Zion Baptist Church
Broad & Venango Sts.

Rev. Horace B. Wayland, a former slave from Madison County, Virginia, founded Zion in 1882. After Wayland's death in 1896, a series of pastors led the ministry until 1951 when Rev. Leon Sullivan accepted the call from Zion. After helping the congregation move to a new building at the Northwest Corner of Broad and Venango Streets in late 1955, Sullivan sought to find ways the church could help address the needs of the community of North Philadelphia. His answer was to institute helpful programs. Among the programs was the Day Care Center (the first organized by a Black church) Community Center Programs which included adult education and after school tutoring for children. Sullivan also organized "selective buying" boycotts of business that didn't hire blacks. He formed Opportunities Industrialization Centers (OIC) in 1964 to train people for jobs. He even got Zion's members to organize a savings cooperative, using the money to found Progess Plaza on North Broad Street Street, the first major shopping center built and wholly owned by African Americans. Sullivan served as pastor of Zion Baptist Church for 37 years until 1988.

Watch a performance of "This Is Why I Praise Him."
(Requires RealPlayer. Download it here.)