Bethel AME Church honored with memorial plaque

In September, Bethel A.M.E. Church in Chestertown was honored with a ceremony and memorial to honor its place in Kent County history.

Rev. Robert N. Brown, Jr. presided over the ceremony. In attendance were Alan Cephas, Nina Cephas, Rev. Monique Upshur Davis, and Melvonna Wayman—grandchildren of the late Rev. Frederick Jones, Sr. Reverend Jones, who served as pastor here from 1953 to 1969, co-founded the local NAACP chapter and played a pivotal role during the Civil Rights era, including hosting the Freedom Riders in Chestertown.

The marker is a project series directed by the Black Historic Signage Committee, chaired by Chesapeake Heartland Curation Fellow Karen Somerville, with the support of private donors and Hope Fellowship Church.

Monuments already erected in Chestertown to commemorate local Black history are on Cannon St. at the harbor, College Ave. and Calvert St. to recognize Charlie Graves and the famed Uptown club, and Emma Grason Miller at Henry Highland Garnet Elementary School.

In the works are two memorials to honor the local Negro League Hall of Famers Ralph Deaton, Jr. in Chestertown and Rock Hall with one commemorating Ralph Deaton, Jr. at Washington Park, and a marker honoring James A. Jones, the 18th Century entrepreneur who famously beat the unjust voting laws by selling small parcels of land from his lot to provide property ownership (and a vote) to Black men.

African American churches have played a pivotal role in American history, serving as more than just places of worship. These institutions emerged during slavery as rare spaces where Black people could gather, fostering community and preserving African cultural traditions. After emancipation, churches became centers for education, political organization, and social services.

During the Civil Rights Movement, Black churches were crucial hubs for activism, providing meeting spaces, mobilizing supporters, and producing influential leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. They offered community in the face of oppression and violence.

To support the Black Historic Signage Committee, contact Karen Somerville here.

This video is approximately five minutes in length.