Mother African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church

The Mother A.M.E. Zion congregation was formed in 1796 by African-American members of the predominantly white John Street Methodist Church.

The A.M.E. Zion conference was referred to nationally as the "Freedom Church" for its vital role in the United States abolitionist movement, and was an Underground Railroad refuge.

Mother Zion's identification with the abolitionist movement led to it being attacked by an anti-black mob during the three-day anti-abolitionist riot in 1834.

[2] From the 1920s into the 1960s, Bertha Des Verney was choir and drama director at the church, and produced concerts and historical pageants as fundraisers and community outreach.

[8][9] Today, the Mother Zion church continues to sponsor a variety of social programs aimed at assisting members of the congregation and the surrounding community.