Newspapers / Africo-American Presbyterian (Wilmington, N.C.) / Jan. 27, 1927, edition 1 / Page 1
Part of Africo-American Presbyterian (Wilmington, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
AND YE SHALL KNOW THE TRUTH, AND THE TRUTH '! CHARLOTTE, N. C., THURSDAY^ JANUARY 27, 1927. NEGRO COMMUNITY IN HARLEM BOASTS 150 CHURCHES Ecclesiastical Property in This Region Belonging to Race Is Valued at $6,000,000 By Lester A. Walton, in The New York World There are more , than 150 churches in Harlem's Negro sec tion. No other community in Greater New York can lay claim to so many. Whiie sorae^are disparagingly referred to as “two by four “and there are quite a number which cannot be called gems of eccle siastical architecture, having been formerly used as private dwellings, or stores, neverthe less the ministers and communi cants are proud of these church es. Negro congregations in Har lem own more valuable church property than in any other city, the figures being put at over $6,000,000. Many of the struc tures are imposing in appear ance. Some are the latest in church construction. Some Examples St. Mark’s Methodist Episco pal church recently moved into its new plant costing $580,000. Abyssian Baptist church, Moth er African Methodist Episcopal Zion church, Mount Olivet Bap tist churcn and St. Philip’s Pro testant Episcopal church are re puted to be the most ornate and costly temples of worship for Nc~ro?s of their faiths. Salem Methodist Episcopal church, Metropolitan Baptist church, Bethel African Methodist Epis copal church, St. James’ Pres byterian church, Union Baptist church, Rush Memorial ^jncan -Methodist *. * Episcopal ^ Zion church, Grace Congregational church and Mt. Calvary Meth odist Episcopal church are in cluded in the list valued in six figures, ranging from $100,000 to $500,000. A survey of Negro churches 'n Harlem taken last July by the New York Urban League gave the number as 141. Approxi mately 15 new congregations have since been organized. Nearly 40 churches are Bap tist. It is pointed out that a Baptist minister desirous of es tablising a new church does not have to receive sanction from high officials as is necessary in other large denominations. Usually Baptist and Method ist churches are in the majority in Negro communities. Howev er, in Harlem the Spiritualist Church takes second rank nu merically. There are about 25 Spiritualist churches to 22 Methodist churches of various branches. Members of the race attend five Catholic churches or missions. There is one Protest ant Episcopal church and two missions, two Congregational, twor Presbyterian, one Moravian, one Christian Scientist, two Sev enth Day Adventist, one He brew, one Emmanuel, one Luth eran and seven African orthodox churches. Other denominations are the Metaphysical Church of Divine Investigation, the Holy Church of the Living God, Beautiful Eden Free Psychic, Church of the First Born and the Prophet Bess Church. Does the church exert a far reaching influence in communi ty life for law and order? If the police blotter is to be taken as a barometer the answer, ves. Police Capt. Camille w^ferne of the West 135th Street Police Station, who commands the 16th Precinct, says the section is one of the most law-abiding in Man hattan; that it is entirely free of organized or premeditated crime; that gangs are unknown and no trouble is encountered by police in obtaining witnesses as in some section. One Big Robbery The major crime committed in the precinct is felonious Assault, usually growing out of a love affair. Only one big robbery has been committed in six months. That was when white men shot and robbed a driver employed by a large ice cream concern. Despite his long experience in the Police Department, when Capt. Pierne was transferred to the 16th Precinct Police Station last July he had preconceived uncomplimentary ideas of Har lem’s lar^e Negro population— an _ uncommon fault. His views, he says, have undergone a marked change. Capt. Pierne remained at his desk until 5:30 o’clock New Year’s morning, as a large num ber of people were hilariously celebrating the advent of 1927. Yet the records show that only two arrests of civilians were made—one a white man and one a colored man—each having broken panes of glass while in toxicated. Otherwse the police passed an uneventful night. In the 16th Precinct are sev enteen cabarets of various sizes and catering to different clien teles. They are owned by col ored and white men. Capt. Pierne reports that Harlem cab arets observe police regulations and are as orderly as those on Broadway and in Greenwich vil lage. The bulk of the large Negro population of 250»0Q0 lives in the HffriT Police-' ’which runs from West 130th Street on the South to the Polo Grounds on the North, and takes in resi dents living between Madison Avenue on the East and St. Nicholas Avenue on the West. During December the records reveal that in a population of 200,000, the .most important ar rests were: 1 for homicide or shooting, 1 for robbery, 15 for burglary, principally in flats and apartment houses; 15 for mis cellaneous felonies and 54 for grand larceny, such as stealing automooiies. Some of the pris oners were white but the major ity were colored. With incontrovertible statis tics indicating there are more than 150 churches and less than 20 cacarets in the Nation’s most widely known Negro district, it would seem that on the face of facts and figures the community should be looked upon as one of churches rather than of caba rets. Furthermore, while an appreciable number of cabaret devotees come from other parts of the city and belong to other groups, me cnurchgoers are res idents o- vde community and un questionably reflect the life within its ^orders. me unurcnes Among the Harlem churches where Negroes worship are St. Barnabas African Orthodox Church, Bible Truth Church of God, Nazareth Baptist, Union African Methodist Episcopal, Church of the First Born, Tem ple of the Gospel of the King iom, Harlem Pentecostal As ssembly, House of Prayer, Bap tist; Spirit Messages, Metaphy sical Church of Divine Investi gation, Liberty, Spiritual; Inde pendent Church of the Spirit ual Temple of Truth, Love and Friendship, Spiritualist; Evan gelical Church of God, Beautiful Fden, Free : Psychic; Silver Light, Spiritualist; Emanuel Holiness, Universal Church of Christ, Apostolic, Congregation i)f -Beth B’nai Abraham, Cedar Grove Baptist, Shiloh .Baptist, Metropolitan Baptist; Salem Methodist Episcopal, Unity, Christian Science Meeting House, St. Matthew's of the Divine, Tabernacle of the Con gregation of the Disciples of the Kingdom, Allen Memorial, Spir itu£*l: Spiritualistic, St. Andrew’s Baptioi Church. Rendall Memorial, Presbyteri an ; Galilee Christian, African Orthodox ; William Institutional, Centr 1 Methodist Episcopal; Mt. Pleasant Baptist, New York National Baptist; Central Bap tist, First Emmanuel, Gospel Hall; Paradise, Baptist; Taber nacle, Baptist; Church of the Spiritual Star, Catholic; Seventh Day Adventist, No. 1; Timothy Baptist, Holy Church of the Liv ing God, New York Colored Mis sion, King’s Chapel, Pentecostal Assembly House; Community, African Methodist Episcopal; Christian Mission of the British West Tnaies, Mt. Moriah Bap tist, Spiritual Church of Christ, Prophet Bess, St. John’s African Orthodox, St. Mary’s African Orthodox, Spiritual Home, An thony Shrine, Inc.; St. Anthony, Spiritualist; Universal Christian Mission, seventh Day Adventist, No. 2; Holy Temple, Church of God; Walker Memorial, Bethel African Methodist Episcopal, Gospel Hall,. Pilgrim Baptist, Holy Tabernacle of God, Holy Divine, Spiritualist; Baptist Temple. st. Aloysius s uatnoiic; ren tecostal Assembly Church of God; Temple of Inspired Souls, Spiritual, St. Anthony’s A. 0. Church of God, Beulah Baptist, Refuge Church of Christ, Apos tolic, St. John’s Baptist Mission, Rush Memorial A. M. E. Zion, Catholic Church of St. Mark the Evangelist, Abyssian Baptist, Universal Spiritualist, St. Mark’s M. E., Beulah Wesleyan Methodist, Jehovah Jireh Spirit ualist, Spiritualist Church of Christ’s Teaching, Holy Temple of God in Christ, Queen’s Rescue Mission, Mt. Carmel Baptist, Temple of St. Joseph Spiritual ist, tjnited Praying:^Bgnd%jf£ New York, Grace Gospel, St. Philip’s P. E. King’s Highway Mission, Southern N. C. Baptist, Gospel Mission, Spiritual Church of the Temple of Love, United Apostolic Church. Ebenezer Wesleyan Method ist, St. Matthew’s A. M. E. Zion, Metropolitan A. M. E., Jerusa lem Baptist, Holy Utopian, Community Baptist, Ebenezer Baptist, Mount Calvary Baptist, St. Charles Borromeo Catholic, Chapel of the Cruifixion Cath olic, Little Mount Zion Baptist, Mount Calvary M. E., Grace Congregational, Mother A. M. E. Zion, St. James Presbyterian, Grace Christian, Mission of the Crucifixion, Fourth Moravian, Harlem community, Mount Oli vet Baptist, Second Mount Tabor Baptist, Mount Zion Pentecostal, Light House Spiritual, Good Shepherd Mission, People’s Methodist, Gospel Tabernacle, Christian Ecclesia, St. John’s A. M. E., All Saints A. 0., Collegi ate Chapel, New York Baptist Temple, Union Congregational, Transfiguration Lutheran, Mac edonia Baptist, St. Luke’s A. M. E., United Apostolic Church of Christ, Progressive Spiritual and National Baptist Church. THE “C” IN Y. M. C. A. The roung Men’s Christian Association, while enlarging its buildings and expanding its work, was warned in addresses made beiore the annual dinner of the New York Y. M. C. A., held at the Hotel Roosevelt in New York on January 10, against losing sight of its Chris tian mission and its duty to young men and boys. The Rev. Henry Howard, D. D., pastor of the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian church, particular ly sounded a note of warning against forgetting what the “C” in Y. M. C. A. stands for. “We want men here who can stand for that third letter,” he de clared. “For every man we have got into the Kingdom of God through giving him a sandwich, we have ten men who are able to furnish their own food and clothing through having come into the Kingdom.” Dr. John R. Mott, Presdient of the World’s Alliance of the Y. A's and General Secretory °^HUie iNational Council, men tioned the rapid expansion in Y. M.