Montgomery in Montgomery County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)

Black Churches Provide Signiﬁcant Support for the March and Voting

Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail

—Holt Street under Interstates 65 and 85 —

Black Churches Provide Significant Support for the March and Voting Marker image. Click for full size.

By Mark Hilton, December 11, 2015

1. Black Churches Provide Significant Support for the March and Voting Marker

Inscription. As the social and cultural epicenters of Montgomery's black communities in the 1950s and 1960s, black churches also played a political role, providing sanctuary and strength against discrimination On December 5, 1955 following the first day of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the Montgomery Improvement Association was formed at Mt. Zion AME Zion Church. The MIA was established to oversee the continuation of the boycott, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. a young minister new to Montgomery, was elected its chairman president that night. King delivered its first speech just minutes later at the Holt Street Baptist Church down the street with several thousand community members in attendance. He spoke of the need for nonviolent protest coupled with unfailing resolve. King's speech ended to thundering applause, as Ralph Abernathy read the resolutions aloud to the crowd including not to ride the buses until their demands were met. The crowd voted overwhelmingly in favor, and the boycott continued until December 21, 1956 when segregated seating on public buses was abolished in Montgomery

The combination of mass nonviolent protest with Christian ethics became the model for challenging segregation in the South, and the churches in these thriving black communities deserve much of the credit for that success.

Erected

Mt. Zion AME Zion Church (Built 1899) image. Click for full size.

By Mark Hilton, December 11, 2015

2. Mt. Zion AME Zion Church (Built 1899)

Added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 2002.

2015 by the City of Montgomery. (Marker Number 6.)

Location. 32° 22.102′ N, 86° 19.248′ W. Marker is in Montgomery, Alabama, in Montgomery County. Marker is at the intersection of South Holt Street and Stone Street, on the right when traveling south on South Holt Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 467 South Holt Street, Montgomery AL 36108, United States of America.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Mount Zion African Methodist Episcopal AME Zion Church (a few steps from this marker); Highway Construction Destroys Historic Black Neighborhoods (approx. 0.2 miles away); Sherman W. White, Jr. (approx. 0.2 miles away); Day Street Baptist Church (approx. ¼ mile away); Loveless School/Henry Allen Loveless (approx. ¼ mile away); Four Points: One of Several Black Business Hubs in Montgomery (approx. ¼ mile away); Holt Street Baptist Church (approx. ¼ mile away); Percy Lavon Julian (approx. ¼ mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Montgomery.

Categories. • African Americans • Churches & Religion • Civil Rights •

Nearby large canvas photo of march. image. Click for full size.

By Mark Hilton, December 11, 2015

3. Nearby large canvas photo of march.

Mt.Zion AME Zion Church historical marker. image. Click for full size.

By Mark Hilton, December 11, 2015

4. Mt.Zion AME Zion Church historical marker.

Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. This page originally submitted on December 11, 2015, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 257 times since then and 32 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on December 11, 2015, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.