Boston, MA (September 20, 2021): King Boston today presented the historic Twelfth Baptist Church (TBC) with $1 million, the largest gift the church has ever received. The church will use this funding to aid its social ministries, food insecurity program, and former incarcerated program, and as a catalyst for its upcoming capital campaign.
The gift was announced in part in recognition of the 70th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s arrival at TBC. In September 1951, Martin Luther King Jr. arrived at the church to preach and begin his community work.
“Dr. King made Twelfth Baptist Church his home during his time in Boston, so it’s only fitting that 70 years later, an organization in his name is gifting the church with $1 million to directly support the community made possible by donors from the community,” said Imari Paris Jeffries, Executive Director of King Boston, noting that the gift is made possible as part of the campaign for the “Embrace” memorial on the Boston Common in partnership with the Boston Foundation. “King Boston is rooted in service, commitment, education, and activism just as Dr. and Mrs. King were, and now we can work with TBC to keep its values alive, dismantle racism and create an equitable society for all.”
“This gift will be a game-changer for the Twelfth Baptist Church, said Rev. Willie Bodrick, II, Senior Pastor at Twelfth Baptist Church. “Not only will this gift fund our critical programs, it also provides the foundation for fundraising efforts down the road. King Boston’s generosity will positively impact our Church for generations, and we can’t thank them enough.”
At the event, King Boston also announced the beginning of the 1965 Freedom Plaza Nomination Campaign, which will recognize 65 BIPOC Civil Rights leaders at the “Embrace” memorial on Boston Common.
The Campaign allows King Boston to turn to its ‘Beloved Community’ to help select and honor Greater Boston’s own historical leaders. Each will be permanently featured on the ‘1965 Freedom Plaza’, which will serve as the foundation for The Embrace memorial. The Embrace will provide a living space for conversation, education and reflection on the racial and economic justice ideals of Martin Luther King, Jr. and his wife, Coretta Scott King, and serve as a permanent monument to the Kings’ time in Boston, a period in which they met and fell in love, and which helped shape their approach to a just and equitable society.
King Boston has established the 1965 Freedom Plaza Award Selection Committee, a group of activists, educators, local artists, and cultural leaders, to review and finalize the selection of the 1965 Freedom Plaza honorees, co-chaired by Tito Jackson and L’Merchie Frazier. The Committee will rely on community members to submit prospective names for the honorees both online and in person at a number of Boston Public Library locations and various houses of worship across Greater Boston, including TBC.
“This is a community-driven initiative to highlight ‘Freedom’ fighters from the Civil Rights Movement, selecting the BIPOC leaders defined as most outstanding among the final pool of nominations,” added Paris Jeffries. “Internet and WiFi aren’t accessible to all, so we’re proud to partner with locations around the community to encourage in-person voting.”
“The Boston Public Library is proud to be a part of the 1965 Freedom Plaza Award Campaign by hosting voting stations at many of our locations around the city,” said David Leonard, president of Boston Public Library. “Community members will be able to stop by to share their submissions of who they believe best represents Boston’s Civil Rights leaders.”
Governor Charlie Baker, Acting Mayor Kim Janey, Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins and other civic and political leaders were in attendance to support this momentous occasion with King Boston and TBC.