| Augusta, Ga., February 5, 2020– The Georgia Historical Society in conjunction with The Lucy Craft Laney Museum of Black History, Historic Augusta, Inc., and the C.T. Walker Traditional Magnet School will dedicate a new historical marker recognizing Reverend Charles T. Walker. In 1885, Reverend C. T. Walker established Augusta’s Tabernacle Baptist Church. His goal was to provide innovative resources as a spiritual and cultural leader in the Augusta community. During his time as reverend, C. T. Walker took an educational trip across Europe and the Middle East, stopping at the renowned Rev. Charles Spurgeon’s church in London, and later becoming known as the "Black Spurgeon." The dedication will take place Wednesday, February 5, 2020, at 10:30 a.m. at 1011 Laney-Walker Blvd. Augusta, Georgia. Speakers will include Mr. Corey Rogers, Historian, Laney Museum; Mr. Erick Montgomery, Executive Director, Historic Augusta; Mrs. Christine Miller-Betts, Executive Director, Laney Museum; and Augusta public officials. The media and the public are invited to attend. The marker reads: |
Reverend C.T. Walker
1858-1921
Rev. Charles T. Walker was born into slavery in 1858 near Hephzibah, later moving to Augusta to study divinity at The Augusta Institute (now Morehouse College). Walker received his ordination at Franklin Covenant Baptist Church and established Augusta’s Tabernacle Baptist Church in 1885. Walker traveled to the Middle East and Europe in 1891, visiting the renowned Rev. Charles Spurgeon’s church in London. In 1899, President McKinley appointed him as a chaplain during the US occupation of Cuba following the Spanish-American War. Walker relocated to Mount Olivet Baptist Church in New York and established the first African-American YMCA in Harlem. Returning to Augusta, he hosted John D. Rockefeller and William Howard Taft at Tabernacle and Booker T. Washington and George Washington Carver at the Walker Baptist Institute. Walker lived at 1011 Gwinnett Street until his death in 1921.
Erected by the Georgia Historical Society, The Lucy Craft Laney Museum of Black History, Historic Augusta, Inc., and C.T. Walker Traditional Magnet School
| For additional information please contact Patricia Meagher at 912-651-2125, ext. 153 or on cell at 434-996-7085 or by email at pmeagher@georgiahistory.com. |
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