COLUMBIA, S.C. — The City of Columbia and Zion Baptist Church unveiled a new street sign highlighting the church’s history and Columbia’s Black business district.

Sunday was another historic day in Columbia as a new sign was placed atop the intersection of Gadson and Washington Streets. The sign renames a portion of the road to Zion Baptist Church Square.

Columbia Mayor Daniel Rickenman said adding the market was an important step in the long history of Zion Baptist Church.

“In the center of the Civil Rights [Movement] was the churches, and Zion was that church,” he said. “They called it ‘Big Zion’ back in the day. Celebrating Black Wall Street, making sure we recognize it, I think, for a long time, it sat here where the community didn’t come together to celebrate it like we are now, and I think it’s an exciting time.”

The sign also commemorates Columbia’s Black business district, a hub for the Black community in the early 1900s.

“If you lived in Columbia during segregation times, this was the only place that you could go: to the grocery store, the dentist,” said Calvernetta Beasley Williams, a member of Zion’s historic committee. “You didn’t have to wait and go through the ‘colored section.’ You just walked through the front door.” 

A large crowd gathered to watch the unveiling and hear from featured speakers. Donyell Mullens, a member of Zion Baptist Church, said seeing her church in the spotlight makes her hopeful for the future.

“Brings an opportunity to draw more patrons to the church and to see what we’re about and the focus on giving back to the community,” Mullens said.

University of South Carolina professor and Black history expert Bobby Donaldson spoke during the ceremony and highlighted the importance of passing on history to the younger generations.

“No one even imagined or could envision that those struggling Black people could build a cathedral, that they could build a monument on this corner,” he said. “We must teach our children their history from the cradle to the grave, and we must do so at whatever cost.”

The Rev. M. Andrew Davis said that he thanks God when looking back at the church’s history and seeing how far it’s come.

“It’s a reminder that although we may have disadvantages in life, by way of slavery, being African Americans, all of the disadvantages, it does not disregard the favor of God, and how, if God can be on your side, it’s worth more than the whole world against you,” he said.