BUFFALO, N.Y. — During the month of February, 2 On Your Side will be highlighting facts about the African American community in WNY for Black History Month.
To kick things off, we are talking about a piece of history right here in Buffalo. Michigan Street Baptist Church located at 511 Michigan Street was established in 1845 and was oftentimes one of the last stops on the underground railroad for freedom seekers making their way to Canada.
Since then, the church has been an important part of the African American community in Buffalo. The Church is credited as a birthplace of the NAACP movement. It was one of the meeting spots for a conference held by W.E.B. DuBois that formed the Niagara Movement in 1905, which was the basis for the NAACP that was founded four years later in New York City.
Michigan Street Baptist Church located in the city's African American Heritage Corridor on Buffalo's East Side, right near the archway marking the area.
The archways location close to the church was something that made the late Bishop William Henderson proud. Henderson was an integral part of keeping the church around, even moved his family into the church in the 1970s because they were using all their funds to keep the church standing.
“It was a great sacrifice; nobody really knew the sacrifice that I put my family through. I appreciate them doing that, you know. But I think it was awful that they had to do it.” Henderson said in an interview before his death about what his family did.
The church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
Henderson died in January of 2021. He is remembered by the community for the work he did.
To this day work is still being done to make sure the church stays standing. In December Empire State Development announced work started on the church’s roof and foundation.
“It is the only thing in Buffalo that is left standing that says, ‘this is the place where the slaves came and found refuge,’” Henderson says in footage provided by his son, Addison. Addison is making a documentary about his father’s life.
Follow the Channel 2 TikTok page for more videos throughout the month.
