[4] From its founding until the end of the Civil War, the church served as a "station" on the Underground Railroad, hosting some 5,000 slaves before their eventual departure to Canada.

[3] Second Baptist also opened the city's first school for black children in 1839,[3] and in 1843 and 1865 hosted a "State Convention of Colored Citizens" to petition the Michigan government for Negro Suffrage.

[4] Ralph Bunche, who later became the first African-American to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, was baptized in the church.

Below the window twin entrance doors inside gothic arches are framed by a crenellated parapet.

Reverend Lawrence W. Rodgers is the Senior Pastor, the 24th person to hold that position at Second Baptist.