With their roots often dating back to the early 19th century, many Black churches are proud pillars of the movement. They were gathering places for demonstrators to learn the basics of peaceful protesting. They were the sites of changemaking speeches and sermons. And, sometimes, they bore witness to the violence and grief of the hard-fought march toward equality. Many of them are still sites of profound faith and courage today.
Here are five churches along the U.S. Civil Rights Trail where travelers can worship and witness history.
Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church
Atlanta
In the heart of Atlanta’s Sweet Auburn neighborhood, the city’s longstanding hub for Black commerce and culture, travelers will find one of the Civil Rights Movement’s most significant worship sites. The Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church is now part of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park and is significant for its connections to the civil rights icon and leader. It’s the church where King was baptized and became an ordained minister, and it’s where thousands of mourners gathered for King’s private funeral service after his assassination in 1968. The funeral procession and public service at Morehouse College were attended by an estimated 50,000 to 100,000 mourners. King’s father continued to preach at the church until 1975. Beyond its ties to King and his family, the church was a spiritual home for much of Atlanta’s Black community. The building, constructed in 1922, is no longer used for worship services, as the congregation moved to a more modern sanctuary in 1999. The National Park Service is maintaining and restoring the historic building as part of the park.
The park service offers ranger-led church talks daily at 11 a.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. These talks take visitors inside the church to hear about its significance to the Civil Rights Movement and its connections to King’s faith, life and legacy. While they’re at the park, groups can explore dozens of other preserved historic buildings, including Fire Station No. 6 and King’s boyhood home, where visitors can hear a ranger-led presentation several times each day.
16th Street Baptist Church
Birmingham, Alabama
On Sunday, September 15, 1963, a tragedy struck in Birmingham, Alabama, that would shock the nation and ultimately inspire action. This tragedy was the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church, which killed four young Black girls who were attending Sunday school. The violence spurred sympathy for the Civil Rights Movement and became a catalyst for the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; some historians even consider it the turning point in the movement. But beyond being the site of the bombing, the church had been a pillar of Birmingham’s Black community since the 1880s, when it was built. It was the first Black church in the city, and its pastor, Reverend William Reuben Pettiford, founded the Alabama Penny Savings Bank, the state’s first Black-owned bank. The church was also the site of many prominent civil rights speeches and is where demonstrators were organized and trained.
Visitors to the church enter through the basement and watch an educational video to kick off their tour. The basement of the church acts as a museum with educational panels that tell the in-depth story of the bombing and the impact it had on the city and the nation. The church’s powerful collection of historic artifacts includes a clock that stopped at 10:22 a.m., the exact time of the bombing, the communion table from the day of the bombing and a letter from one of the convicted bombers. After viewing the museum, visitors will head upstairs to the church sanctuary, where they can see and touch original pews, learn about the church’s history and hear the story of the Wales window, a contribution from the people of Wales.
“It never escapes me, not only the impact the church had on the community, but that you get to literally touch the space,” said Terrence Brown, executive director of education and the visitors center at 16th Street Baptist Church. “You get an opportunity to learn about how people heard about the tragedy that took place in ’63 and decided that they wanted to do something about it.”
Mother Emanuel AME Church
Charleston, South Carolina
Affectionately known as “Mother Emanuel,” Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, was established in 1816. It was subjected to several raids during which worshipers were arrested; during one incident in 1822, the church was burned down, and 35 men were executed for their role in a slave revolt plot.
The current building was constructed in 1891 and has hosted several prominent civil rights speakers, including Booker T. Washington, Martin Luther King Jr. and Wyatt Tee Walker. The church has also overcome recent adversity. The Charleston church shooting took place at the Mother Emanuel AME Church on June 17, 2015, when a white supremacist opened fire during a Wednesday night Bible study. Nine people were killed, including the senior pastor and state senator Clementa C. Pinckney. A memorial for the victims, called the Emanuel Nine Memorial, broke ground in 2023, proving the church’s message of resilience and hope continues to triumph despite the violence its congregation has endured.
Mother Emanuel invites visitors to worship each Sunday at 10 a.m. The church offers tours to groups of 10 or more by appointment, Tuesday through Saturday, and a historian will provide historical lectures upon request. Visitors will learn about the church’s long history, its role in Charleston’s Black community and its role in the development of the African Methodist Episcopal denomination.
New Zion Baptist Church
New Orleans, Louisiana
Like many other cities in the South, New Orleans has its share of landmark sites pertaining to the Civil Rights Movement. From the location of lunch-counter sit-ins and boycotts on Canal Street to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, where judges ruled in favor of integrated schools, many of these sites are recognized on the official U.S. Civil Rights Trail. Another recognized site is New Zion Baptist Church, found on the corner of Third and LaSalle streets. In 1949, the unassuming brick building became the home of the New Zion Baptist congregation, which originally formed the church in 1921. It would go on to play a critical role in the Civil Rights Movement in New Orleans, becoming an unofficial local headquarters of the movement. In 1957, Baptist pastors and civil rights activists met in the church to form the Southern Leadership Conference, later known as the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). The organization chose Martin Luther King Jr. as its first president, and its key focus was organizing nonviolent demonstrations and protests against segregation.
Though it’s not open for organized public tours, the church is recognized on many self-guided history trails and tours in New Orleans. A placard outside the church educates visitors about the vital role it played in organizing the movement and its leadership. Plans are in the works for a nearby memorial enshrining the accomplishments of SCLC and its founding activists.
Mason Temple Church of God in Christ
Memphis, Tennessee
One of the pillars of Black history and community in Memphis, Tennessee, is the Mason Temple Church of God in Christ. Named for Charles H. Mason, who founded the predominantly Black denomination known as the Church of God in Christ, the famous Memphis church was constructed in the 1940s. At the time of its completion, it was one of the largest gathering places in Memphis and was also the largest Black-owned church building. The massive sanctuary can seat 7,500 and is the centerpiece of six buildings that form a campus. The church is also the world headquarters of the denomination.
But it’s perhaps most famous as the site of the last speech of a great civil rights leader. On April 3, 1968, the night before he was assassinated outside his room at the Lorraine Motel, Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech at Mason Temple. Thousands gathered in the sanctuary to hear King’s speech, given in support of Memphis’ striking sanitation workers. But that was not the only speech King delivered at Mason Temple. Nearly a decade earlier, in 1959, King spoke there at a freedom rally. The church was also the site of Mason’s funeral in 1961, and the church founder is entombed in a marble vault in the foyer.
The church is a short distance from some other key civil rights sites, including the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel and the Stax Museum of American Soul Music. While it’s not open for regularly scheduled tours, visitors can glimpse the inside of the church by worshiping there.
