What is the Black church?
“The Black church” refers to the predominantly African American Protestant churches that grew out of the United States' history of slavery and segregation. While Black Christians worship in every denomination, the Black church proper is a distinct cultural and theological tradition centered in seven historic denominations:
The Seven Historic Black Denominations
- National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. — the largest, founded 1895
- National Baptist Convention of America — split from NBC USA in 1915
- Progressive National Baptist Convention — formed 1961, MLK's denomination
- African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) — founded 1816 by Richard Allen
- African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church (AME Zion) — “the Freedom Church”
- Christian Methodist Episcopal Church (CME) — founded 1870
- Church of God in Christ (COGIC) — largest Pentecostal denomination in the U.S.
Worship style
Black church worship is distinctive: lengthy services rich in scripture, music, and call-and-response between preacher and congregation. Gospel music, born in the Black church, is now a global art form. Services often last 90 minutes to three hours, with a strong emphasis on the preached word.
Iconic Black churches
- Ebenezer Baptist Church (Atlanta, GA) — Martin Luther King Jr.'s church
- Mother Bethel AME (Philadelphia, PA) — Richard Allen's founding church
- Abyssinian Baptist Church (Harlem, NY) — historic Harlem Renaissance congregation
- Mason Temple (Memphis, TN) — COGIC headquarters; site of MLK's “Mountaintop” speech
- Sixteenth Street Baptist Church (Birmingham, AL) — civil rights movement bombing memorial
- First African Baptist Church (Savannah, GA) — one of the oldest Black churches in North America
The Black church and civil rights
The Black church was the organizing center of the civil rights movement. Most major civil rights leaders were ordained pastors or active church members. Today, the Black church remains a powerful force in American politics, education, economic development, and community-building.
Finding a Black church near you
Browse our Baptist churches and Methodist churches directory. The largest concentrations of historic Black churches are in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and across the urban North.