Black History Month: First African Baptist Church – Savannah, GA
by Chaundra Grant
Good Sunday, Explorers! The First African Baptist Church (FABC) was organized in 1773. That’s three whole years before the Declaration of Independence making it older than the United States! This location is so rich with history we wish the walls could talk.
It’s founding pastor had to flee to Jamaica with the British to avoid re-enslavement during the Revolutionary War. Then, he returned to the states becoming the first U.S. missionary.
The church and its members are credited with helping the freedom movement known as the Underground Railroad, founding the First Black Sunday School, and historically black colleges namely Savannah State University and Morehouse College.
It is a National Historic Landmark and contains physical remnants of the enslaved Africans who built the pews engraving them with West African Arabic script and the floors with African prayer symbols. To learn more, visit firstafricanbc.com.
Top photo by Luba Lowry, IG @lubalowry_art
Bottom photos by IG @bethanym9412
