Mount Zion Baptist Church (Charlottesville, Virginia)
Encyclopedia
Mount Zion is a Baptist
Church in Virginia
.
Rich in cultural history, the Mount Zion Baptist Church has seen more than just prayer. A social and political hub for African-Americans, it has seen the turbulent times of Jim Crow
, the Civil Rights Movement
, and Urban Renewal
. The congregation is still in place today, and the church remains a pillar of strength and pride in the black community.
Although the current Mount Zion Baptist Church has only been in existence since 1884, the roots of the church are much deeper. The church began with a petition in 1864 to separate from the segregated white Baptist church, and the congregation was officially organized in 1867. Initially taking residence in the house of Samuel White, the congregation soon grew too large for the house, and in 1875 built a wooden church in the lot next door. In 1884, they finished the current, brick church that still stands today. The church was designed by George Wallace Spooner, who also helped rebuild the Rotunda at the University of Virginia
.
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
Church in Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
.
Rich in cultural history, the Mount Zion Baptist Church has seen more than just prayer. A social and political hub for African-Americans, it has seen the turbulent times of Jim Crow
Jim Crow laws
The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws in the United States enacted between 1876 and 1965. They mandated de jure racial segregation in all public facilities, with a supposedly "separate but equal" status for black Americans...
, the Civil Rights Movement
Civil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change by nonviolent forms of resistance. In some situations it was...
, and Urban Renewal
Urban renewal
Urban renewal is a program of land redevelopment in areas of moderate to high density urban land use. Renewal has had both successes and failures. Its modern incarnation began in the late 19th century in developed nations and experienced an intense phase in the late 1940s – under the rubric of...
. The congregation is still in place today, and the church remains a pillar of strength and pride in the black community.
Although the current Mount Zion Baptist Church has only been in existence since 1884, the roots of the church are much deeper. The church began with a petition in 1864 to separate from the segregated white Baptist church, and the congregation was officially organized in 1867. Initially taking residence in the house of Samuel White, the congregation soon grew too large for the house, and in 1875 built a wooden church in the lot next door. In 1884, they finished the current, brick church that still stands today. The church was designed by George Wallace Spooner, who also helped rebuild the Rotunda at the University of Virginia
The Rotunda (University of Virginia)
The Rotunda is a building located on The Lawn in the original grounds of the University of Virginia. It was designed by Thomas Jefferson to represent the "authority of nature and power of reason" and was inspired by the Pantheon in Rome. Construction began in 1822 and was completed in 1826, after...
.