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Interior
View of the First African Baptist Church in Richmond.
(Harper's Weekly, June 27, 1874)
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image to enlarge.
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Image 8 of 40
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Like
other black churches throughout the South, the First African Baptist Church
of Richmond played a central role in the black community.
Founded in 1848, the church functioned as a social and political gathering
place as well as a house of worship.
Its pastor, the Rev. James Holmes, is seen preaching from an elevated
pulpit to members of the congregation, which numbered nearly 4,000. |
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