Mount Olive Missionary Baptist Church - Tuskegee, AL
Posted by: 
hoteltwo
N 32° 25.879 W 085° 41.180
16S E 623502 N 3589004
Marker located at the church on Cedar Street describes the lineage of this African-American church and its use as a meeting place for civil rights groups.
Waymark Code: WM11CTN
Location: Alabama, United States
Date Posted: 09/29/2019
Views: 4
Marker text:
Mount Olive Missionary Baptist Church developed out of the Tuskegee Baptist Church, originally organized in 1842. Although both whites and blacks (slaves) initially worshipped at the same location, the white congregants built a new facility in 1858, leaving the blacks to worship in the existing structure. In 1872. the black congregation moved to a new location at Olive Hill, located approximately where the Tuskegee Fire Department now stands. In 1912, they relocated to the present site. Seven years later, 1919, a new facility was constructed and modeled after Tuskegee University's first chapel. Deacon C.H. Evans, head of Tuskegee University's Building Construction Department, along with Tuskegee students built the basic structure, a scaled-down version of the Tuskegee chapel. Mount Olive was remodeled with a brick-veneer and three-story annex in the 1950s. During the civil rights movement, the church held mass meetings for the Tuskegee Civic Association. Many important civil rights pioneers were members and are listed on the reverse.
Reverse
Mt. Olive is the oldest black Missionary Baptist Church in Tuskegee, AL. Churches that grew out of Mt. Olive were Mt. Pleasant (1870), Greater St. Mark (1880), Bethel (1882), and Friendship Missionary Baptist Churches (1902).
Mt. Olives past has been filled with many outstanding pastors, members, and leaders. It is significant to note that Booker T. Washington, founder of Tuskegee University, was among its outstanding members. Mt. Olive's notable members also include:
1963, Detroit Lee, father of Anthony Lee, chief protagonist in pivotal
court case Lee vs Macon County Alabama Board of Education
1967, Lucius Amerson, first black Sheriff (Macon County, Alabama) in
the South since Reconstruction
1972, Johnny Ford, first black Mayor (Tuskegee, Alabama)
1981. Ora Manning, first black female Interim Superintendent of Macon
County, Alabama
1986, Amelia Peterson, first black female appointed City Council
member (Tuskegee, Alabama)
1994, Grethelyn Averhart, first black female Chief of Police
(Tuskegee, Alabama)