Twelfth Baptist Church facts for kids

The Twelfth Baptist Church is a historic church in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It was started in 1840. This church is the oldest one that came directly from the First Independent Baptist Church in Beacon Hill. Many important people have been members here. These include people who fought against slavery, like Lewis Hayden and Rev. Leonard Grimes. Other famous members were the historian George Washington Williams, the artist Edward Mitchell Bannister, and the business owner Christiana Carteaux. Also, pioneering teacher Wilhelmina Crosson and civil rights movement leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. were members.

History of the Church

Title page of History of the Twelfth Baptist Church by George Washington Williams, 1874.

The Twelfth Baptist Church started in 1840. A group of 36 people left the First Independent Baptist Church. This church met in a building now called the African Meeting House. It's not fully clear why they left. Some historians believe the group wanted to fight slavery more strongly. Also, the First Independent Baptist Church did not have a permanent minister. This might have caused disagreements about how to run the church.

When the group separated in 1840, Rev. George H. Black led them. He was a Baptist minister from the West Indies. The new group first met in a building on Smith Court. Later, they moved to Phillips Street in Beacon Hill. Rev. Leonard Grimes became their first pastor in 1848. Grimes was an abolitionist, meaning he worked to end slavery. He also helped people escape slavery through the Underground Railroad. He had even been to prison for trying to help a family of enslaved people in Virginia.

The Fugitive Slave Church

Under Rev. Grimes's leadership, the church became known as "The Fugitive Slave Church." Many enslaved people who had escaped were helped by the church. A lot of them chose to join the church family. Early members included Lewis and Harriet Hayden, Shadrach Minkins, Anthony Burns, Thomas Sims, Peter Randolph, and John S. Rock. Rev. Grimes served as pastor until he passed away in 1873.

In 1907, the church moved to a building at 47 Shawmut Avenue in Roxbury. This building used to be a Jewish temple. Later, the church moved to its current home at 150-160 Warren Street.

Important Leaders and Members

The church has had many important pastors and members over the years. Rev. George Washington Williams was the second pastor. He was a veteran of the Civil War, a lawyer, a journalist, and a groundbreaking historian. Williams wrote a history of the church in 1874. Rev. J. Allen Kirk wrote an important account of the Wilmington massacre of 1898. Rev. Matthew A. N. Shaw was president of the National Equal Rights League of Boston. He also organized the Negro Sanhedrin conference in 1924.

A well-known educator, Wilhelmina Crosson, taught Sunday School at the Twelfth Baptist Church in the 1940s. She was one of the first African-American female schoolteachers in Boston. Crosson created the city's first program to help students with reading. She also strongly supported teaching black history.

Rev. William Hunter Hester wrote a history of the Twelfth Baptist Church in 1946. In the 1950s, he worked with a young assistant minister. This minister was studying to get his doctorate in theology at Boston University. His name was Martin Luther King Jr.. Rev. Hester was an old friend of King's father. He was a very important influence on young Martin Luther King Jr.

Rev. Dr. Michael E. Haynes was active in the civil rights movement. He represented Roxbury in the Massachusetts House of Representatives in the 1960s. Haynes helped start the Boston/Roxbury campus of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in 1976. This campus is called the Center for Urban Ministerial Education (CUME). It helps train pastors and church leaders from different backgrounds in Boston and across the U.S.

On September 20, 2021, King Boston gave $1 million to support the church.

Pastors of the Church

Here are the pastors who have served the Twelfth Baptist Church:

1. Rev. Leonard Grimes (1848–1874)
2. Rev. George Washington Williams (1874–1876)
3. Rev. Williams Dennis (1876–1880)
4. Rev. L. F. Walden (1880–1885)
5. Rev. Robert Fairfax (1886–1890)
6. Rev. H. H. Harris (1890–1891)
7. Rev. J. Allen Kirk (1891–1894)
8. Rev. Alfred W. Adams (1895-1898)
9. Rev. Johnson W. Hill (1898-1899)
10. Rev. Matthew A. N. Shaw (1899–1923)
11. Rev. William Hunter Hester (1924–1964)
12. Rev. Dr. Michael E. Haynes (1964–2004)
13. Rev. Dr. Arthur T. Gerald, Jr. (2010–2020)
14. Rev. Dr. Willie Bodrick, II (2021–Present)