Black Churches In Gwinnett County – Home » Columns » Mary Metro » Sunday Morning Reflections on Two Black Churches Contemplating the Future
Two black Baptist churches facing each other on Martin Luther King Jr. Street symbolize a division with great potential not only for itself but for society as well.
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Both churches are in the middle of one of the biggest stories of the year: the Atlanta Falcons’ proposed $1 billion retractable-roof football stadium.
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At 10:00 a.m. on Sundays, members of Friendship Baptist Church gather for Sunday Mass. The theme of the church yearbook is: “Remembering Our Heritage; Accepting the future: (John 3:1-8; Revelation 21:1-7).
Founded in 1862 and instituted in 1866, the congregation includes prominent Atlanta leaders, many of whom have a history of membership spanning several generations.
Across the street, Mount Vernon Baptist Church begins services at 10:30 a.m. The tone and atmosphere of the church is very different from the fellowship.
The church is filled with the sound of drummers and gospel singers, and members stand and clap, sometimes raising their hands in the air to greet God.
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At first, it seems that there are few members, but as the service continues, more members arrive with children.
Just this week, Mount Vernon announced it was asking the Georgia World Congress Center Authority for $20.375 million for the property. The GWCCA offered Mount Vernon a “best and final offer” of $6.2 million. The $14 million gap between Mount Vernon was cited as the main reason the Atlanta Falcons and the GWCCA announced their intention to move to less-than-ideal ground a half-mile away.
Therefore, visiting both churches on Sunday gives an inside look at the state of mind of each.
About half an hour into the service at Friendship, Lloyd Hoke, chairman of the church’s board of trustees, informed the crowd about the deal with the city and the Falcons.
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Hoke said the situation is changing daily, and the church has finally received a formal offer from the city and the Falcons. It wasn’t enough to close the deal, but it was enough to keep negotiations going.
“GWCC announced Thursday that it has terminated its negotiations with Mount Vernon,” Hawk said. They quickly informed us that they wanted to continue negotiations with us.
Hoke later said the city’s latest proposal was unacceptable because it would not allow Friendship to fulfill its mission of serving the needs of the church and community.
“Once we receive what we believe to be the best and final proposal, we will bring it back to the conference,” Hoke said.
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As the service approached, a minister announced to the faithful that there would be a “family gathering by special invitation in the church” on Tuesday, August 13 at 6:30 p.m. Report on discussions with the Georgia World Congress Center. The minister said the meeting was held to dispel rumors about the church.
Another important point is that negotiations between Mount Vernon and the GWCCA cannot be completely closed – otherwise why would the congregation hold a special family conference?
In his inspirational, poetic sermon, Turner combined religious verses with football metaphors, including the Falcons’ “up” slogan, “I think I can fly,” urging the church not to give up.
The verses were about an eternal God who gives strength to the weak. “But those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength; They will lift up their wings like eagles; They shall run and not be weary, walk and not faint.’
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It was hard to tell whether Reverend Turner was talking about the church’s deal with the GWCCA or the plight of the poor in the African-American community.
“Just stand your ground. Don’t panic. Don’t develop a defeatist mentality,” Turner said. “God will give strength to those who have no money. God gave you a second wind when you had almost exhausted everything you had.”
“God will give you what you need to get through your pain,” Turner said. “You don’t let the enemy direct your steps. God directs the steps… God directs. And there’s no need to be overwhelmed by evil.”
“They called me. The man said, ‘What’s wrong with you?’ I said, ‘What? Who are you?'” Turner said, quoting City Councilman Ivory Young, who said that if Mount Vernon didn’t dance to somebody’s drum, it would be a detriment to the city. “What’s wrong with you? What is wrong with the black church there? Why don’t they deal with these people?”
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Turner then reminded the congregation that Mount Vernon is not the only church with an important history, and that its heritage is also valuable.
“It’s a sanctuary,” Turner said. “If you trust God enough, God will do what He says… He will make a way anyway….
“I believe that I can fly. Believe that I can stand, that I can fly, that I can rise above all problems,” Turner added. “Don’t worry. Don’t panic. People say, ‘This church doesn’t care.’ They just want a story. They don’t belong in this church.”
It was Sunday morning at Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and Northside Drive. Two churches. Two deals. Two approaches. Two styles. Two different messages.
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The question remains whether different decisions will be made and the transaction will fail and the wrong site will be selected.
Or, the two churches could find peace with opportunities on their doorstep that would be better for the surrounding communities and Atlanta as a whole.
Maria Saporto, executive editor, is a longtime Atlanta business, civic and urban affairs reporter with deep knowledge of our city, region and state. From 2008 to 2020, he wrote a weekly … more column. Maria Saporta
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Visit Atlanta Civic Circle, a nonprofit journalism and civic engagement site dedicated to community issues and solutions. From emancipation to segregation to the civil rights movement that produced leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr., it’s impossible to talk about black American history without understanding its importance in the Peach State.
Atlanta is home to many famous people, events and landmarks, but Gwinnett also has a rich history: enslaved people built historic churches here; Black entrepreneurs created thriving business centers for their communities; Gwinnett’s first African-American school was built earlier this century; The society is born to improve the lives of the people living here; Talented black men and women rose to the top of their fields.
Today, influential figures like Bishop William Shiels of Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church in Norcross preach in the historic church built by slaves after the Civil War. Sundar Baldwin, who became the state’s first black female superintendent in 1984, is still active in community organizations. Nicole Love Hendrickson became the first African-American woman to hold the position when she was elected chair of the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners in 2020. In 2021, Dr. Calvin J. Watts became the first black superintendent of Gwinnett County Public Schools. The list goes on and history is still being made.
The following pages highlight some of the key moments and courageous individuals who have been instrumental in shaping Gwinnett County’s black history over the past two centuries and helped make it the thriving and successful place it is today.
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Hooper-Renwick, originally named Rocky Knob School, was founded in 1895 as the first school for African-American students in Lawrenceville. Almost all of the county’s black students attended school there during the 1950s and until it closed in 1964 after the integration of Gwinnett County Public Schools. The Hooper-Renwick building was slated for demolition in 2017, but the community rallied to save it. Now it is to be converted into a memorial museum and library.
In the early 1920s, entrepreneur Robert Livesey purchased the Maguire-Livesey House in South Gwinnett, nicknamed the Promised Land, which was unusual for people of color at the time. In the decades that followed, the property became a thriving farm and center for black business, bringing empowerment and a sense of community to local blacks. Today, Robert’s son Thomas carries on the family legacy, while Gwyneth restores the historic house and reopens it as a museum.
The late Iran Moore and Robbie Susan Moore were passionate community leaders.
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