[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 17650-17651]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             HONORING MOUNT ZION MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH

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                        HON. BENNIE G. THOMPSON

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 10, 2014

  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Mount 
Zion Missionary Baptist Church Canton, Mississippi.
  The population of Madison County, Mississippi has been predominantly 
African-American since 1840. Prior to 1865, some members of the 
African-American population, most of whom had arrived in the county as 
slaves, were permitted to attend worship services, to be baptized and 
to be married in the area churches. They were also allowed to join 
established white congregations.
  Early county records indicate that slaves were a part of the church 
communities. The Old Madison Presbyterian Church, the First 
Presbyterian, and the First Baptist listed a total membership of one 
hundred and thirty-four. One hundred were slaves and the other thirty-
four were whites.
  After the Civil War and freedom, African-Americans naturally desired 
to establish their own houses of worship. In 1865, the newly freed 
members of the congregation of First Baptist, with encouragement and 
financial assistance from their white counterparts, organized Mount 
Zion Baptist Church. Rev. T. J. Drane, pastor of the white church, 
served as minister receiving for his services a monthly salary of one 
dollar.
  In 1870, Drane and R. B. Johnson donated two acres of land on the 
northern boundary of the plantation to Mount Zion. The first church was 
erected on Freedman Hill, located at the corner of North Railroad and 
Bowman Streets, according to the 1898 George and Dunlap map of Canton. 
Rev. Drane called for a meeting with council along with Mr. Will Powell 
from the white Baptist Church to help establish the church.
  In addition to serving as pastor, Rev. Drane ran a day school and was 
assisted by Lillian Highgate, a white female. Rev. Drane received an 
additional $1.50 a month for his services. He also organized and 
maintained the first Sunday school class. All other organizations came 
into existence after Rev. Drane's resignation. Rev. Jordan Williams 
replaced him.
  Newspapers frequently carried announcements concerning Mount Zion's 
activities. For example, ``Several converts at the Colored Baptist 
Church were baptized at the railroad culvert,'' or ``Rev. Williams, 
pastor of the Colored Baptist Church, immersed ten converts last Sunday 
night''. The second church site was across the street where the TWL 
parking lot is now located.
  The third and fourth pastors were Reverends Mass and Davis. The fifth 
pastor, Rev. R.T. Sims, served for eighteen years and Rev. W. L. 
Varnado for seven. The seventh through the tenth pastors were as 
follows: Rev. Bradley, Rev. Morris, Rev. Drew, and Rev. A. D. Purnell.
  By the 1920's, the congregation had outgrown the church and Rev. 
Purnell, along with members, began raising money for a larger building. 
The new lot for our present church was purchased from Jack Warren. Rev. 
Purnell asked Mr. S. M. Reddrick, Vice President of Madison County 
Bank, to serve as custodian over the church's building funds. He also 
asked if he would direct the building of the church and issue bonds to 
underwrite construction costs.
  The bank issue $14,000 in bonds. Raymond H. Spencer was the architect 
of the neoclassical brick structure. He also designed the First 
Methodist Church of which Reddrick was a member. The building was 
erected in 1929 at the cost of $35,000. The congregation moved into the 
new structure February 1930.
  Rev. P. F. Parker, the eleventh pastor, with the help of God and 
members, burned the mortgage. Under his leadership the church grew. For 
example, the following organizations played an active role in 
missionary work: Senior Missionary Society, Junior Matrons, Young 
Woman's Auxiliary, Red Circle/Sunshine Band, Sunday school, Baptist 
Training Union, Senior Choir, Gospel Chorus, Junior/Beginner's Choir, 
New Membership Club, Pastor's Aide, Boys' Bible Club and Usher Board. 
Rev. Parker served until his death in 1970.
  Mount Zion continued to serve the African-American community 
religiously and socially. During the summer of 1964, Mount Zion was the 
location of a pivotal moment in our state's

[[Page 17651]]

civil rights struggle. In her autobiography, Coming of Age in 
Mississippi, Ann Moody notes that Mount Zion was the biggest Negro 
church in Canton and the center of the local marches.
  On Friday, May 29, 1964, on the church lawn, six hundred community 
and church members witnessed the near death beating of McKinley 
Hamilton, a young African-American man. As a result, eighty church 
members marched on the Madison County jail in one of the first protest 
marches in Canton. Mount Zion became known as the ``Church of Refuge''. 
In 1968, twelve hundred students from Rogers High School marched 
because they were outraged over the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King, 
Jr. A group of parents led them to Mount Zion. Rev. Parker opened the 
doors of the church to them, thus saving them from injury by law 
enforcement officers waiting for them on Hickory Street in front of 
High's Funeral Home.
  Dr. W. L. Johnson, our twelfth and present pastor, has served for 
twenty-nine years. His words have power through the Holy Spirit. Under 
Dr. Johnson's leadership, the church has continued its growth. For 
example, the church has been air-conditioned, carpeted throughout, a 
fellowship hall and recreation center built and equipped, four parking 
lots purchased and surfaced, restrooms were remodeled, a lounge 
installed, pews padded, a new intercom system purchased, speakers 
installed in the pulpit and choir loft, additional chairs purchased for 
the choir and seating areas in the wings, two new copiers, a computer, 
storage room, and a fifteen passenger van and twenty-seven passenger 
bus were also purchased. The stained glass windows were repaired, and 
the pastor study was moved upstairs.
  We now have a summer recreation program. Our membership is 
approximately 500 and still growing. The church is one of the most 
monumental, intact, and historic resources associated with the Canton 
African- American Community. As a result of this, the church was 
recently placed on the registry of Historical Buildings.
  Our aim is to give every God-seeking person an opportunity to receive 
salvation. The church clearly reflects the importance of the social and 
religious life of the African-American community from its birth in 1865 
up to the present. Let us resolve to make service to Christ a priority 
in our lives.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing Mount Zion 
Missionary Baptist Church.

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