St. Philips Episcopal Church

Upon beginning this assignment, my main issue was finding a historical site worth writing about. I did not want to be stuck with something typical or predictable. I wanted to try and find a site that was of significance to American Politics and to the community that it resided in. I have always held a strong interest in civil rights and the difficulties of the minorities to gain equality in America. I also knew from previous studies that the churches often held a great amount of influence in the progress of the African American people when fighting for that equality. I decided then, that my passion in the assignment could be best found in a New York City Landmark that held significance to the civil right struggle and was or was of some relation

Fortunately, with the churches insurance and the help of members of the church, a new church was reconstructed in the same place as the old one and made in stone to prevent future fires. Finally, about a year late in December 1822, the new church opened up welcoming the community (Kempton, 1889). One individual that made a great standing during this time of need for the church was its first official rector, Peter Williams Jr. Williams was a member of the church before his initial promoting to rector and priesthood in 1826. He worked diligently under the leaders of the group in Trinity church and helped in the development of the St. Philips Episcopal Church. He was also well known for his efforts in guaranteeing civil justice to black people in New York (Kissinger, 2007) as well as his efforts to overall better his community. Many other black individuals of exceptional status admired Williams work and chose to stand beside him in a struggle to secure “civil rights and economic justice for all” (Lawson, 1952). Many of which included: “James McCune Smith, the first black physician, Alexander Crummell, a leading educator and supporter of Liberia, Charles L. Reason, the first black college professor, and George Thomas Downing, a prominent black businessman” (Kissinger, 2007). Unfortunately, the fire would not be the last of the necessary changes that the St. Philips Episcopal Church had went through. The church actually underwent several reconstructions and overall moving’s before finally settling in its present day location on 134th street in Harlem. The more significant changes would have to be in 1834 when a group of white rioters attempted to destroy the building and succeeded and in 1863 when New York officials used the church as militia barracks during draft riots. It was not