Civil Rights Era at St. John's Church
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Designed by Benjamin Latrobe, St. John's Church is a early historic building on Lafayette Square in Washington, DC.
Credit: Carol Highsmith
Though African Americans had been married by St. John’s rector in the 1840s, in 1960, the church had no African-American members. As the Civil Rights Movement gathered force, the Church leadership recognized the need to actively welcome parishioners of all races. In August 1963, the same month that saw the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom during which the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. made his “I Have a Dream” speech, St. John’s Reverend John C. Harper sent a letter to his parishioners that read, “This church building is open, as it has always been, to all who want to worship here; the ministry of this parish is extended to any who seek it; our fellowship one with another has no limitations whatsoever.” On the day of the March on Washington, over 700 people meeting for the march filled St. John’s.
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Related Subjects:
Institutions
| Title | Description |
|---|---|
| Weddings at St. John's Church | Selected entries from the St. John's Church marriage register. |
| St. John's Church | Free and enslaved African Americans are married and baptized at the President's parish... |
| Lafayette Square | An enslaved woman buys her freedom and changes the nation's history.... |
| Freedman's Savings & Trust Co. Bank Book | Scan of the cover, back, and two inside pages of bank book from the Washington Branch of the Freedman's Savings and Trust Co. |
| Freedman's Savings & Trust Co. | $3 Million vanish without a trace... |
| "To the Depositors of the Freedmen's Savings and Trust Co." | Notice published in the New National Era from Frederick Douglass to depositors of the Freedman's Savings Bank upon the bank's failure. |
| "Monument of a Crime - Department of Justice Deserts a Fateful Building" | Transcription of an 1899 newspaper article about the failure of the Freedman's Bank of the demolition of the building. |
| "Dividends for Freedmen" | Transcription of an 1881 newspaper article detailing settlements to be paid to claimants after the Freedman's Bank failure. |
Segregation
| Title | Description |
|---|---|
| White House Picketers, 1933 | Photograph of demonstrators in front of the White House protesting the jailing of the Scottsboro boys in 1933. |
| The White House | From slavery to sit-ins.... |
| Telegram from President Theodore Roosevelt to Booker T. Washington | Telegram from President Theodore Roosevelt to Booker T. Washington after their controversial dinner. |
| Telegram from Booker T. Washington to President Theodore Roosevelt | Telegram from President Theodore Roosevelt to Booker T. Washington after their controversial dinner. |
| Rodgers House/ Belasco Theater | A command performance by the first African American opera star... |
| President Lyndon B. Johnson's Daily Diary- Civil Rights Bill Signing | Scans of pages of President Johnson's daily diary from the day of the Civil Rights Bill signing. |
| Police Arrest Civil Rights Demonstrator | Photograph of a Civil Rights protestor being arrested in front of the White House in 1965. |
| Mme. Evanti Wins Acclaim of Capital | Transcription of a 1932 newspaper account of Lillian Evanti's concert at the Belasco Theatre. |
| Lillian Evanti Costume Fan | Costume fan used by Lillian Evanti. |
| Lillian Evanti (1890-1967) | Lyric soprano Lillian Evanti was the first African American to perform with a major European opera company, but she also maintained deep ties to her native Washington, D.C. |
| Letter from Frederick Douglass on U.S. Marshal Letterhead | Correspondence of Frederick Douglass in his role as U.S. Marshal. |
| Lafayette Square | An enslaved woman buys her freedom and changes the nation's history.... |
| Grand Jury Indictment of William Clements | Grand Jury Indictment of William Clements for the Murder of James King. |
| Frederick Douglass | Revered African American leader. |
| Civil Rights Movement | The Civil Rights Movement and the 1964 Civil Rights Bill. |
| Civil Rights Leaders Meet with President Kennedy | Photograph of Civil Rights Leaders meeting with President Kennedy in the Oval Office, 1963. |
| 712 Jackson Place | Murder or self-defense? Will justice be served on Jackson Place? |
| "The First President to Entertain a Negro, Booker T. Washington Dined" | Article from African American newspaper reporting on Booker T. Washington's dinner with President Theodore Roosevelt. |
| "Monument of a Crime - Department of Justice Deserts a Fateful Building" | Transcription of an 1899 newspaper article about the failure of the Freedman's Bank of the demolition of the building. |
Civil Rights Movement
| Title | Description |
|---|---|
| White House Picketers, 1933 | Photograph of demonstrators in front of the White House protesting the jailing of the Scottsboro boys in 1933. |
| The White House | From slavery to sit-ins.... |
| President Lyndon B. Johnson's Daily Diary- Civil Rights Bill Signing | Scans of pages of President Johnson's daily diary from the day of the Civil Rights Bill signing. |
| Police Arrest Civil Rights Demonstrator | Photograph of a Civil Rights protestor being arrested in front of the White House in 1965. |
| Civil Rights Movement | The Civil Rights Movement and the 1964 Civil Rights Bill. |
| Civil Rights Leaders Meet with President Kennedy | Photograph of Civil Rights Leaders meeting with President Kennedy in the Oval Office, 1963. |
| "Memorandum for the Files, Subject: Meeting of Negro Leaders with the President, June 23, 1958" | Memorandum for President Eisenhower's files detailing meeting of Civil Rights Leaders with the President. |
