On May 5, 1865, Adam Clayton Powell Sr. was born in Franklin County, Virginia. The son of formerly enslaved parents, Powell would rise to become a prominent Baptist pastor and a towering figure in early 20th-century Black America. As senior pastor of the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem from 1908 to 1936, Powell helped grow the congregation into one of the largest and most influential Black churches in the world. Under his leadership, the church expanded its role in community development, civil rights, and education. He laid the foundation for the political rise of his son, Adam Clayton Powell Jr., who became one of the most powerful Black Congressmen in U.S. history.
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