One of the nation's oldest and most important churches celebrates its 200th anniversary this year. In 1808, 15 "people of colour" who were members of New York City's First Baptist Church decided it wasn't appropriate for God's house to have segregated seating and left to form their own church with the assistance of some Ethiopian merchants. The new church's name came from the ancient name for Ethiopia -- Abyssinia. Rev. Vanvelser was the church's first pastor.

The exact seating arrangements First Baptist Church used aren't known, but many white dominated churches at the time required black members to sit in the back or in the balcony if the church had a balcony. Abyssinian wasn't the first black church in New York, but it was the first black Baptist Church. Mother AME Zion church had been established 12 years earlier in 1796. Abyssinian would be followed a year later by establishment of St. :Phillip's Episcopal Church.

The first building was on Worth Street. When the building became too small it was sold and the church met in various locations until purchasing property on Waverly Street. During the ministry of Rev. William Spellman from 1856 through 1885 church membership reached 1,600.

Perhaps the most significant event in the church's history occurred on December 30, 1908, when the church called New Haven, Conn., pastor Adam Clayton Powell, Sr., to be its new pastor. His son Rev. Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., had been born a month earlier on November, 29.

In 1937 Powell, Sr., retired and his son became the church's most famous pastor. Under Rev. Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., between 8,000 and 10,000 people were affiliated with the church.

The establishment of black churches played an important role in black social history. Black churches provided an opportunity for development of social leaders in the black community. Whites were in the majority and were unlikely to elect minorities to political office. Even post Civil War southern states allowed black churches to have their own leaders.

It is no accident that the early leaders of the civil rights movement were preachers. Contrary to a popular myth, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., wasn't the first preacher to demonstrate for equal treatment. The movement to obtain equal opportunities and eliminate segregation began under a preacher at Abyssinian Baptist. King merely expanded the fight to the south where resistance was greater and the danger was greater.

Rev. Powell, Jr.'s, duties as assistant pastor of the then largest Protestant Church in the country during the Depression included distributing food and clothing to those in need. He recognized that people really needed jobs that were in even shorter supply for blacks than for whites.

He established the Coordinating Committee for Employment which used mass protests such as his "Don't Buy Where You Can't Work" campaign to persuade various businesses,including Harlem Hospital, to hire more blacks. In 1941 he used a bus boycott to force the hiring of 200 more blacks by the transit authority.

These efforts reflected the spirit of those who established Abyssinian Baptist Church in 1808. They rebelled against being required to "sit in the back of the church" and left to start their own church. Powell rebelled against black job hunters having to stand at the "back of the employment line" and pressured employers into giving black job hunters more opportunities.

In 1941, Powell adopted a new tactic, changing government from within. He successfully ran for the New York City City Council. Three years later he took advantage of redistricting to win election to Congress where, as I noted in a previous post, he worked to desegregate the military and the District of Columbia. He also was able to play a direct role in anti-discrimination legislation.

Dr. King had greater visibility because his efforts involved public demonstrations, but Powell was at least as important because he had direct access to presidents and members of Congress. Presidents desired Powell's endorsement at election time.

During this period Powell continued to serve as pastor of Abyssinian Baptist. He didn't retire until a year before his death in 1972.

Abyssinian Baptist continues the effort to help those in need. It provides housing for the homeless and senior citizens. The non-profit Abyssinian Development Corporation oversees these projects and is seeking to revitalize the economy of Harlem.

It's current pastor, Reverend Calvin Otis Butts III, is following in the tradition of Rev. Powell by holding two jobs. Butts also serves as president of State University of New York College at Old Westbury. Butts wasn't raised in Abyssinian Baptist, but he began working there as a graduate student. He is actively seeking to eliminate the last remnents of racism as well as seeking to eliminate negative lyrics and images in the recording industry.