News from the
United States Congress
| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | ||
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December 7, 2006 |
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| WASHINGTON D.C. – U.S. Senators Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor and U.S. Representative Marion Berry announced today that the Centennial Baptist Church in Helena-West Helena has been awarded a $300,000 grant from the National Park Service through the Save America’s Treasures program.
The Centennial Baptist Church was organized on July 4, 1876, in Helena and is the oldest African-American Church west of the Mississippi River. Today, the building is owned by the E.C. Morris Foundation which is named in honor of Dr. Elias Camp Morris. Dr. Morris served as Centennial’s pastor from 1879 to 1922 and established the National Baptist Publishing Board which produced religious materials for African-American congregations. He also served as leader of the National Baptist Convention, the largest African-American organization in the United States at the end of the 19th century.
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