“salvation entertainment” at Bethel A.m.e. church
One hundred years ago today, the Bethel A.M.E (African Methodist Episcopal) Church at 52 West 132 Street hosted an event headlined by Madame Napoleon, “star dramatic reader.”
New York Age, 13 November 1920, p. 6. Newspapers.com
The Bethel A.M.E. Church, 1932. Photographer Percy Loomis Sperr. Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy. The New York Public Library Digital Collections.
The Church announced the event for November 11, but published the ad on November 13, so either the listed date is incorrect or it appeared one issue late.
The Church had moved to 132 Street in 1912. It stands in the same spot today, at the changed street address 60 West 132 Street. In 1920 it acquired a new organ, a II/33 M.P. Möller, Inc., Op. 2835.
WRITTEN BY JONATHAN GOLDMAN, NOVEMBER 12, 2020.
TAGS: religion, church, Christianity, Harlem, Black church, African American history, revival