park image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Judith Barber, February 5, 2013

3. Robert Church Park

Markers are to the left of the park entrance.

Credits. This page was last revised on February 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on February 13, 2013, by Judith Barber of Marietta, Georgia. This page has been viewed 1,300 times since then and 23 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on February 13, 2013, by Judith Barber of Marietta, Georgia. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.