Political Quotes

“Mr. President, today I wish to celebrate a milestone for Rhode Island's oldest Black church. In August, the Congdon Street Baptist Church on the East Side of Providence celebrated its bicentennial. From its inception at the nearby African Union meetinghouse and schoolhouse in 1819, Congdon Street Baptist Church has been a centerpiece of spiritual and community life for generations of African Americans in Providence. The Congdon Street Baptist Church has weathered racial injustices to flourish as a place for worship and education. Its founding members left the First Baptist Church in America, where they were made to worship in a segregated space. They formed their own congregation in Providence so that people of color could worship in dignity and secure a fitting education for their children. Fulfilling that mission did not come without adversity. The original church was demolished in the 1860s at the behest of White neighbors. Unbowed, the congregation rebuilt. The new church, completed in 1875, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In the 1960s, the church served as a sanctuary for Rhode Islanders involved in the civil rights movement. Today, education and empowerment remain hallmarks of the church community. Rhode Island was founded on the principles of religious freedom and tolerance. I am proud to have Congdon Street Baptist Church as a cornerstone of that tradition, and I wish the congregation centuries of peaceful worship to come. ____________________”