Shiloh Baptist Church in Central is called the mother church of Black Baptist churches in Cleveland.
Founded 176 years ago, it was the city’s first Black Baptist congregation. Shiloh’s existence has been intertwined with Black life in Cleveland.
The church was founded by a free Black community during slavery. It stood firm through Reconstruction, Jim Crow and other legal racial segregation and discrimination. The church withstood two World Wars and the Great Depression. Shiloh welcomed African Americans from the South seeking a new life in the North during the Great Migration. The church was active in the Civil Rights Movement. And it weathered the depopulation of the city and disinvestment in urban neighborhoods. It awaits Cleveland’s nascent renaissance…