Download or read book Richmond's First African Baptist Church written by Dr. Raymond Pierre Hylton, Dr. Rodney D. Waller, and Dr. Kimberly A. Matthews and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2023-01-30 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First African Baptist Church has served the Richmond community since 1780, proving to be a pillar of strength for African Americans in the former Confederate capital. The First African Baptist Church congregation endured slavery, the tumultuous years of the Civil War, Reconstruction, and repression from the white supremacist regime that dominated Virginia politics and persevered as a vibrant force through civil rights struggle and the daunting challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement. Such notables as Lott Carey, L. Douglas Wilder, Maggie Lena Walker, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Mary Lumpkin, and Henry "Box" Brown were church members.