As a philanthropist, Church used his wealth to develop a park, playground, auditorium and other facilities for the black community, who were excluded by state-enacted racial segregation from most such amenities in the city.

With property devalued, Church bought numerous businesses as well as undeveloped land, with the long-term view of their appreciation as the city recovered.

[2] Robert Reed Church was born enslaved in 1839 in Holly Springs, Mississippi, as the son of Emmeline, a black American woman from Virginia.

The youth worked as the steward of the steamship's mess hall, picking up business acumen and contacts,[4] including future Louisiana political leader James Lewis.

[5] Church escaped, and began working in Memphis as a stableboy, salesman’s assistant, and shining shoes before saving enough to open a saloon.

[4] The dramatic demographic changes had resulted in competition among ethnic Irish, who dominated the city's police and fire departments; decommissioned black Union soldiers who had been stationed nearby, and other African Americans.

[citation needed] With his immense wealth, Church funded the development of high-quality facilities for black Memphians, who were excluded by the state law of racial segregation from many white institutions at the time.

Church used the properties for related philanthropy: he helped sponsor graduation ceremonies, political rallies, and shows in the parks for the city's African Americans.

In 1909 she was a founding member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and in 1896 the first black woman to be appointed to the school board of a major city (Washington, DC).

He became politically influential, establishing the Lincoln League in 1916 to work to register black voters, fundraise to help cover poll taxes, and advocate for the interests of African Americans in the Republican Party.

In 1953, the city of Memphis hosted a demonstration of fire equipment during which the home Robert Church had built for his family in a wealthy, mixed-race neighborhood was burned to the ground.

The event was an act of revenge on the part of Memphis Mayor Edward Hull "Boss" Crump for the Church family's black voter rights activism.