If you want to see one of the oldest black churches in the United States, take a tour of south Philadelphia.
At Sixth and Lombard streets you will find Mother Bethel AME Church, the first African Methodist Episcopal church in the nation.
The historic church venue was a stop on a recent tour of south Philadelphia I took with the Trotter Group, an organization of black columnists. As our tour bus came to a stop in front of the church, we saw the marker out front designating the structure as a National Historic Landmark. The church was established in 1787 under the direction of the Rev. Richard Allen, who was born a slave. Allen was able to buy his freedom. Today the denomination he started has grown to over 2.5 million members in the United States.
“This is the oldest piece of property owned continuously by African-Americans here in the United States,” said Charles Blockson, a renowned Philadelphia historian who served as our tour guide. “The church was a stop on the Underground Railroad. People come from all over the world to see it.”
Our tour also took in the famous South Street in Philadelphia.
“Josephine Baker’s home is still here,” Blockson said. “Bessie Smith lived here. Jackie Robinson would come down here to get his hair cut. Joe Louis would come here. Paul Laurence Dunbar came here. All kinds of people came here.”
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It probably would be impossible to say exactly how many black churches are active in Kansas City. One thing for certain, it’s not a small number. But for many years there were only two.
According to William S. Worley, adjunct professor of history and liberal studies at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, the first two black churches in Kansas City were Second Baptist Church and Allen Chapel AME Church. Both were organized and active in this region well before slavery ended in 1865. After slavery, both congregations built churches near 10th and Charlotte streets and remained there well into the 20th century.
“Both of those congregations remained downtown well after the ‘Church Hill’ community was gone,” Worley said. “They were there maintaining their central locations well after the neighborhoods they served had moved to the southeast.”
Second Baptist Church moved just after World War II to a temporary location on the north end of the 18th and Vine Jazz District before moving to its current location at 3620 E. 39th St. Allen Chapel AME Church relocated at 4125 Benton Blvd.
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When Gordon Parks, an award-winning photographer, writer and filmmaker, was traveling the world, he brought along his son, David Parks, to take in the experience. The training and on-the-job lessons were indelible and invaluable.
Today, David Parks is a writer, director and filmmaker, taking up where his father left off. Parks will be a fixture in this area in the near future, working on films that explore the Buffalo Soldiers and the Black Seminole Indians. Parks, who is from New York, discussed the reasons behind his local presence at a luncheon given by the United Minority Media Association as part of its annual Midwest/Southeast Regional Conference. His famous father was born in Fort Scott, Kan.
“It’s truly a pleasure to be in the heartland,” Parks said at the luncheon. “My father, Gordon Parks, always told me what this part of the world was all about. I’m looking forward to shooting here. I’ll be in the area over the next two, three or four years shooting. I also have a documentary in the works that I’m researching on the heartland.”
David Parks worked alongside his father when the elder Parks was a staff photographer for Life magazine. As a result, he saw the way his father went about his award-winning work. And that inspired David to follow his father’s career path, one that he wishes others would choose.
“I’ve been in media pretty much all my life,” David Parks said. “To young journalism students out there, we need to get more of you involved in what we’re doing.”
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