Kentucky Antebellum African American Church Building

By their stubborn adherence to the Christian tenets preached during Kentucky’s 1797 Great Revival, African Americans gained allies in their search for freedom. With allies within the Long Run Baptist Association, the Baptized Licking-Locust, Friends of Humanity Association, and the South Kentucky Separate Baptist Association, they laid the groundwork to establish Kentucky’s first antebellum independent black congregations. Within the black church, the power of the Christian message rang true on many levels. Crafted by slaves to provide solace, the black church was the first institution designed to operate independently of the wishes of slave masters. Collective meetings of the church