The history of African American churches in Orlando is deeply intertwined with the struggles and triumphs of the Black community. These churches served not only as places of worship but also as social centers, gathering places, and schools, playing a vital role in the Civil Rights Movement and the preservation of African American culture.
Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, declared in 1996 that “the individual and collective memory of the African-American community is rooted in its churches,” when he added all of the black churches of the South to the Trust’s annual list of most-endangered places.
Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, a cornerstone of the Civil Rights Movement.
Early Churches and Segregation
In Orlando’s Parramore neighborhood, African Americans worshipped outdoors in brush arbors and stables while they saved funds to build proper churches. African Americans established separate churches as early as the 18th century, creating the African Methodist Episcopal (AME and AME Zion), Colored Methodist Episcopal (CME), Black Baptist, and other new denominations that became symbols of Black freedom in the South.
As racial segregation became more institutionalized and increasingly oppressive in the 19th and 20th centuries, African Americans found safety in the separate world they created. The communities they built, complete with their own schools, churches, businesses, and associations, made their survival possible and fostered the development of a distinct African American culture.
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Like many Black residents of Orlando born in the early 20th century, Osborne Brooks lived in Jonestown, one of three segregated zones of the city. Jonestown was established in the 1880s just outside the city’s southern boundary.
Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Institutional Church was the first Black church established in Orlando, although it has changed over the years. Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church was organized by the Reverend C.J. Scott in 1880. “The church was actually organized in 1880,” Rev. Spooney explained. “And as you know, one of the primary reasons of a church being established back in the 1880's was because of segregation and the fact that African Americans wanted to worship at the time, there was no African American church.”
“And so this church was founded by about seven individuals. It actually started when they constructed what's called an arbor bush. And basically, it's like a lean-to shed that they met under that for years. And then this, I think this is the third or fourth church building.”
The church’s first formal sanctuary was built on the corner of Robinson and Chatham Street. The current sanctuary, which is opposite the site of the old wooden church, was completed in 1962. This landmark is the oldest African American Church in the City of Orlando.
Ebenezer United Methodist church was the first African American Methodist church in Orlando built by African Americans. In 1872, a wooden structure was built on the corner of Church and Terry Streets to house the congregation. In 1927, the congregation built the Gothic-style brick structure.
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Mt. Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church was constructed in the early 1920s with concrete blocks. Members of the church, who were skilled craftsmen, handmade the blocks to look like stone. The congregation was started in 1919 by the Rev. J. H. Armstead. The church originally met in a rough shed.
In 1916, Pleasant Hill Colored Methodist Episcopal Church was built serving mostly citrus and domestic workers (maids and cooks). In 1924, the churchgoers moved to a new and larger house of worship on the corner of Westmoreland Drive and Bentley Avenue. Worshipers of the church and neighbors knew it was time for service by the ringing of the church bell from the bell tower.
The Pleasant Hill/Carter Tabernacle congregation organized and built their church during an especially difficult time, as racial segregation became more institutionalized and increasingly oppressive. Restricted in almost every way, African Americans found safety in the separate world they created.
Records show that the fraternal organization Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Masons existed as early as 1886, making it one of the oldest social organizations in the city.
The Church and the Civil Rights Movement
The Black church was a great place to feel empowered and to encourage others to join in activist efforts. The churches continued their role of extended family during the Civil Rights movement. By 1960 the young activists vowed that it would be “this generation or never,” and the powerful leaders in the black community, the ministers, physicians, and businessmen stood behind them.
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Throughout his formative years, Osborne Brooks undoubtedly encountered the oppression of systemic racism that was the standard of life in Orlando during the early 20th century. Throughout his formative years, the Ku Klux Klan had resurfaced to terrorize Black residents.
During the time of the Moore murders, Staggers was an important figure in the life of the church and in the civil rights movement in Central Florida. Mount Zion was very important because their pastor, Reverend N.G. Staggers was the president of the local chapter of the NAACP in the 40s and 50s. And Reverend Staggers worked with his church members to challenge some unjust and unconstitutional laws in Florida.
One major way Rev. Staggers pushed for equal rights was through the court case Evelyn R. Ellis et al versus the Board of Public Instruction of Orange County. All of the plaintiffs came from the Mount Zion Congregation. Rev. Spooney says Evelyn Ellis’s father- John P. Ellis- wanted his daughter to have the opportunity for a better education. Instead of being allowed to enroll at a white school with better resources, the School Board simply gave Evelyn her diplomas at twelve years old.
After four years of gathering support from the NAACP and the church, the lawsuit was filed in 1962. Schools began to desegregate, but the pace of desegregation was slow.
Another local Pastor, Father Nelson Pinder, also played an important part in desegregation efforts. He moved to the area in 1959 and was the first black Pastor of St. John the Baptist. He helped organize sit-in’s and demonstrations. Dinkins remembers the church as a place that supported their activism. “When we would have a demonstration, they would say, you know, ok, we’re praying for you. And we would rally after that. Mostly, after we’d had a sit in or an incident or something, we would have a rally at one of the churches, or a community meeting or whatever.”
