The Civil Rights Movement and New Tabernacle Fourth Baptist Church

Tammy Foster-Jackson, Rev. Manigo, and Elinor Coaxum outside of the NTFBC at 22 Elizabeth Street. 2024.

This summer, HCF is proudly working alongside the congregation of the historic New Tabernacle Fourth Baptist Church (NTFBC) to help create a preservation plan for the Gothic Revival church in the Mazyck-Wraggborough neighborhood. The church is a contributing property on the National Register because of its architectural significance; commissioned and constructed in 1852 by famed designer Francis D. Lee, the massive brick church is the quintessential example of Gothic Revival Architecture with 55-foot vaulted ceilings, two beautiful stained glass windows, pointed arches, rose and tracery windows, and a cruciform floor plan. Its architectural significance is clear, but the cultural and historical significance of the church has not been highlighted as much as it deserves.

Detail of 1944 Sanborn Fire Maps. The circled area shows the NTFBC's original church, and the Sunday school before it was razed in 1950. This 1944 map makes a point to mark this property as a Black congregation.

Founded in 1875, the NTFBC was revived under the guidance of Rev. Daniel J. Jenkins in a church building near the Medical District downtown, off of Palmetto Street. An incredible leader in the community, Rev. Jenkins also founded the Jenkins Orphanage for Black children and would bring the children to the downtown church for Sunday school. In June 1950, that church building, its cemetery, and 52 houses (occupied predominantly by African American families) within a two-block area were razed to expand the Medical University of South Carolina - ironically, the church congregation later became an important player in the Charleston Civil Rights movement. That same year, NAACP attorney and future U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall led a team of lawyers in filing a lawsuit against Clarendon County schools to challenge school segregation, eventually leading to the historic 1964 Brown v. Board of Education case, in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled "separate but equal" public schools unconstitutional.

NTFBC, November 1977. Courtesy of Library of Congress HABS Survey.

New Tabernacle Fourth Baptist Church at 22 Elizabeth StreetIn 1950, NTFBC purchased the historic church at 22 Elizabeth Street. The church, in a new location, continued its rich relationship with the Jenkins Orphanage and welcomed the children for Sunday school and other programs during the 1950s. In a well-documented visit to Charleston in 1962, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke at Emmanuel AME (just around the corner from NTFBC) and as concerns over civil rights continued into the summer of 1963, Charleston's Black community increasingly boycotted segregated facilities and marched against low wages and lack of employment opportunities in peaceful protests led by NAACP leader J. Arthur Brown and Rev. James Blake, known now as the “Charleston Movement.”Church historian, Ms. Elinor Coaxum, recalls marching with her father, seeing Dr. King, and participating in a walkout with her classmates at Rivers High School. With this information, HCF intern Amanda Nestor combed archival collections and was able to supplement Ms. Coaxum's story with newspaper accounts of the school walkouts and the broader Charleston Movement."Wait...is that the New Tabernacle church?"During her research, Amanda stumbled across TV news outtakes in the Moving Images Collection at the University of South Carolina from 1963. The clip is labeled as Mother Emmanuel AME Church, but upon closer look, the iconic pointed arches and Gothic Revival details of NTFBC were unmistakable. The clip was not filmed at Mother Emmanuel, as labeled, but was filmed at the church on Elizabeth Street. Rev. B.J. Glover, pastor of Emmanuel AME, is shown speaking to a singing and swaying congregation at NTFBC. The team has also identified NTFBC’s Rev. William Edward Cheney and Charleston NAACP leader J. Arthur Brown (father of well-known civil rights activist Millicent Brown), both of whom were named in the Brown et al v. School District 20 case which ushered in school integration in Charleston. In the absence of physical records, HCF is working with long-term congregation members to record oral histories. Watch the full clip HERE.

Still from the 1963 film clip courtesy of MIRC of USC, an overflowing room at NTFBC.

New Tabernacle Fourth Baptist Church and the Civil Rights MovementAs the civil rights movement continued through the 1960s, NTFBC hosted meetings to help organize the Hospital Workers Strike to protest racial discrimination and inequality in pay based on race. More than 400 hospital workers walked out between March 19 and June 27, 1969. On March 31, 1969, Rev. Ralph D. Abernathy, president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) came to Charleston for the 12th Annual SCLC Convention to address the Charleston Hospital Strike at the invitation of Mary Moultrie of Local 1199B and NTFBC. Before his arrival, the National Guard had been stationed in Charleston to prevent riots.