\'C. A. building during, the la!* generation, and then urged thsijrthe association keep always uppermost in its mind the fu tile welfare of youth* .fChreat as is the need of ex g in the immediate future ions of dollars on this en rise,” he said, “it is of equal ance that there be liber a far greater lay force in r that the principles and it ior which the Association ids may be brought to bear upon the everyday life and re lationships of the youth of the “We are summoned to a larker comprehension and un derstanding. Surging around us |s a new generation. Forty two' per cent of the male popu lation of this city is made up of yoting men between twenty and thMy-four years of age, and thejmajority of them are un mdfried. owhere on earth does there exlit such a field. We must seek to understand their antecedents, the$r background, their mentali ty, their outlook, their ruling motives and ambitions, their needs and aspirations. We must get la clearer view of our objec tive!, our distinctive sphere and functions, and also of our rela tio^hips to all other construct ive i forces interested in the young manhood and boyhood of the .city. Such knowledge is es sential if the Association is to afford mat guidance and service and ^outlet which this pulsating youth with its limitless possibil ities demands.” BRANCH Y. W. C. A., NEWARK, N. J. Well, the holidays are gone and now we are getting back to ourselves again. They were spent very pleasantly. Many nice presents were given by one another. I spent one day in New York City with my brother and family. They made the day a real delight. Clubs are meeting regularly and growing in numbers. On January 11 the house girls of the “Y” were organized into a nice, large club. We se lected for our name “Live-Y ers.” The purpose of our club is to promote real interest in home and a closer tie in religious du ties. Saturday we had a real snow storm. It was the coldest day of the season. Sunday we had our vespers. We had a health program. Mrs. Elizabeth W. Tyler, the Execu tive Secretary of the New Jer sey Tuoerculosis League, Inc., conducted the vespers. She presented Dr. Myra Smith, a young woman physician, as speaker. Dr. Smith was very eloquent and made many helpful suggestions to the audience. After Dr. Smith spoke Mr. Rock made some very interest ing pictures on health. After tne service, the Secre tary, Mrs. A. P. Allison, and her family were very delightfully surprised when the dining room door swung open and the “Live “Y-ers” invited them in to din ner. The table was beautifully dec orated with pot flowers and fruit end the dinner was served in courses. The waitress was full of oignity and knew her duty. Some funny jokes were told. The joke told by Mr. Al lison ticlded the girls very much. He said that Hambone was asked by the Deacon to give money forthe .cause of Christ. Hambone said, “I alius has a dollar for de Marstcr, but I’m powerful perticular who I sends it by.” I am inclosing $1.00 for the Africo. MRS. H. D; HALL, Matron. BOOK GHAT A REVIEW OF "THE AD VANCING SOUTH.” BY DR. EDWIN MIMS By Mary White Omgton, Chairman N. A. A. CL P.. To me, the most interesting part of the book is the South’s struggle for academic freedom. We learn of great moments in the past when Trinity College (now Duke University.) stood by John Spencer Bassett. Basset had written an article in which he had said that save for Gen eral Lee, Booker Washington was the greatest man thfe South had produced in a hundred years, ope can imagine the up roar. When the Board of .Trus tees, after a protracted sitting, decided that academic freedom must be preserved and refused to accept the resignation that Professor Bassett was ready to present, it was three o’clock in the morning. But the student body, the youth who are doing so much for freedom in the South today, were up waiting eagerly for the news of the out come, ana when they heard they rang the college bell and made bonfires of victory. An other great moment was the freeing oi Vanderbilt Universi ty from the domination of the Methodist Church. The story of the University , of North Car olina is a continuous tale of suc cessful bouts with a legislature that was more conservative thap the college and yet that learned to be very proud 'of the achieve ments ox its men of science and letters- . Howard, Odum’s Journal o±* Social TT'orces is giv en special mention. This is ac counted by two such diverse critics as Ross of Wisconsin and Mencken of the American Mer cury as the most interesting and comprehensive journal of its kind in the United States. There are chapters on the