EVANGELIST STREET: THE FIRST BLACK CHURCHES
The first Black churches in Coconut Grove were all founded along Evangelist Street. Have a listen as Mrs. Thelma Anderson Gibson takes us back and shares the importance of this historic portion of the West Grove. Macedonia Baptist Church just celebrated its 125th anniversary on October 24, 2020.
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Transcript
I think most of you must know by now that we did not have a church only for Colored people and we would have to go up in the village up in White Town, back then, for church, and they got tired of that. And this is why they started their own churches on Evangelist Street in Colored Town. And it was Colored Town and White Town up until I left in 1944. I was still living in Colored Town. When it was Evangelist Street, it was named that because there were three churches at first, three Black Churches or Colored churches back then, were founded on Evangelist Street. Macedonia Baptist Church was the first one. St. Paul AME Church was the second one. And if all of you know, Mrs. Amarista, where our house is today, that’s where the AME Church was. It sat back there on that land. The minister lived in the house right next to the Bunyan House. Across the street, Christ Episcopal Church was founded in 1901 in the home of the Clark family. And it was amazing that almost all of the members of that founding group were on Charles Avenue.






