Still from 1963 MIRC USC, Rev. BJ Glover speaking from NTFBC

In April 1969, over 400 grade school and high school students met at NTFBC to organize a protest in support of the striking hospital workers. At this event, Carl E. Farris, Charleston's project director for the SCLC, announced that they were going to open the second chapter of the Poor People's Campaign and students selected their group leaders, including Jerome Smalls as the youth leader. In June 1969, Rev. Abernathy spoke to an overflowing crowd at NTFBC, followed by a peaceful march to the intersection of King Street and Calhoun Street and back to 22 Elizabeth St. Rev. From August 15 - October 29, 1969, the church was also engaged in the Sanitation Workers' Strike, led by Elizabeth Crawford, local president of the National Council of Distributive Workers Union. Over 200 sanitation workers marched from the Line Street Sanitation Department to the corner of Charlotte and Elizabeth Streets, the site of the New Tabernacle Fourth Baptist Church. More than a thousand African-American citizens were arrested during the Charleston Movement, but Kress and other stores eventually opened their doors to blacks at the end of the protest. These events created a surge in black voter registration.The Civil Rights Act of 1964, 60 years later

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is a historic civil rights and labor law that outlawed discrimination based on color, national origin, race, religion, or sex. This act, signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on July 2, 1964, prohibited discrimination in public places, provided for the integration of schools and other public facilities, and made employment discrimination illegal and was the most sweeping civil rights legislation since Reconstruction. 2024 marks the 60th anniversary of the signing of this law and HCF's experience learning more about NTFBC demonstrates that there are still so many stories left to uncover. HCF and historians are fortunate that many witnesses to this part of our American history are still with us, and still able to provide important first-hand accounts of these events, however, these sources are fleeting. It is more important than ever to protect photographs, capture stories and record memories before this history is lost to time.As a witness to history, the New Tabernacle Fourth Baptist Church has stood the test of time and continues to serve its congregation today. Structurally, the NTFBC is under extreme threat of deterioration beyond repair. HCF and our partners are working feverishly to develop a preservation plan for the church, however, the property is in dire need of a temporary roof cover to protect it from additional damage and is currently raising funds for this crucial project through a GoFundMe campaign. Without this temporary roof cover, the church is extremely vulnerable to irreversible damage as hurricane season looms.

This incredible church has continuously served the Charleston community since 1852. As an architectural marvel, its Gothic Revival beauty contributes to the city's historic fabric. It has served as an important and safe meeting space in a city where African Americans were fighting for equality. The church also worked closely with fellow Black congregations such as Morris Street Baptist Church and Emmanuel AME, both within a few blocks of 22 Elizabeth Street. Together, these sacred places and their congregations were able to come together, work together, and march together. HCF is working on a new preservation initiative to support this and other historic sacred spaces because of their invaluable contributions to our cultural history. Without the New Tabernacle Fourth Baptist Church, the civil rights movement in Charleston would have lacked an important partner and meeting space for Charlestonians and activists like Ralph Abernathy and J. Arthur Brown.In 2024, the New Tabernacle Fourth Baptist Church is now asking Charleston for its support - for your support.Make a donation through GoFundMe to directly support this preservation project. Each donation will directly benefit the Temporary Roof Cover for the Gothic Revival Church on Elizabeth Street and the historic congregation.Learn more about HCF's work with NTFBC on this preservation project with Artis Construction, Glenn Keyes Architects and Reggie Gibson Architects HERE.

Interior, 2024. The congregation is currently unable to use this space due to disrepair. Please donate to support this preservation project.

Sources:Civil rights rally at church--outtakes. (WIS-TV News Story 63-747.) WIS-TV News Collection. Moving Image Research Collections. University of South Carolina.Joiner, L. (2015, June 19). Charleston church shooting and a city’s place in Civil Rights History. Time. https://time.com/3928713/charleston-civil-rights-movement/