Loading AI tools
United States historic place From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
New Bethel Baptist Church is a Baptist church located at 8430 C. L. Franklin Boulevard (also called Linwood Street)[2] in Detroit, Michigan. It is affiliated with the National Baptist Convention, USA. Founded in 1932, the church was led by C. L. Franklin from 1946 until 1979 and was at the center of the civil rights movement in Detroit. Robert Smith Jr. has been the pastor since 1982. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2021.[1]
New Bethel Baptist Church | |
Location | 8430 Linwood St. (C. L. Franklin Blvd.) Detroit, Michigan |
---|---|
Coordinates | 42°22′5″N 83°6′17″W |
Website | nbbcdetroit |
MPS | The Civil Rights Movement and the African American Experience in 20th Century Detroit MPS |
NRHP reference No. | 100006130[1] |
Added to NRHP | February 8, 2021 |
The church was founded March 6, 1932. V. L. Bolton was the first pastor and was followed by Horatius "H.H." Coleman (1932–1935), N. H. Armstrong (1935–1940) and William E. Ramsey (1940–1946).[3]
In May 1946, C. L. Franklin became the pastor.[4] When Franklin became pastor, the congregation had 400 members and met in a bowling alley at Willis and Hastings.[5] In October 1951, the church moved into a new church, built at a cost of $250,000 with a seating capacity of 2,500, at 4210 Hastings Street in Detroit.[3]
In the 1950s, New Bethel became known for its gospel choir which had weekly radio broadcasts. Participants included Franklin, music director Thomas Shelby, and Franklin's daughter Aretha Franklin. James Cleveland served as organist and sometimes conductor in the early 1950s.[6][7] In 1956, a 14-year-old Aretha Franklin made her first recordings for J-V-B Records at New Bethel.[8]
In 1961, the church lost its Hastings Street building to construction of the Chrysler Freeway. The church, which had 4,000 members at the time, moved to the Gold Coast Theater (8210 Twelfth) for the next two years.[5]
On March 10, 1963, the church moved to the previously dilapidated Oriole Theater at the corner of Linwood and Philadelphia in Detroit.[5][4] Detroit architect Nathan Johnson oversaw the remodeling which cost more than $500,000.[9] The project was Detroit's "first major all-Negro building project", using an architect, contractors, and financing from the African-American community. The Detroit Free Press described the new structure as follows: "The row of glass doors at the entrance and the vast expanse of whiteness inside gives one the feeling of entering a miniature Cobo Hall."[5] More than 2,000 persons participated in a procession of cars from the temporary home at the Gold Coast Theater to the new site. At the time, Franklin described the trip as a "trip from the valley to the mountain."[5]
During the 1960s, New Bethel under Franklin became a center of the civil rights movement in Detroit. Events occurring at New Bethel included:
On March 29, 1969, the church was rented by the Republic of New Africa as the site of a black separatist convention. A shootout between police and members of the movement resulted in the death of a police officer. Police raided the church and arrested 150 persons in attendance. A juvenile, Imari Obadele 2, aka Richard B. Henry Jr., was among the 150 persons in attendance son and nephew of Imari Obadele and Gaidi Obadele, was in fact the last person to be released some days later. A controversy followed after the attendees were held and questioned without counsel.[19][20] During the incident, police fired into the church, causing extensive damage, and resulting in the need for financing to repair the "bullet-scarred" building.[21][22]
In May 1969, as the controversy over the police raid and shooting continued, Franklin was arrested by Detroit police who claimed that they found marijuana in his luggage; Franklin denied the charge, wondered if the incident was connected to the church shooting, and asserted, "Somebody wants to disgrace me."[23] Police had held the luggage for 24 hours, and Franklin claimed he had never in his life smoked marijuana.[24] The charge was dismissed one month later for insufficient evidence.[25]
In January 1974, two gunshots were fired into the church during a service conducted by Franklin. Two attendees were injured.[26][27]
In June 1979, Franklin was shot twice by burglars at his home in Detroit.[28] Franklin remained in a coma until his death from heart failure on July 27, 1984.[29] His funeral, held at New Bethel, was reported to be the largest in Detroit history, and featured Jesse Jackson as a speaker.[30] In June 2016, the portion of Linwood Street adjacent to the church was renamed Rev. Dr. C. L. Franklin Boulevard.[31]
Since the 1960s, New Bethel has been the site of funerals and memorial services for many notable Detroit residents, including the following:
Aretha Franklin was also married to Glynn Turman there in April 1978 in a ceremony featuring singing by The Four Tops.[37]
After Franklin's shooting in 1979, the church suffered from a power struggle for more than two years. In June 1982, Robert Smith Jr. became the new pastor.[38] Smith remains as the church's pastor as of 2020.
In 1987, Aretha Franklin recorded the album, One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism, at the church, releasing the album on the Arista label. The album was re-released in 2003 with previously unreleased songs.[39]
The Church has a Baptist confession of faith and is a member of the National Baptist Convention, USA.[40]
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.