Blackwell-Israel Samuel A.M.E. Zion Church Building (Oakland Methodist Episcopal Church)

“These organizations have hosted annual conferences, musical and dramatic performances, commencement services, political mass meetings, and membership rallies in the first floor community center. Each event brought distinguished speakers to Blackwell Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church including: U.S. Representative Oscar Stanton De Priest, Charles Evers and Vivian Malone from the NAACP, Mary Meeks (the first black woman to hold the position of Vice-President and President-Elect for Church Women United in Illinois), Attorney Thomas N. Todd, President of the Chicago chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1971 and president of Operation PUSH from 1983-1984, and State Representative Corneal A. Davis.”

“In 1886, the architectural firm of Edbrooke and Burnham was hired to design and construct the existing building, one block south of the congregation's home. The new church was dedicated in 1886 and featured a second floor sanctuary with dedicated educational, performance, and meeting spaces in a community center on the first floor.”

“The A.M.E. Zion denomination started as an informal meeting of multiple black -founded churches from various cities. The first church collectively run by the A.M.E. Zion, simply named Zion, was built in New York in 1800.”

“The church has opened the building to local and national organizations, clubs, and schools including: the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Conference and National Council, the Michigan Annual conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, the local Republican Party, the Nathanial Dett Club, the Shelby Dramatic Players, the Poro School of Beauty, Church Women United in Illinois, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).”

“Over the last nine decades, Blackwell-Israel Samuel A.M.E. Zion Church has continued as a congregation and today is led by Reverend Todd N. Jarrett with a dedicated congregation of approximately 80 members, some of whom have been with the church for at least six decades.”

“The church was designed in the Romanesque Revival style by the nationally-renowned architectural firm of Edbrooke and Burnham. The exterior features an imposing, rusticated limestone façade and a towering, central pyramidal roof with projecting gables, the two largest of which are accentuated by arabesque and foliated carvings.”

“In 1924, the Oakland Methodist Episcopal Church merged into St. James Methodist Episcopal Church and two years later the congregation vacated the building at 3956 South Langley Avenue for its new church at 46th and Ellis Streets (extant).”

“In the latter half of the century, the churches played a significant role in the civil rights movement, with many members joining in protests and marches, while individual churches opened their doors to allow civil rights planning meeting and rallies.”

“Oakland Methodist Episcopal Church: Initial Construction and Development The origins of Oakland Methodist Episcopal Church can be traced back to the First United Methodist Church at the Chicago Temple.”