It’s hard to believe that St. Paul AME Church is 121 years old, having been founded in 1902. Back then, according to the 1900 census, there were approximately 69 African Americans living in Madison out of roughly 28,600 people. Later on came Mt. Zion Baptist Church. There was the Douglass Beneficial Society and later on organizations like the Masons were formed. These were the foundational institutions of Madison’s Black community. The social and spiritual life of the Black community used the Black church as a base when their numbers were so small, that the economic marketplace would not meet any of their needs.

The Black church has been there for generations of African Americans since the times of slavery. And while the nature of the giving has evolved and who is on the receiving end, the Black church allows its members to rise above their earthly existence.

“One thing I would like to point out is a lot of times people talk about churches wanting money,” Keretha Cash said. “One reason I am proud to be an AME is that, ‘Yes, we believe in tithing and giving according to how the Lord has blessed us. That’s how the lights get paid. That’s how the snow gets removed. But’s that also how you support Black colleges. That’s how you support our international churches like in India who are just starting out. They don’t have what we have.

We are blessed here. And so we give and that costs money. But we are blessed. We have jobs. We have homes. We have running water. We have so much here. We can afford to share. It’s important also, for all of the reasons you’ve heard, but also about spiritual growth. We’re not going to be here forever. One day, we are going to leave here. And not only that, we’re going to have to give an account of everything that we have done, everyone whether you believe or not. So it’s up to the churches to be here with open arms for those who are seeking and trying to work out forever.”

The Black church was also a source of Black political power within the community. The Republican Party has, in recent years, severely constricted pre-Election Day voting, eliminating Sunday registration and absentee voting. Why? Because the Black churches would take busloads of parishioners down to the Milwaukee clerk’s office to get registered. And in 2008, Barack Obama took the presidential vote in Wisconsin due, in large part, to the heavy Black voter turnout in Milwaukee. That wasn’t lost on mainly white Wisconsin Republicans.

The Black church has also impacted the vote in Madison as well, according to Myzell Alexander.

“I can say one thing,” Alexander recalled. “When Mayor Soglin was elected mayor, that’s when I saw a change in Madison. To me, he was a young man. And he came to St. Paul for a talk. He came and talked when he was running for mayor. And I think that the church played a part in him getting elected. He came and told us what his agenda was going to be. And that was to try to end discrimination. And he did a lot. In my book, he was the best mayor that Madison ever had. I felt that the church had a big part in him getting elected. He came and talked to the Black church. We do have a voice. That’s when I started thinking I would vote. My son now says, ‘What’s the use of voting? It doesn’t count.’ I had to sit down and explain to him that where I came from, my mother and father had to pay a $2 poll tax in Arkansas until they outlawed it. After that, they put marbles in a jar and asked them to count them. And then after that, they tried to give them a test. Now my father only went to the third grade. How is he going to take a test? And that is what they were depending on to prevent them from voting. They used that in Arkansas. I remember my mother said when I left Arkansas, ‘Now when you get old enough, you vote. Your vote does count.’ And I have been voting ever since then. Like I said, when Soglin was voted mayor, that’s when I started seeing a change in South Madison. He put in a new Park Street. The streets got paved. When I moved to where I lived at, my street wasn’t paved and didn’t have a gutter. All of that came because of him, to get South Madison developed.”

Sometimes the politics hits the streets. And while the Black church led the 1960s civil rights movement, newer, youth-oriented organizations have sprung up to take the lead.

“When George Floyd was killed, that started the movement for Black Lives Matter,” Pastor Gregory Armstrong said. “I believe that whereas in previous demonstrations that it was led by the Black church, I don’t think this one was. I think it was more of the lay people who came out and took leadership in that. That’s not to say that the pastors and preachers or churches weren’t involved. They were involved, but they didn’t take on that leadership role that existed before. I think it is multi-tiered, multi-leveled. And I think it is going to be the same way again with the killing of Tyree Nichols and not only pushing the need for police reform, but also for the George Floyd bill to be passed. There is going to be a lot of resistance to that. Yet the whole world saw it. Not only did the whole world see it, but there were many cultures that were a part of the demonstrations that took place all over the world including Europe. It shows that we still have a long ways to go, yet I think perhaps some of the things that the ministers took leadership in — I think of voting rights — that is no longer the case because you have non-profits and the people who work in them and grassroots people who are understanding that their voice counts too. It takes all of us. There is a new resistance that is not necessarily clergy-led, but grassroots led.”

That doesn’t mean that the Black church isn’t involved.

“Rev. Baring was very involved in social issues and social justice,” Cash said about St. Paul’s previous pastor. “That was the legacy that he left here. Our current pastor is very involved in social justice. The AME church always puts out a letter informing the membership and those who will listen the AME church’s stand on different issues that are coming up.”

Until racism and the latent violence that does with it has completely been relegated to the past, the need for the Black church will continue to be there as a “Black-created, Black-owned” institution.

“I think it serves several roles, spiritually,” Armstrong said about the church. “Some people come for different reasons. Spiritually, it is important. It kind of reminds them of where they grew up if they are from the South. What is important are the things that we do in the community. If people need help, they come to the church and oftentimes receive help from the church. Or they feel that it is a safe place to be. I think all of us can point to the success of the young folks who came through St. Paul. That is one reason I wanted to be here. All of the youth were going to college and being successful. They would come back and tell us what they are doing. And a lot of them did come back. They are doing well.”

In the end, the Black church is only as strong as the people who are a part of it. And all generations need the strength that the Black church can provide.