In honor of Black History Month, we are pleased to offer this opportunity to explore Quinn Chapel AME Church, Chicago’s oldest African American congregation, organized in 1847. The church played an important role in the abolitionist movement and served as a stop on the Underground Railroad. In 1891, architects Henry F. Starbuck and Charles H. McAfee completed the present Gothic Revival structure, which has served as an anchor of the Bronzeville community ever since.

Many distinguished individuals have spoken from its pulpit including Booker T. Washington, George Washington Carver, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and presidents William McKinley and William Taft. The building was designated a Chicago landmark in 1977, and in 2007, an original pew was donated to the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.

This program will include a presentation on the history of the congregation, followed by a tour of its building which is currently undergoing significant restoration. The event is free of charge, but reservations are requested.

The program is co-sponsored by Glessner House, Friends of Historic Second Church, Second Presbyterian Church, and Quinn Chapel AME Church.

PLEASE NOTE THIS IS AN IN-PERSON EVENT. THE PRESENTATION WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE ONLINE.

(Photo by Anne Munzesheimer)