[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 150 (Wednesday, September 18, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1174]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               CONGDON STREET BAPTIST CHURCH BICENTENNIAL

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                         HON. JAMES R. LANGEVIN

                            of rhode island

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 18, 2019

  Mr. LANGEVIN. Madam Speaker, I rise with my colleague, Congressman 
David Cicilline, to celebrate the bicentennial of the Congdon Street 
Baptist Church. Over the last 200 years, the church has been a pillar 
of the black community in Providence, serving as a place of worship, 
education, and fellowship for Providence residents.
  From its founding, the church has thrived in the face of adversity. 
In 1819, under the backdrop of racial segregation and slavery, a small 
group of residents came together to create a safe space for black 
members of the Providence community. In 1869, hostile neighbors had the 
church demolished. Nonetheless, the community rallied together to 
rebuild the church in 1875, and it was added to the National Register 
of Historic Places in 1971.
  Over the years, the church has continued to carry out the mission of 
its founders: supporting civil rights for the black community. In 1968, 
the church became a sanctuary for black students at Brown University 
and Pembroke College during the student walkout, and during the 1960s, 
members of the congregation marched down Cranston Street with Dr. 
Martin Luther King, Jr., in the fight for equal rights.
  On its 200th anniversary, we reflect on the Congdon Street Baptist 
Church's incredible history and wish the church another 200 years of 
success in connecting community members to their faith and to one 
another.

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