Strong in Faith

Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church was founded in 1864 after its congregation purchased a building from First Presbyterian, and its original 1828 building was later replaced by the current Romanesque Revival structure in 1912. It became known as "The Mother Congregation of African Methodism in the State of Mississippi." Campbell College was built next to the church and became the first African-American college in Mississippi established without the help of whites; in 1897, the college moved to Jackson, Mississippi, and was absorbed into Jackson State University. One of Bethel's early pastors, Hiram Revels, was the first African American senator in the United States and served as president of Alcorn University from 1876 to 1882. In 1908, Bethel was praised for doing untold good in fostering amicable relations between the races and for the good feeling shown toward it by the surrounding white neighborhood.

Vicksburg, Mississippi · United States