First African Baptist Church

This historic church was completed in 1859 for the congregation of Savannah's First African Baptist Church. The church was organized in 1773 making this the oldest African American congregation in the United States. This structure is also the first brick building in Georgia that was owned by African Americans. The church is National Historic Landmark and the building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Many of the original features from this antebellum structure are still in use, including pews that were made by enslaved people in the years prior to the Civil War and decorated with classical West African Arabic script. The sanctuary's stained glass includes a mixture of religion and history, with images of previous pastors appearing throughout the building. To this day, there are still holes in the floor in the shape of an African prayer symbol that represents birth, life, death, and rebirth. The building was used to help shelter enslaved people that escaped bondage during the Civil War, and the holes offered a second purpose: providing airflow for those hiding underneath.

During the era of segregation in Savannah, ceremonies (such as high school graduations) were held at the church for African Americans owing to the lack of funding for auditoriums in the city's Black schools. Recognizing the lack of banking services for many in the community, First African Baptist Church also established a credit union in 1954, the first church to do so in the United States. The church and the local chapter of the NAACP were both led by Reverend Ralph Mark Gilbert in the 1940s. In recognition of his leadership and contributions in support of voting rights, the city's civil rights museum is named in his honor.

Accessed July 15th 2021. https://gallivantertours.com/savannah/historic-churches/first-african-baptist-church/.

Accessed July 15th 2021. https://firstafricanbc.com/index.php.