newspapers that are doing lib eral work, among them the Memphis Commercial Appeal, the bnarleston News and Cou rier and the Columbia State. The Columbus (Georgia) En quirer-Sun, edited by Julian Harris, son of Joel Chandler Harris, is not afraid of the truth as when it states that “Georgia holds the first place among her sister States for the number of native born illiterates and the last place in her per capita ex penditures for education.” Nell Battle i^ewis of the Raleigh News and Observer, comes in for high praise. I can only see her as sne stood on the platform of Smitn college, class day ora tor, talking on the South and cis she came to the Negro say ing with a little sneer and a wave of the hand: “On this sub ject I refer you to the Negro mir^trel.” A colored classmate of four years was facing her. The South has advanced if Nell Battle Lewis has had a change ot heart. When it comes to the Negro question, Mr. Mims, like other advancing Southerners, does not talk much. Even the Interracial Committee’s work is dismissed with a few pages. To me, he is least convincing when he asks us to have sympathy with the white man who has borne the burden or the Negro’s criminal ity, disease and inefficiency. Disease, crime and inefficiency re social problems. In so far as the South has been impov erished, all its working class has suffered from it. Today as long as the Southern em ployer of labor discriminates against the black man in edu cation, health, housing, he will suffer; but we have no more reason to pity him than we have reason to pity exploiters of labor in the North. One of the finest of human qualities is the intense pride that most people have in their work. BARBER COLLEGE NEWS »v t'p* asiiij H‘ A «uori By Joetta The past week hag beep y^s itors’ week in Bairberi 0n Sun day Mrs. Bell and her toother, Mrs. Hawkins, stopped over pn their way home from Florida. Mrs. Mevich had arriyed tiie day before for a littie visit with her daughter, Miss Mevich, teacher of voice. Mrs. Mevich came directly from her home in Nebraska. Dr. A. B. McCoy, of Atlan ta, Ga., motored oyer bringing his family, Mrs. McCoy,, Celia and Myrtle. Dr. McCoy in the morning at Calvary Pres byterian church. In the after noon the Daily Vacation Bible Band met with him in the chap el and plans and phases of the work were freely discussed and drawn up. Just at early twingnt tne i. W. C. A. group conducted a ser vice during which Dr. and Mrs. McCoy both spoke about their trip to Europe. Their talks were very interesting and instructive. When Dr. McCoy had finished talking about the newly opened door to Africa, many of the girls expressed a desire to go, and a little informal group gathered around after i the close of the service, eager to hear and know more about “other people.” . Wednesday morning. Barber was honored by a visit frnpt a representative of the Theodpre Presser Company. He told oif long years of service with the Wanamaker Company in . New York, and of the progress -that that institution has made with muyp-7-p%rticularly carol sing ing, in which employer, employ ee and purchaser all join joy fully. He sang a number of songs, and received more enthu siastic applause than had been heard this yccr in the chapel Spring must be 01 the way, for the thermemetcr made a jump from 8. above to 76. Barber sends four representa tives to the Workers’ Confer ence this yerr. T’ e “folks back in school” look forw ri to their return with plensant anticipa tion. Miss Kinniburgh always comes back wi.h “inforamtion to let.” Misses Irwin, Edwards and Speer will also be “Conference Bulletins.” A recital by the students of the music department in chapel Friday morning was much en joyed. The program follows: “Butterfly”—Grieg—By Ma rie Vernon. “Scene 1 from an imaginary Ballet”—Coleridge-Taylor—J o etta Stinson. “The Flatterer”—Chammade. Thelma Miller. v “In the Time of the Roses — Hoffing—Laura Crayton. “Pastorale”—Mozart—Bessie Mayle. “Chinese Quarrel”—Nieland— Lillian Smith. PANTHERSFORD CHURCH, BUIE, N. C. Please allow me a short space in your valuable paper to say that Panthersford church, under the leadership of Dr. Hays wood, is not dead, though you have not been hearing from her very often. We are glad to say that 1926 was a year of suc cess to Panthersford church. Dr. Hayswood planned and we followed. At the end of the year everybody felt that the Lord was with us. The 4th Sunday in October and the 4th Sunday in November we rallied for the Boards and a neat sum of ?,500 was collected. This sum liquidated our quota for the year. (§j§ On W#iesday, January 5th,! the Missionary meeting convened at the home of Mrs. A. J. Mc Millan. The following officers were elected: Mrs. A. J. McMil lan, President; Miss Sallie Wil (Continued on page 4) <
Africo-American Presbyterian (Wilmington, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Jan. 27, 1927, edition 1
1
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75