Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
With its roots going back to 1808, the
Abyssinian Baptist Church
houses one of the oldest
(and biggest) Protestant congregations in the country. In the 1930s, its pastor, Reverend
Adam Clayton Powell Jr, was instrumental in forcing the mostly white-owned, white-work-
force stores of Harlem to employ the blacks whose patronage ensured the stores' economic
survival. It's worth a trip here for its revival-style Sunday-morning services and gut-busting
choir. Dress formally and remember that this is a religious service and not a show.