First Baptist M.B. Church - Port Gibson, MS
Posted by: 
linkys
N 31° 57.688 W 090° 58.964
15R E 690638 N 3537940
The First Baptist Church is located on Farmer Street near the Claiborne County Courthouse in Port Gibson.
Waymark Code: WMCMTN
Location: Mississippi, United States
Date Posted: 09/22/2011
Views: 2
From the nearby Mississippi Historical marker:
FIRST BAPTIST M.B. CHURCH
Founded in 1867 by freedmen. Moved
to this site ca.1896. Played a
vital role in the Civil Rights
Movement in Port Gibson. Beginning
in 1965, the NAACP held meetings
here to promote boycotts of
local white merchants, who subsequently
filed suit. In a landmark ruling
in 1982, the U.S. Supreme Court
upheld the legality of the boycotts.
The actions of the NAACP and local African American citizens which were orchestrated through meetings held at this church ultimately lead to the famous National Association for the Advancement of Colored People v. Claiborne Hardware Co. ruling by the United States Supreme Court. There are numerous article available on the Internet regarding this decision and the events surrounding.
Briefly, the NAACP organized a branch in Claiborne County with the pastor of the First Baptist Church as its President. Meetings were held at the church and boycotts of white owned business were instituted. Over time these resulted in a lawsuit by the white business owners that ultimately lead to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People v. Claiborne Hardware Co. ruling by the United States Supreme Court where the boycotts were found to clearly involve constitutionally protected activity with elements of speech, assembly, association, and petition.
An excellent article on the subject can be found at the Cornell Law website,
link.