The Atlanta inquirer. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1960-current, August 29, 1960, Image 5

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Newspaper Page TextMONDAY, AUGUST 29, 1960 HISTORIC ATLANTA CHURCHES l p Bk II Wf* ’ ~ Z ' * • ”’jiff 1 I \ ■ * - r ,•& * ’ x ’\ '■''' 4 ' ~~ '^- L<fc s — ■— . r' ■ ' w. , t J jm 4k—-- £ •(■W ' ~' w ,___ -— —Mr ' S * I fa I I I III! I I 1 11 Illi II I « ■ ■- -, i . ■ ji ■■■ML jkl 1 . ■ V /.'l:' ■ ■ ..c -.m^.. ■ -«j»«^-^ —— , i» I -< ?ys^; 9B ---Ait— ” c ■■• »—«w.. ■■- _ { . „. " s * a, - ^ggfa^iMta. - - FRIENDSHIP BAPTIST CHURCH From post-Civil War days to the present the churches of Atlanta’s Negro community have played a vital and indispensable role, not only in the religious and moral life of the community, but in its social, economic and intellectual growth as well. As the Inquirer begins this first in a series of salutes to Atlanta’s great churches it is perhaps fitting that we should begin with an institution which truly deserves to be called “The Mother of Churches” — Friendship Baptist Church. Started in 1868, in a railroad box car contributed through the Ninth Street Baptist Church of Cincin nati, Friendship was headed by Reverend Frank Quarles, a free born native of Virginia, the son of a lawyer. Rev. Quarles and his congregation had worshipped in the First Baptist Church of At lanta, now located on Peachtree Street. In April. 1862, Rev. Quarles and twenty-five faithful followers left the First Church and organized what became known as the Walton Springs Baptist Church, on Walton Street. Retreating to Macon dur ing the siege of Atlanta, Rev. Quarles organized the St. James Baptist Church, returning after the war to his Atlanta flock and the founding of Friendship in its temporary box car church. By 1870 a new edifice was built at the Southwest corner of Haynes and Markham Streets. Among the churches which di rectly, or indirectly, grew out of Friendship were Wheat Street Baptist Church, founded by Brother Peter Estridge and others, McKinley Temple, Zion Hill, and Reed Street. By December, 1881, when Quarles died. Friendship could count 1570 members on its rolls. By 1871. thanks in part to a loan from the American Baptist Home Mission Society, the present : church structure was begun at Mitchell and Haynes Street, S.W. The church was completed in 1879. Friendship’s second pastor, Rev. E. R. Carter, first came to At lanta in 1879, as a shoemaker and minister. He was pastor of a church in Stone Mountain when he received the call to Friendship in April, 1882. Rev. Carter, second of the four ministers who have headed the historic church, served brilliantly for some 62 years. Fol- I lowing his death in 1944, Dr. Maynard Jackson responded to Friendship’s call, resigning as pastor of New Hope Baptist Church, Dallas, Texas. Rev. Jack son was installed in May, 1945, and was succeeded by the present minister, Dr. Samuel Williams, who was installed in 1954. Schools as well as churches sprang from the creative soil of Friendship Church. Edmund Asa Ware first conducted in the box car church the school which in time became Atlanta University. In 1879, the Atlanta Baptist Semi , nary, now known as Morehouse i College, moved from Augusta to Atlanta and began its classes in the basement of Friendship. In 1881, Misses Sophia B. Packard and Harriet E. Giles sought the help of Friendship in founding I Spelman College and were wel- THE ATLANTA INQUIRER comed to the same quarters. In 1895, Friendship was officially chartered, numbering among its charter members men and women whose families have contributed immeasurably to the Atlanta community. The tradition of preaching, teaching and providing leadership for solving the community’s prob lems has flourished throughout Friendship’s history. From its portals emerged such eminent missionaries and college presi dents as Ed Bouie, Clara Howard, Lucy Delaney, John Hope, Mor decai Johnson, John W. Davis, B. G. Brawley, Samuel Archer and Albert Dent. During Dr. Jackson’s life Friendship developed a consumer cooperative, a credit union, a placement bureau, an orchestra, a clinic, an adult education pro gram and clubs for boys and girls. The present minister, Rev. Wil liams, in addition to being a highly gifted educator, is currently in the fore-front of the civil rights fight as President of the local branch of the NAACP, an officer of the Southern Christian Leader ship Conference and a key figure in the successful fight to abolish segregation on Atlanta’s buses. Those who worship in the storied edifice at Mitchell and Haynes are now debating whether to re main at the present location. Some of the land the church owns was ear-marked earlier for social ac tion buildings. And in the mean time pastor and congregation continue to carry forward the constructive program of a church steeped in history. No collection is taken at the church; instead, members send contributions to the office or drop them in the collec tion box at the rear of the church. And perhaps most important of all. Friendship is a church which never allows itself to forget Rev. E. R. Carter’s favorite passage of Scripture: “If any man would follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.” Ed. note: This is the first in a series of articles on Atlanta’s Historic Churches. The Inquirer welcomes suggestions, informa tion or questions concerning this i series. SCLC AIDE TO SPEAK “Back To Slavery” will be the topic discussed by James R. Wood, Monday night at Butler Street Baptist Church. August 29th at 8 P.M. The Northeast Civic Community Ccuncil has invited James R. Wood, recently ap pointed Administrative Assistant to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Director of Public relations for the Southern Christian Lead ership Conference. The council’s interest in the approaching na tional election and in votjpg prompted the invitation to Mr. Wood whose background of ex perience includes work with both the Republican and Democratic parties. During an interview with him Mr. Wood said. “The most basic part of our national heritage GREENWOOD SUPER MARKET sH^s;; ’ SSS® I .