In 1890, individuals from three different Baptist congregations in Tennessee moved to the newly opened Oklahoma Territory. After undergoing two name changes and a merger, Calvary Baptist Church was formed in 1900. The church was established in a part of Oklahoma City that would later become known as “Deep Deuce,” a historic African American neighborhood and the birthplace of famed author Ralph Ellison.
Calvary’s current building, a three-story red-brick structure completed in 1923, was designed by Russell Benton Bingham, a Tuskegee Institute graduate. Bingham, who was also the general contractor, was a devoted church member who served as both Sunday School superintendent and trustee. His personal investment in the church helped shape its legacy as a vital institution in the African American community.
From its early years, Calvary functioned as a central hub for Black life in Oklahoma City and beyond. Between 1903 and 1934, it hosted the Annual Session of the National Baptist Convention, the oldest and largest African American Baptist denomination in the United States. It also welcomed meetings of the National Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs, further establishing its role as a center for civic and cultural life.
Calvary played a major role in the Civil Rights Movement. In 1958, history teacher Clara Luper returned from a trip where she and her students experienced integrated restaurants. Motivated to take action, Luper and thirteen students from the NAACP Youth Council met in Calvary’s sanctuary before staging a sit-in at Katz Drug Store. They peacefully took seats at the segregated lunch counter and refused to leave when not served. The next day, after a second sit-in, the store agreed to serve them. This successful protest marked the beginning of a series of nonviolent actions that helped desegregate Oklahoma City.
In 1960, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke to a crowd of more than 1,500 people during a Freedom Rally at Calvary. Years earlier, in 1951, King had preached there as a candidate for pastor but was not chosen, as the congregation felt he lacked pastoral experience. Calvary, and King, remained committed to the fight for justice even at great risk. When its insurance company threatened to drop coverage due to its hosting of civil rights meetings, the church did not back down. In 1969, it served as a gathering place for sanitation workers organizing a strike.
Calvary Baptist Church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. It sustained damage in the 1995 bombing of the Murrah Federal Building but remained standing. After generations of service, the congregation sold the building in 2012 to the Dan Davis Law Firm, which restored it for public and professional use. Today, the building stands as a powerful symbol of faith, resilience, and the ongoing pursuit of justice.
The post Calvary Baptist Church, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (1900 – ) appeared first on BlackPast.org.