SECOND BAPTIST CHURCH, DETROIT

"Just as the Blackburns remained antislavery activists after moving to Toronto, Second Baptist remained a major force in the struggle for equal rights long after slavery had ended. After the Civil War, the church played a key role in helping freed slaves find jobs and homes in Detroit . "And in a February 1957 letter to the Rev. A. A. Banks Jr., then pastor of the church, civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote: 'On returning to my office I found your letter with the enclosed check of one thousand five hundred fifty-seven dollars and thirty-six cents ($1, 557.36) from Second Baptist Church on my desk. Words are inadequate for me to express my appreciation and the appreciation of the whole Negro citizenry of Montgomery for this great contribution. It comes at a time of real financial need. I think I am correct in saying Second Baptist Church has contributed more to the work of the Montgomery Improvement Association than any other single church in America. You can never know what this means to us...'" P.75, "Even A Blind Horse Knows the Way," FORBIDDEN FRUIT: LOVE STORIES FROM THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD by Betty DeRamus (2006)