Last updated: November 12, 2024
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Tabernacle Baptist Church (Augusta, Georgia)
African American Civil Rights Network
Tabernacle Baptist Church in Augusta, Georgia was first organized as Beaulah Baptist Church in August 1885. Within a few days of its founding, the new congregation voted to change the church’s name to Tabernacle Baptist Church. In September 1885, the church began construction on its sanctuary and by December of that year it completed construction. Under the leadership of its founding pastor, Reverend Charles T. Walker, the church grew quickly.
Reverend Walker was an important figure in Augusta’s African American civic life between the church’s organization and his death in 1921. He proved integral to the establishment of Walker Baptist Institute, a high school and teacher’s college for African Americans named for Reverend Joseph T. Walker. Originally located in Waynesboro, Georgia, in 1891 the school moved to Augusta at Reverend Charles T. Walker’s urging. In 1898, Reverend Walker briefly served as a chaplain during the Spanish-American War. Afterwards, he moved to New York City where he pastored a church and helped to establish the city’s first African American branch of the YMCA. Following a brief stint in New York, Walker soon returned to Augusta as pastor of Tabernacle Baptist. Walker was a well-respected orator and regarded as the “most famous negro preacher in the world.” During Reverend Walker’s tenure, Booker T. Washington, George Washington Carver, President Howard Taft, and John D. Rockefeller visited the church to hear the renowned pastor and leader.
Tabernacle Baptist remained an important community institution following Walker’s death. It played an important role in the city during the modern civil rights movement under the leadership of Reverend Charles Spencer Hamilton. In the 1960s, the church helped to organize students participating in sit-ins from Paine College, a historically black university in Augusta. It also hosted Martin Luther King Jr. and held mass rallies and non-violent strategy meetings.
Tabernacle Baptist Church became a part of the African American Civil Rights Network in 2024.
The African American Civil Rights Network recognizes the African American Civil Rights Movement in the United States and the sacrifices made by those who fought against discrimination and segregation. Created by the African American Civil Rights Act of 2017, and coordinated by the National Park Service, the Network tells the stories of the people, places, and events of the U.S. African American Civil Rights Movement through a collection of public and private resources to include properties, facilities, and programs.
Tabernacle Baptist Church in Augusta, Georgia was first organized as Beaulah Baptist Church in August 1885. Within a few days of its founding, the new congregation voted to change the church’s name to Tabernacle Baptist Church. In September 1885, the church began construction on its sanctuary and by December of that year it completed construction. Under the leadership of its founding pastor, Reverend Charles T. Walker, the church grew quickly.
Reverend Walker was an important figure in Augusta’s African American civic life between the church’s organization and his death in 1921. He proved integral to the establishment of Walker Baptist Institute, a high school and teacher’s college for African Americans named for Reverend Joseph T. Walker. Originally located in Waynesboro, Georgia, in 1891 the school moved to Augusta at Reverend Charles T. Walker’s urging. In 1898, Reverend Walker briefly served as a chaplain during the Spanish-American War. Afterwards, he moved to New York City where he pastored a church and helped to establish the city’s first African American branch of the YMCA. Following a brief stint in New York, Walker soon returned to Augusta as pastor of Tabernacle Baptist. Walker was a well-respected orator and regarded as the “most famous negro preacher in the world.” During Reverend Walker’s tenure, Booker T. Washington, George Washington Carver, President Howard Taft, and John D. Rockefeller visited the church to hear the renowned pastor and leader.
Tabernacle Baptist remained an important community institution following Walker’s death. It played an important role in the city during the modern civil rights movement under the leadership of Reverend Charles Spencer Hamilton. In the 1960s, the church helped to organize students participating in sit-ins from Paine College, a historically black university in Augusta. It also hosted Martin Luther King Jr. and held mass rallies and non-violent strategy meetings.
Tabernacle Baptist Church became a part of the African American Civil Rights Network in 2024.
The African American Civil Rights Network recognizes the African American Civil Rights Movement in the United States and the sacrifices made by those who fought against discrimination and segregation. Created by the African American Civil Rights Act of 2017, and coordinated by the National Park Service, the Network tells the stories of the people, places, and events of the U.S. African American Civil Rights Movement through a collection of public and private resources to include properties, facilities, and programs.