The Historic Site and Monument Commission recommends approval of the request to install the First African Baptist Church Marker located in Franklin Square.  The marker will be mounted on a 6-foot pole and be double-sided.  It will commemorate the history of one of the nation’s oldest continuous African-American churches.

The marker is proposed by the Georgia Historical Society in partnership with First African Baptist Church. It will be mounted on a post and installed on the northwest quadrant of Franklin Square, facing First African Baptist Church. Georgia Historical Society has secured $5,000.00 for the total cost of the marker, and will place the funds in escrow for future maintenance and upkeep of the marker by the City of Savannah. The marker will become property of the City of Savannah.

The marker will read as follows:

"First African Baptist Church traces its roots to 1773 and the organization of a congregation at nearby Brampton Plantation by Rev. George Leile. Under the leadership of Rev. Andrew C. Marshall (3rd pastor), the congregation obtained this property. Constructed of Savannah Grey brick by congregants, both free and enslaved, the current building was completed in 1859. Rev. Emanuel K. Love (6th pastor), an advocate for African-American education and civil rights, was instrumental in establishing today's Savannah State University. Rev. Dr. Ralph Mark Gilbert (13th pastor) was a prominent leader of the NAACP and the revival of the Savannah chapter in the 1940s. U.S. Representative Adam Clayton Powell of Harlem and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. are among the noteworthy speakers hosted here. FABC is one of the oldest continuously operating African-American churches in North America."

Approval