HISTORY
In March 1836, thirteen determined men and women received permission from the Territorial Legislature of Michigan to own and operate their own church. This was Detroit's seventh major church (after Saint Anne Catholic, First Presbyterian, Central Methodist, Saint Paul Episcopal Cathedral, First Baptist, Saint Mary Catholic) and was the oldest among Blacks in the Midwest. Second Baptist claimed a mission to free slaves and have them enjoy the full privileges of American citizenship.

Operating downtown Detroit since organized, Second Baptist has set a pattern for other churches with a variety of historical accounts:

--From 1836 to 1865, the end of the Civil War, the church served as a "station" on the Underground Railroad, receiving some 5,000 slaves before sending them on to Canada. By giving them food, clothing, shelter, the church was in total defiance of the Fugitive Slave Laws.

--In 1839 Second Baptist established the city's first school for black children.

--1841 the church called a meeting in Amherstburg, Canada to establish the Baptist Association for Coloured People to aid escaping slaves, fight slavery, promote unity, exchange ideas, and assist in organizing other Baptist churches.

--In 1843 the first State Convention of Colored Citizens met at Second Baptist, demanding the right to vote. The Equal Rights League made the second petition in 1865. Both were denied. The church kept pressure on until the end of the Civil War when the 13th-14th-15th Amendments were added to the Constitution declaring an end to slavery, making Blacks citizens, and allowing black men to vote.

--In 1859 Abolitionist Frederick Douglass spoke at Second Baptist minutes before a meeting with Revolutionary John Brown in a Detroit home to plan methods of freeing slaves.

--In 1863 the church hosted a public reading of the Emancipation Proclamation to understand that President Lincoln had freed the slaves in only the ten "rebellious" states, leaving the nation half-slave and half-free.

--In 1896 Second Baptist began an emphasis on foreign missions, sending one of its members to Africa, followed by many others over the years.

--In 1927 Ralph Bunche, the first Black to receive the coveted Nobel Peace Prize, was baptized at this church.

--Over the years, Second Baptist can claim direct, or indirect, influence in the creation of over 30 churches serving or controlled by Blacks, providing the incentive, organization and operation through its ministers, leaders, and members.

The church recently celebrated 160 years of religious emphasis and is anticipating the countdown to 2001, when Detroit will celebrate 300 years, and Second Baptist will have served in three centuries!