Shiloh Baptist Church stands proudly as one D.C.’s oldest Black churches
By D. Kevin McNeir Shiloh Baptist Church (1500 Ninth Street, NW) was founded during the tumultuous years of the Civil War in 1863 by 21 former slaves who left Fredericksburg, Virginia with other slavery refugees under the protection of the Union Army. The North was fighting for reunification while the South was fighting for independence. However, as the war progressed, the Civil War gradually evolved into an effort to include not only reunification but also the abolition of slavery. After settling in Washington, D.C. and meeting in various homes, the 21 founding members organized a Sunday School in a small building located on L Street, between 16th and 17th Streets, […]