Mt. Zion Baptist Church
Toward the end of the nineteenth century, Virginia and other southern states began to legislate social segregation, along racial lines. Additional laws that imposed poll taxes and literacy tests established hurdles to voting along economic lines. Between 1900 and 1902, black voter registration in Fredericksburg dropped from 353 to 65. White voter registration dropped from 998 to 681. The era of Jim Crow had arrived.
As segregation became increasingly systematic, Mount Zion Baptist Church maintained the tradition of church leadership in the African American community. It joined both the Shiloh Baptist Church (Old Site) and (New Site) sanctuaries in providing a place for political meetings. In time, these institutions would participate in the broader Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 60s, their moral position attracting the critical support of many white citizens.
Marker is at the intersection of Wolfe Street and Princess Anne Street (U.S. 17), on the right when traveling north on Wolfe Street.
Courtesy hmdb.org