The steadying influence of churches and families kept Parramore calm through the demonstrations and sit-ins. Prayer meetings and planning sessions took place in the churches.
At Tinker Field, the pitcher’s mound was where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his only speech in Central Florida, “Integration Now,” less than a month before his death in 1964.
The support system of the black church continues to play an important role in present-day activism. Support for “Black Churches In Orlando” comes from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Why Did Black Churches Play a Role in the Black Civil Rights Movement? | Black History Files News
Inside a historic African American church.
Challenges and Preservation
Many of Orlando’s historic black churches had disappeared or fallen into disrepair by 1996, as diminishing congregations disbanded, and others relocated to new African American communities made possible by integration, leaving behind the structures they worked so hard to build.
Integration brought a mixed blessing, and in 1976, as government buildings and sports venues encroached on the black neighborhood, the Carter Tabernacle congregation left Parramore for a new church in Washington Shores.
Some congregations stayed, struggling to maintain their aging structures. Though many original homes and commercial buildings are gone, several 1920s churches remain in Parramore, competing against encroaching development for the real estate they have occupied for nearly a century. The old buildings hold memories for their former parishioners and for the community as a whole, and their survival provides an important connection with the past. From baptisms, weddings, and funerals, to the Civil Rights Movement, the churches centered African American life.
In 2019 the pastor of Carter Tabernacle accepted the help of the nonprofit Orange Preservation Trust, and in December the Historic Preservation Board approved Orlando Historic Landmark designation for the church. In 2004 the congregation of the Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith, owners and occupants of the former Ebenezer United Methodist Church, recognized the vulnerability of their picturesque Gothic and Romanesque Revival structure, now standing isolated among gravel parking lots, new high-rise construction, and large sports venues.
Key Figures and Landmarks
The Callahan neighborhood started in 1886 when the first homes in the area were constructed by Rev. Andrew Hooper, a white builder. Orlando city officials renamed the neighborhood Callahan in honor of Dr. J. B. Callahan.
In 1895, on the South West corner of Garland and Church Streets, the First School for Blacks was established in Orlando. It was called Orlando Black. It later was moved to Parramore and Jefferson Streets and was renamed Johnson Academy. Because of increased enrollment, a new facility was built on the corner of Parramore and Washington and, at this time, was renamed Jones High School.
The Dr. J.B. Callahan Neighborhood Center was dedicated in 1987. The Holden Street Elementary School was built in 1935 and was the first school for Orlando’s African American students in grades 1-4.
The Hankins Building was built in 1947 by Dr. I. S. Hankins, who still owns it [1990]. The Hankins building has always been the business home for black doctors and lawyers.
Washington Shores became one of the main Black communities in Orlando. The neighborhood was planned in 1940 specifically as a community for Blacks by James Graham after one of his Black workers complained there was nowhere in the city where Blacks could buy an affordable home. Graham and other area businessmen, including Dr. I. S. Hankins, formed a corporation to purchase land and provide loans for the subdivision.
Built by Dr. William Monroe Wells, the hotel served to board entertainers that were performing in the area. The Wells’Built Museum of African American History is now located here, featuring memorabilia, artifacts, and a guest room with authentic furnishings of the 1930s.
The Dr. William Monroe Wells’ site of the South Street Casino was a place for young people to hold meetings and for recreation or sports. Later it became a major spot for adult dances.
John H. Jackson’s building was the home of the Colored Servicemen’s Club and served as a USO Club for Black soldiers during World War II. After the war, it was a meeting place for Black veterans.
The Shiloh Baptist Church was organized in 1899 with Rev. A. Arnett. Prominent members of this church are Arthur “Pappy” Kennedy, who was Orlando’s first Black city commissioner, and the second Black to serve on the city commission - Napoleon Ford.
Washington Shores Federal Savings and Loan Association was the first Black-owned financial institution in Florida. When it opened in April 1963, it had $400,000 in assets and 362 shareholders.
The legacy of these churches and community leaders continues to shape Orlando today. Efforts to preserve these historic landmarks ensure that their stories will continue to inspire future generations.
Timeline of Selected Events: National African American Fellowship of the Southern Baptist Convention (NAAF)
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1845 | 100,000 Blacks in SBC, nearly all were slaves. |
| 1942 | Work among Negroes renamed Cooperative Mission with Negroes. |
| 1951 | The Community Baptist Church, Santa Rosa, California and Greater Friendship Baptist Church, Anchorage, Alaska petitioned and joined the Southern Baptist Convention becoming the first Black SBC churches of the 20th century. |
| 1994 | National African American Fellowship, SBC is organized in Orlando, Florida. |
| 2012 | Fred Luter elected the first African American to serve as President of the SBC. |
