There’s no telling where Black America would be without the church. Beyond being a physical representation of faith and community, houses of worship were so often a safe haven from the racist realities of America. They were used as sites along the Underground Railroad to shuttle Black Americans to freedom, as gathering and strategizing places during the Civil Rights Movement, and of course, as the weekly restoration of spirit every Sunday morning from leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Reverend Richard Allen and Reverend Fred Shuttleworth.

Now, perhaps more than ever, the work of the National Trust's African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund to safeguard and honor the legacy of the Black church across the country is integral. While you may have studied a few of these sacred places in your history books, many lesser known Black churches had a big impact on the culture of America as we know it. Explore these six historic churches that illustrate the legacy of the Black Church across the country.

Reedy Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church (Galveston, Texas)

Known as the Mother Church of Texas, Reedy Chapel AME Church is the first and oldest AME church in the state. White slave owners wished to provide a place of worship for their slaves, and the trustees of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South purchased the land for Reedy Chapel in 1848.

By 1863, a permanent meeting house was built, and it was here that General Order No. 3 was read, announcing the emancipation of enslaved persons in the state on the day now celebrated as Juneteenth. In 2023, Reedy Chapel received a Preserving Black Churches grant to restore its masonry, stucco and stained-glass windows to help continue its nearly two-century legacy of faith, gathering and celebrating.

Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

Cory United Methodist Church (Cleveland, Ohio)

Cory United Methodist Church moved into its current space (a former synagogue) in Cleveland’s Glenville neighborhood in 1947, but the congregation has flourished from its founding 15 members since 1875. By the 1950s and 1960s, Cory UMC was known around the Midwest as Cleveland’s largest Black-owned church, and became a key venue for grassroots organizing during the Civil Rights Movement. Leaders and scholars including Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois, Thurgood Marshall, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X addressed enormous crowds, with X giving his famous “The Ballot or the Bullet” speech from the Cory pulpit. The church’s 2023 PBC grant will help Cory United Methodist Church hire its first director of preservation to lead the building's restoration efforts and continue its legacy as an active church and national landmark.

Mother African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church (Harlem, New York)

Founded in 1796, Mother African AME Zion Church is recognized as the oldest Black church in New York State, and was regularly referred to as the "Freedom Church" for its active participation in Black social activism. The present Neo-Gothic church designed by African American architect, George Washington Foster Jr., and built in 1925, is the congregation’s sixth church space and an anchor of community in Harlem. It was a haven for Black artists during the Harlem Renaissance and a hub of Civil Rights activity in the 1950s and 60s. Mother AME Zion’s 2023 PBC grant was a seed investment for a new endowment to help the congregation create a more sustainable funding model for future preservation of the historic landmark.

Leake Temple African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church (Anchorage, Alaska)

Brown Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church (Selma, Alabama)

Built in 1908 by formerly enslaved Black builder A.J. Farley, Brown Chapel AME Church has served as a house of worship and a platform for activism. It sheltered protesters and Civil Rights Movement leaders, serving as a starting point for the Selma to Montgomery marches that helped push the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Additionally, it was from Brown Chapel on March 7, 1965 that Congressman John Lewis and Hosea Williams led marchers over Selma's Edmund Pettis Bridge where they were attacked by law enforcement officers in what came to be known as "Bloody Sunday."