Alfred Street Baptist Church
*Alfred Street Baptist Church is celebrated on this date in 1803. This Baptist church in Alexandria, Virginia, is affiliated with the National Baptist Convention, USA.
Among the main Black Churches in America, its first colored member, Susan Black, a black slave, was baptized in May 1803, and soon other coloreds were invited to join this integrated group. In 1806, the colored members formally established the Colored Baptist Society of Alexandria as a ‘conjoined’ church with the Alexandria Baptist Society.
This created the first black Baptist church north of Richmond, Virginia. In 1815, its numbers grew when slaves from Mount Vernon Plantation joined the Colored Baptist Society. During 1818, members of the Colored Baptist Society were able to rent property at 313 South Alfred Street to hold their meetings. After 18 years of renting, they purchased the site in September 1842. The church welcomed its first black pastor, Reverend Sampson White, to lead the congregation. White had previously served as the founding pastor of Nineteenth Street Baptist Church of Washington, D.C., and Abyssinian Baptist Church of New York City.
He would be followed by Reverend Samuel Madden in 1863. Architectural improvements were implemented in the 1880s and 1994 when a new sanctuary was built. The exterior of the building was preserved, and the interior was greatly improved. Alfred Street Baptist Church is at 301 South Alfred Street in Alexandria, Virginia.
