[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 103 (Monday, June 14, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E638]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   HONORING TURNER CHAPEL AME CHURCH

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENNIE G. THOMPSON

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, June 14, 2021

  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor a 
remarkable church, Turner Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church.
  In 1890, Rev. C.E. Jones, four men and two women decided that there 
should be an A.M.E. Church in Greenwood, Mississippi. Led by the Spirit 
of God, they began to worship under a brush harbor somewhere in the 
vicinity of what is now the Greenwood Post Office. During the next few 
years, the church began to increase in membership, and they decided 
that a building was needed. One of the members came up with the idea of 
utilizing a dwelling house which was eventually purchased. Rev. Jones 
and the members decided to name the church Turner Chapel for Bishop 
Henry McNeil Turner, Presiding Prelate, who was elected and consecrated 
the fifteenth Bishop of the Connectional A.M.E. Church.
  There were many leaders of the church but possibly one of the most 
memorable was Rev. D.L. Tucker. Under Rev. D.L. Tucker's 
administration, a new spirit seemed to have risen. Pews were purchased, 
and the pulpit was redesigned with divided chancellor rails. Many new 
members were added to Turner Chapel Church's roll. Rev. Tucker served 
as pastor during the height of the civil rights era. During his time as 
pastor, he became the first president of the National Association for 
the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in the Mississippi Delta. He 
organized voter registration drives and often had rallies at Turner 
Chapel.
  Rev. Tucker was the first person in Leflore County, MS to pass the 
literacy test to vote. After that accomplishment, while he was marching 
with supporters, dogs were put on them by law enforcement to deter 
their desire to vote. Rev. Tucker walks with a limp today because of 
that attack. This incident spurred Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to 
write President John Kennedy to send protection to Mississippi for 
Blacks. As a comrade of Medgar Evers, Rev. Tucker spoke with him before 
he was assassinated in Jackson, MS by Byron Dela Beckwith in 1963. Just 
as he was getting things together for the church and the citizens of 
Greenwood, he received a call in the middle of the night in which the 
voice on the other end said, ``We just killed that N----Medgar Evers; 
you will be next.'' His life was subsequently threatened; due to death 
threats from the Ku Klux Klan, the A.M.E. Church moved him to a church 
in Bermuda. Rev. Tucker returned to Mississippi in 2014 and is 
recognized in the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum for his contributions 
to the movement. Many of the future leaders of the church continued in 
Rev. Tucker's footsteps by being advocates for civil rights.
  Turner Chapel is blessed to have Rev. Dr. Alice H. Crenshaw as their 
pastor. The visions she brought to the church are exceptional. Rev. 
Crenshaw brought back life to the church because now they have bible 
study once again and prayer meetings. She has gotten more members 
involved, especially men with the business of the church. Three months 
after Rev. Crenshaw's arrival, the pandemic happened, and everything 
shut down. However, even the pandemic did not stop her from pastoring. 
She instilled in the members to continue having their regular programs, 
official board meetings, bible study, even in the pandemic, over Zoom 
meetings. In April of 2020, she was able to get food distribution into 
the Greenwood community in which the church has drive-by pick-up of 
food boxes for those in need. In December 2020, she was able to get a 
contract with a vendor. Now Turner Chapel is one of the largest sites 
of food box distribution to area churches, the Greenwood community, 
throughout Leflore County and beyond. Rev. Crenshaw's vision includes 
helping the church get an adult daycare center, as well as acquiring 
the property adjacent to the church for an Elderly Independent group 
home.
  Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing Turner 
Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church for its longevity and 
dedication to serving the community.

                          ____________________