Adam clayton powell sr biography of william

American Baptist pastor (1865–1953)

Adam Clayton Powell (May 5, 1865^[1][2] – June 12, 1953) was an American pastor who developed the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, New York as the largest Protestant congregation in the country, with 10,000 members.

Adam clayton powell sr biography of william

He was an African American community activist, author, and the father of CongressmanAdam Clayton Powell Jr. Born into poverty in southwestern Virginia, Powell worked to put himself through school and Wayland Seminary, where he was ordained in 1892.

After serving in churches in Philadelphia and New Haven, Connecticut, Powell was called as pastor to Abyssinian Baptist, where he served from 1908 to 1936. During the Great Migration of blacks out of the rural South, thousands of blacks moved to New York and Harlem became the center of African American life in the city.

During his tenure, Powell supervised the purchase of land, fundraising, and the construction of a much larger church