[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 72 (Tuesday, May 12, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E680]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   RECOGNIZING THE 130TH ANNIVERSARY OF SECOND BAPTIST CHURCH OF LOS 
                                ANGELES

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. LUCILLE ROYBAL-ALLARD

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 12, 2015

  Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Second 
Baptist Church of Los Angeles on the celebration of its 130th 
anniversary.
  In 1885, Second Baptist Church was organized as Southern California's 
first African-American Baptist church. It quickly developed into one of 
South Los Angeles' most esteemed and effective institutions, offering 
vital support throughout the community. Over the years, a wide and 
diverse population of Angelenos have benefited from the church's child 
care and educational services, its scholarship programs, and its 
involvement in creating housing for families and shelter space for 
homeless women and children.
  Second Baptist Church has also played an active role in our nation's 
long and ongoing dialogue about civil rights. In 1954, Second Baptist 
members raised $1,500 for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund to pay for 
printing the legal briefs for the Brown vs. Board of Education case, 
which desegregated America's schools. The church also hosted the 
NAACP's national conventions in 1928, 1942, and 1949.
  Second Baptist Church's unflagging commitment to social justice and 
helping the least among us is also reflected in its long and 
distinguished list of speakers--a list including ministers, advocates, 
officials, and scholars. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was a 
frequent speaker throughout his career. Malcolm X, W.E.B. Du Bois, 
Ralph Bunche, and the Rev. Adam Clayton Powell, Sr. are just a few of 
the other orators to have spoken within the walls of Second Baptist.
  Because of the church's substantial involvement in some of the most 
important social fights of our age, it was listed as a Los Angeles 
Historic-Cultural Monument in 1978, and was placed on the National 
Register of Historic Places in 2009. Both are well-deserved honors for 
this church and for the beautiful Lombardy Romanesque Revival building 
in which it is housed.
  It is my great privilege to represent Second Baptist Church and its 
congregation in Congress. In times of trial and in times of joy, this 
church has been a source of strength and unity for all who have been 
touched by its mission. On its 130th anniversary, Second Baptist Church 
is both a marker of how society has progressed in its lifetime, and a 
guiding light continuing to point us towards a brighter future of 
brotherhood, peace, and justice for all. I ask my colleagues to join me 
in celebrating all that Second Baptist Church has done to move the 
hearts and minds of Angelenos and all Americans, and to wish the church 
and its congregation a very happy 130th anniversary.

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