Adam Clayton Powell (May 5, 1865[1][2] – June 12, 1953) was an American pastor who developed the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, New York as the largest Protestant congregation in the country, with 10,000 members. He was an African American community activist, author, and the father of Congressman Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Born into poverty in southwestern Virginia, Powell worked to put himself through school and Wayland Seminary, where he was ordained in 1892.
After serving in churches in Philadelphia and New Haven, Connecticut, Powell was called as pastor to Abyssinian Baptist, where he served from 1908 to 1936. During the Great Migration of blacks out of the rural South, thousands of blacks moved to New York and Harlem became the center of African American life in the city. During his tenure, Powell supervised the purchase of land, fundraising, and the construction of a much larger church and facilities. He was a founder of the National Urban League, active in the NAACP and several fraternal organizations, and served as trustee of several historically black colleges and schools.
- ^ Yenser, Thomas, ed. (1930–1932). Who's Who in Colored America: A Biographical Dictionary of Notable Living Persons of African Descent in America (Third ed.). Brooklyn, New York: Who's Who in Colored America.
- ^ "U.S. Passport Applications, 1795–1925 [database on-line]". United States: The Generations Network. 1924-07-14. Archived from the original on 21 July 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-22.