George Leile, a slave who in 1773 was the first
African American licensed by the
Baptists to preach in
Georgia, played a part in the founding of the Savannah church by converting some of its early members. His initial licensing as a Baptist was to preach to slaves on
plantations along the
Savannah River, in Georgia and
South Carolina. Leile's master, a Baptist
deacon, had freed him before the
American Revolutionary War. Over the next few years, Leile converted and baptized slaves in the area. These included
David George, one of eight slaves who were baptized and formed a congregation called the
Silver Bluff Baptist Church in
Aiken County, South Carolina, across the river from Augusta. George was appointed an elder and preacher, and attracted nearly 30 members over the next few years. After the Revolutionary War started, in 1778 Leile made his way to the British-occupied city of Savannah, to ensure his security behind British lines. The British had offered freedom to slaves who escaped their rebel masters. After the British occupied Savannah, the Patriot master of David George and his followers fled to another area. All the members of the Silver Bluff church went to the city to go behind British lines for freedom. They joined with some of Leile's group. Others were converted by Leile's preaching, including
Andrew Bryan and his wife Hannah in 1782. Bryan became a preacher and leader in the congregation. In 1782 hundreds of blacks were evacuated from Savannah by the British, who transported many to
Nova Scotia and other colonies, and some to
London. Leile and his family sailed with the British for freedom to
Jamaica. David George and his family went with Loyalists to Nova Scotia. Both founded Baptist congregations in their new locations. Later George and his family migrated to
Sierra Leone, where he planted another Baptist church. Bryan, who had purchased his and his wife's freedom, was the only one of the three early black Baptist preachers in the colonies to stay in Savannah and the new United States. In 1794 the congregation built a frame structure on land Bryan had purchased the year before. They called the church Bryan Street African Baptist Church. which served as a stop on the
Underground Railroad (UGR). During the
Civil War, the church housed runaway slaves in a space beneath the sanctuary floorboards. The 9-squared ceiling showed that the church was part of the UGR.
Civil Rights Movement Participants in the early
Civil Rights Movement in Savannah held weekly meetings at the church.
Pastors •
George Leile (1778–1787) •
Andrew Bryan (1788–1812) • Andrew Cox Marshall (1812–1856) • William J. Campbell (1857–1877) • George Gibbons (1878–1884) • Emanuel King Love (1885–1900) • Sennica J. Thornton (1901–1907) • Lamonta M. Williams (1909–1913) • Malachi J. Williams (1915–1922) • Edgar Garfield Thomas (1924–1928) • Mack T. Walton(1929–1931) • J. Alfred Wilson (1931–1939) •
Ralph Mark Gilbert (1939–1956) • Curtis J. Jackson (1957–1961) • William F. Stokes II (1963–1973) • Lawrence McKinney (1973–1980) • Thurmond N. Tillman (1982–present) ==The facility==