■U “And it all started with four dollars.” These were the words spoken by Mr. Henry L. Green wood to your Inquirer representa tive as he sat in the spacious BELAFONTE LOOKIN' GOOD “You’re lookin’ good!” the Madison caller cries as the ‘strong line’ swings through its paces on dance floor, patio or living room rug. Many of our Western diplomats and govern mental leaders might well wish for similar approval as they at tempt through formal and per sonal diplomacy to deal with the peoples of the rest of the world. For Harry Belafonte, though, per sonal diplomacy appears to pose no problems. Only a few scant weeks ago Japan was shaken by protests —• staged or otherwise — at the prospect of a visit from the Presi dent of the United States. The same Japanese, however, recently welcomed Harry Belafonte and his troupe with wild enthusiasm. Ac cording to news reports, Bela fonte, clad in his usual free-style sports shirt, dark trousers and wide belt, proved his ability to speak a universal language as he mingled American, Afro-Cuban, English and Irish folk songs. The Japanese audience lustily joined in on “Matilda” and mingled their voices again with his in the Japa nese folk song “Sakura” which ended the concert. Belafonte’s current 11-week global tour also includes Hong Kong, Manila, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Israel, Athens — as well as a 3-week vacation in Russia, where he will visit with the Georgian Dancers he met in New York. Meanwhile, the publishing house of Duell, Sloan & Pearce is bring ing out Songs Belafonte Sings, a hefty $6.95 book of Belafonte's favorite folk music. is the right to vote. The whole structure of the laws of our land, the Army, Navy and National Guard which protects us, our schools and even our jobs are directly or indirectly due to the vote. Our wealth which is greater than that of any nation on earth is the product of the free enter prise system which owes its exist ence to the ballot. Yet, the num ber of white Americans who vote is pitifully small. The number of Negro Americans, who stand to benefit most through use of the ballot, vote in tragically small numbers. It is easier to sell a Negro an automobile which he doesn’t need than it is to sell him the idea he should vote, which would give him the kind of job that would pay enough for him to be able to afford that automo bile. The question is, will he vote and march on to freedom or stay away from the polls and shuffle on back to slavery?” PAGE FIVE well-appointed living room of the three bedroom apartment oc cupied by Mr. and Mrs. Green wood above their new $50,000 supermarket. Once again, the Inquirer be stows laurels upon an Atlanta businessman of our group, who has shown by hard work, capable management and confidence in our community, that business op portunities in the city of Atlanta are practically unlimited. The Greenwood Supermarket, located at 1829 Gordon Road, is certainly deserving of the accolades and support of our community. Theirs is a success story in the true Horatio Alger fashion. The present Greenwood Super market was organized on Septem ber 27, 1954 at the Westview Fruit at 149 Anderson Avenue. The and Grocery Store — then located founders were Mr. and Mrs. Henry Greenwood and the father of Mr. Greenwood, Mr. W. L. Greenwood, who had just retired after forty-three years as Assist ant District Manager of North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company. After paying the rent, Mr. Henry Greenwood stated, they had four dollars and change left for buying stock. Their gross sales for the first day’s operation was $12.46. At the end of the first week their books showed gross re ceipts of $65.40. Sales for the first year totaled $12,000 and an esti mated 15,000 customers. In less than six years, because of able management and excellent service (coupled with a fine storekeeper customer relationship), the busi ness expanded beyond the capac ity of its original location, sales increased in excess of $lOO,OOO annually and customer traffic was estimated at 150,000 persons yearly. Thus, to maintain the fine stand ards of service and quality set in the past, it was necessary to seek larger quarters. Therefore, the present structure was built at 1829 Gordon Road. The building was constructed at a cost in ex cess of $50,000. The builder was Mr. Charles Christie; the archi tect, Mr. Joe Robinson and it was financed by our own Atlanta Life Insurance Company. The new store which opened for business on May 9, 1960, has 1700 sq. ft. of floor space; it is completly modern in every detail. It boasts two self-service freezer counters (frozen foods and vegtables), a beer and dairy self-service cooler, a twelve foot meat case, one walk in meat cooler, a private meat cutting room and two ice cream boxes. A complete line of super market goods is stocked compar able to that of any supermarket of its size in the city of Atlanta. Although the Greenwood Super market began as a family opera tion, it has grown in size until it now employs seven persons and its annual pay-roll exceeds $lB,OOO. The Atlanta Inquirer is proud to salute the Greenwood Super market. another fine example of a business “growing with the Atlanta community.”