Historic Saint Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church in Atlanta Vandalized on MLK Day

The 151-year-old church began its Christian fellowship and service in 1868, five years after the Emancipation Proclamation and only three years after the end of the Civil War.

St. Paul AME thegrio
Courtesy of St. Paul AME web site

The 151-year-old Saint Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church in Atlanta has survived a lot. It began its Christian fellowship and service in 1868, five years after the Emancipation Proclamation, and only three years after the end of the Civil War. It has stood at its current location for nearly 60 years and had not been vandalized—until Monday.

The historic church in southwest Atlanta was found vandalized Monday while its members were celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

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Atlanta Police were called when “666” and “pay back” were discovered spray-painted on several front windows and a brick wall of the church. Isaiah Waddy, the church’s pastor, told ABC affiliate WSB it was the first incident of its kind in the nearly 56 years the church has been there.

 “It was disturbing to me because it was Martin Luther King celebration day,” Waddy told the television news outlet. He said that he could not figure out who might have vandalized the church, nor could he figure the meaning of “pay back.”

Atlanta Police confirmed they are investigating the incident as criminal damage to property. Waddy encouraged whoever was responsible for the vandalism to come back to the church and join the congregation.

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“Please come back on Sunday and worship with us,” Waddy said.  “You don’t have to say, ‘I was the one did it,’ just come in.”

The vandalism comes as the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Park in Atlanta recently reopened on Saturday. Most of the park, including Ebenezer Baptist Church where he was once a co-pastor, had been closed since the government shutdown began on Dec. 22.

It reopened last weekend thanks to a $83,500 grant from the Delta Air Lines Foundation, according to the New York Daily News. The grant covers the cost of clean-up, maintenance and operation of the park through Feb. 3, which is the day Super Bowl LIII will be played in Atlanta.

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