Monroe County History: Monroe church linked to first president of Detroit NAACP

Tom Adamich
·3 min read
Monroe’s Second Missionary Baptist Church, 501 Clark Street, has been in its present location since 1974. The original location, 322 Conant Avenue, opened in 1925.
Monroe’s Second Missionary Baptist Church, 501 Clark Street, has been in its present location since 1974. The original location, 322 Conant Avenue, opened in 1925.

Today, the Second Missionary Baptist Church (SMBC), located on Clark Street in Monroe, represents a century of faith development for Monroe and Monroe County’s African American community.  The 100th anniversary of the church was recently recognized on these pages.  SMBC, and its current success, have their roots in the efforts of Reverend Robert Bradby – the first president of the Detroit NAACP.

According to the Encyclopedia of Detroit, Bradby was born in Ontario, Canada on September 17, 1877. Bradby first worked on his family’s farm until the age of 22, when he received God’s calling to the ministry. Bradby proceeded to attend McMaster University in Toronto until 1906, majoring in theology.  However, the sudden death of his father may have contributed to the fact that he did not graduate. In later years, he was awarded an honorary divinity degree from Virginia Theological Seminary and an honorary law degree from Wilberforce University in Ohio. While studying theology in Canada, Bradby served as pastor of Baptist churches in Amherstburg, Chatham, and Windsor, Ontario.

It is in Amherstburg that Bradby may have met or heard about Monroe’s Foster family who I have written about in the past.  James Foster’s father, Levi, became a successful businessman in Amherstburg, operating a livery business, stage line, and hotel.  Levi Foster also owned numerous properties and land in Amherstburg, using his finances to move to the United States and settle in Monroe in the late 1880s.

In 1910, Bradby moved to Detroit to become pastor of the Second Baptist Church -- organized in March, 1836 by 13 former slaves who left Detroit’s First Baptist Church due to discrimination.  Second Baptist was a key stop on the Underground Railroad. During the summers of the 1910s, Reverend Bradby preached on street corners and walked door-to-door in Detroit’s neighborhoods to recruit church members. Bradby advocated for the cleanup of nearby local neighborhoods.  Throughout the Great Migration of southern blacks to northern cities, the Rev. Bradby and church members welcomed African Americans to the city.  His friendship with Henry Ford, beginning in 1919, led Bradby to reach an agreement with Ford to recommend workers for hiring during the growth of the automobile industry.

The book cover of "Race, Religion, and the Pulpit: Rev. Robert L. Bradby and the Making of Urban Detroit" was written by Julia Marie Robinson and published in 2015. Robinson helped start the Second Missionary Baptist Church in Monroe in 1922. The book examines The Rev. Bradby’s rise to prominence as a pastor and community leader at Second Baptist in Detroit and the sociohistorical context of his work in the early years of the Great Migration of Blacks north to places like Monroe and Detroit to seek employment in the 20th century.

It was during this time that Bradby worked to start nearly 30 other Second Missionary Baptist churches in Michigan, including Monroe’s Second Missionary Baptist Church – founded in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Luvert Covington.  The original building at 322 Conant Avenue in Monroe opened in 1925 with Reverend G.L. Miles leading the congregation.

In 1974, Monroe’s Second Missionary Baptist Church moved to its current location at 501 Clark Street and celebrated its mortgage burning on November 22, 1981.  Education and music ministry continued to grow during this period with Reverend J.C. Jones leading the congregation beginning in 1967 and throughout the 1970s and 1980s.

The Rev. Terrence L. Johnson has been pastor of Monroe’s Second Missionary Baptist Church since 2019.
The Rev. Terrence L. Johnson has been pastor of Monroe’s Second Missionary Baptist Church since 2019.

Fast forward to 2019 when current pastor Reverend Terrence L. Johnson was asked to lead the church. He began his ministry at the Samaritan Missionary Baptist Church in Detroit. He has introduced technology-based Christian Education, commissioned a youth minister and established workforce training within the youth ministry. SMBC continues hosting biweekly food giveaways and COVID-19 testing for Monroe and surrounding areas. Pastor Johnson affirmed the church’s first woman deacons, and the Second Missionary Baptist Church Essential Women’s Ministry was also established.

Monroe’s Second Missionary Baptist Church’s First Lady Dionna Johnson. She is a Detroit native and has traveled extensively throughout the Caribbean on mission trips, teaching and volunteering with young children. She and The Rev. Terrence L. Johnson have 3 children.
Monroe’s Second Missionary Baptist Church’s First Lady Dionna Johnson. She is a Detroit native and has traveled extensively throughout the Caribbean on mission trips, teaching and volunteering with young children. She and The Rev. Terrence L. Johnson have 3 children.

SMBC’s First Lady Dionna Johnson is a native of Detroit and traveled extensively throughout the Caribbean on mission trips, teaching and volunteering with young children. The couple has 3 children. Pastor Johnson’s favorite line of scripture is James 4:10: “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up.”

Tom Adamich is President – Visiting Librarian Service, a firm he has operated since 1993. He also is Project Archivist for the Greening Nursery Company and Family Archives.

This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Monroe church linked to first president of Detroit NAACP