Mother African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church: Difference between revisions

{{Use American English|date=May 2024}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}[[File:Mother African Meth Epis Zion Church in Harlem NYC.jpg|thumb|275px|The Mother African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church in New York City is a [[New York City Landmark]]]]

The '''Mother African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church''', also known as "'''Mother Zion'''", located at 140–148 [[137th Street (Manhattan)|West 137th Street]] between [[Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard]] and [[Lenox Avenue]] in the [[Harlem, Manhattan|Harlem]] neighborhood of [[Manhattan]], [[New York City]], is the oldest African-American church in New York City, and the "mother church" of the [[African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church|African Methodist Episcopal Zion]] conference.<ref name=nycland>{{cite nycland}} p.204</ref><ref name="Mother African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church">{{cite web |title=Mother African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church |url=http://www.neighborhoodpreservationcenter.org/db/bb_files/Mother-African-Methodist-Episcopal-Zion-Church.pdf |publisher=Neighbourhood Preservation Center, Landmarks Preservation Commission, New York City |author=Moore, John Jamison. History of the AME Zion Church (York, Penn.: Teacher's Journal Office, 1884 |accessdate=November 20, 2011 |archive-date=March 14, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220314144916/http://www.neighborhoodpreservationcenter.org/db/bb_files/Mother-African-Methodist-Episcopal-Zion-Church.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The church was designated a [[New York City Landmark]] on July 13, 1993.<ref name=desrep>Moore, Christopher and Dolkart, Andrew S. [http://www.neighborhoodpreservationcenter.org/db/bb_files/Mother-African-Methodist-Episcopal-Zion-Church.pdf "Mother African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church Designation Report"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220314144916/http://www.neighborhoodpreservationcenter.org/db/bb_files/Mother-African-Methodist-Episcopal-Zion-Church.pdf |date=2022-03-14 }} [[New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission]] (July 13, 1993)</ref>

The building was constructed between 1923 and 1925 and was designed by architect [[George Washington Foster|George W. Foster Jr.]], one of the first registered African-American architects in the United States. It is [[neo-Gothic]] in style, with a "simple facade",<ref name=aia>{{cite aia5}} p.543</ref> similar to several other Protestant churches built in Manhattan during the late 19th century and early 20th century. The sanctuary has an "auditorium" layout, of a type that was becoming popular with Protestant congregations at the time, rather than a "cross" form of layout, which has a deep [[chancel]] for the altar, and a long [[nave]] intersected by two [[transept]]s. The seating is arranged in a wide arc around the altar and pulpit, and features a wide balcony on the second level, also in an arc layout. Seating capacity inside the church is about 1000.<ref name="Mother African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church"/>

{{Quote|The colored members were not permitted to come to the sacrament (Holy Communion) until all the white members, even children, had communed.<ref name="Mother African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church"/>{{rp|28–36, 156–160}}}}

The founding bishop who led the congregation was [[James Varick]], whose tomb is located underneath the current building's sanctuary. The original congregation numbered about 100 members, who met in a rented hall.<ref>{{cite web|title=Mapping the African American Past: Mother AME Zion Church|url=http://maap.columbia.edu/place/14.html|publisher=Columbia University|accessdate=November 20, 2011}}</ref> The congregation met at several other locations in Manhattan &ndash; including at [[Church Street (Manhattan)|Church]] and Leonard Street, [[Bleecker Street]] and 127 [[89th Street (Manhattan)|West 89th Street]]<ref name=fromatoz>{{cite fromatoz}}, pp.148-49</ref> &ndash; before moving to 151 [[136th Street (Manhattan)|West 136th Street]] in Harlem in 1914,<ref name=nycland /><ref name=fromatoz /> and then settling at the present location.

The A.M.E. Zion conference was referred to nationally as the "Freedom Church" for its vital role in the United States abolitionist movement, and was an "[[Underground Railway]]" refuge.<ref name="Mother African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church"/> [[Sojourner Truth]] was a member of the congregation, and spoke out from the pulpit against slavery. [[Harriet Tubman]] and [[Frederick Douglass]] were members of the A.M.E. Zion conference at other congregations. Mother Zion's identification with the abolitionist movement led to it being attacked by an anti-black mob during the three-day [[New York anti-abolitionist riots (1834)|anti-abolitionist riot]] in 1834. Windows were smashed at Mother Zion, and several black and white churches were set ablaze. The July 12, 1834 ''[[New York Evening Post]]'' newspaper denounced the attacks as a "disgrace".<ref>{{cite news|title=Riots and Continued Disturbances of the Peace|newspaper=New York Evening Post|date=July 12, 1834|pages=1}}</ref>

Mother Zion also became an important cultural center for the city's African-American community. [[Paul Robeson]], brother of Pastor Dr. [[Benjamin C. Robeson]], spoke from the pulpit. Dr. Robeson's activism for civil rights led him to work with prominent [[Harlem Renaissance]] members such as [[Langston Hughes]] and [[W. E. B. Du Bois]].<ref name="Mother African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church"/> From the 1920s into the 1960s, [[Bertha Des Verney]] was choir and drama director at the church, and produced concerts and historical pageants as fundraisers and community outreach.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4882140/the_new_york_age/ "Misses Anderson, Schuyler Join Community Salute to Mrs. DesVerney"] ''The New York Age'' (July 11, 1959): 11. via [[Newspapers.com]]</ref><ref>Ted Ston, "Heard and Seen" ''Daily Defender'' (June 30, 1959): 10. via [[ProQuest]]</ref>

{{Portal|United States|New York City}}

{{Commons category|Mother African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church}}

{{Harlem}}

{{Authority control}}

{{coord|40.8160|-73.9418|type:landmark_region:US-NY|display=title}}

[[Category:New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan]]

[[Category:Churches in Harlem]]

[[Category:African Methodist Episcopal Zion churches]]

[[Category:Underground Railroad in New York (state)]]