Skip to main content

Reverend Adam Clayton Powell, Sr., with His Sunday School Class, Abyssinian Baptist Church

View
@ National Portrait Gallery

Description

A charismatic preacher with superb organizational skills and a strong commitment to social welfare, Reverend Adam Clayton Powell Sr. not only built flourishing congregations but also ministered to the needs of the greater community. In 1908, following a fruitful fifteen-year pastorship at Immanuel Baptist Church in New Haven, Connecticut, Powell assumed charge of New York City's Abyssinian Baptist Church. Under his dynamic leadership, that church's membership swelled from 1,600 to 14,000, making it the largest Protestant congregation in the United States. In 1923 Powell facilitated the church's relocation from midtown to 138th Street in Harlem, where it immediately became a vital community center, providing a host of services to those in need. Committed to improving race relations, Powell further expanded his ministry by helping to found the National Urban League and serving as an early leader in the NAACP.
Type:
Image
Format:
Gelatin Silver Print
Rights:
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
View Original At:

Record Contributed By

National Portrait Gallery

Record Harvested From

Smithsonian Institution