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Second Baptist Church (Santa Ana) is a historically Black church in Santa Ana, California, and the oldest Black church in Orange County. Founded in 1923, the church has acted as a cultural, spiritual, social, and political focal point for Orange County's Black residents. The main church is currently located at 4300 Westminster Ave, Santa Ana, CA, 92703. Its southern campus resides at 4861 Michelson Dr., Irvine, CA 92612.

Historical Significance
At the height of Jim Crow, Second Baptist Church represented the defiance and dreams of a community.

There have never been many Black people in Orange County, California. Despite there being few explicit laws maintaining racial segregation, such practices were commonplace throughout Orange County. For many, segregation in California was not much different than what was experienced in the South. Red cars, movie theaters, local restaurants, and businesses openly discriminated against residents. Some local pools enforced "colored" swimming days, only allowing Black and other non-white communities to enter municipal swimming pools on the days before weekly draining and cleaning. In addition to being founded by Southerners and Confederates, Orange County experienced a population boom in white Southern migration during the 1910s through 1930s as oil workers flocked to local fields. While no attempts were successful, Orange County had it fair share of attempted lynchings of Black men and was dominated by local branches of the Ku Klux Klan in many cities, including Anaheim, Huntington Beach, Fullerton, and Brea. Constance Duffy Duffy, born in Santa Ana in 1922, discussed in an interview: (Question) “Your dad was aware of the Klan because the Klan was very strong in the mid-1920s. Did he talk to you about the Klan?

(Answer) "Nothing. I just knew that it was something that hated us. The only people I might have known would be the fathers of some of my classmates, and naturally they’re not going to say anything to me. So I never knew anybody that was a member. My dad knew the members and knew who they were.” While Black Americans did not make up a large percentage of the local population, they still felt the sting of prejudice. Throughout the county, sundown towns prevented Black settlement. A Fullerton attorney fighting housing segregation reported there may have been a sign in Brea reading: "Nigger: Don’t let the sun go down on your back in this town." Ernestine Ransom, daughter of T.J. Anderson and member of Second Baptist Church, recalled working with her mother to clean homes in Orange:"'When we first came to Santa Ana, my mother and I came over to Orange to clean somebody's house, and that's when I learned that we had to be out of the city before dark. My mom told me and evidently somebody told her. She just said, 'We have to be out of here before dark.' So we rushed to clean the place and get out of there. That was the city of Orange. As you talk and share this with other people, whites, they tell you about their communities, that it happened there also.'"Because of these policies, many Black workers in Orange County lived in nearby communities in Los Angeles, Riverside, or San Bernardino. A racial Outside of Little Texas, housing covenants prevented home ownership, with one stipulating "No person other than a member of the Caucasian race shall be permitted to use or occupy any portion of said land, except a family servant" Rejected and excluded from various institutions, there were no local establishments for Black residents to be baptized or hold funerals. Since Orange County's inception, Black social and spiritual life could only be nurtured in nearby counties like Los Angeles, Riverside, or San Bernardino. But in 1923, Black worshipers came together to change the situation and build a home for all those who sought it.

Julia Sullivan (1882-1968), the Founders, and the Mission
In 1923 with the assistance of the First Baptist Church of Santa Ana, SBC was born.

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/579298243e00bedd32233015/t/5b17977f758d465d6f96aee3/1528272774043/Final+Historical+program+2018.pdf

https://www.lib.uci.edu/sites/all/files/docs/oc-snapshots-checklist-v2.pdf

https://justice.tougaloo.edu/sundowntown/brea-ca/

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/579298243e00bedd32233015/t/6207641de058857d0d563992/1644651555305/SBC+99th+History+Booklet_1923-2021.pdf

Meaning: Civil Rights

When newcomers Lincoln and Mulkey. Found refuage and support.

‘You can find a place here’

But the church has a comeback spirit woven into its DNA. Life-long member Connie Jones said she witnessed that during the Civil Rights era.

“I remember issues of parents not being able to purchase homes, challenges in schools and getting grants to go to school,” said Jones, who was baptized in the church in 1966. “But we were grounded in a church where there was solace and respite and the sharing of the trials and challenges.”

Church Locations
Main Campus


 * First Church: 1800 block of West 8th Street, Santa Ana, CA
 * Second Church: corner of 2nd and Baker, Santa Ana, CA
 * Third Church: 1915 W. McFadden Avenue, Santa Ana, CA
 * Fourth (current) Church: 4300 Westminster Boulevard, Santa Ana, CA

Southern Campus


 * First Southern Campus: 22600 Lambert St, Lake Forest, CA
 * Second (current) Southern Campus: 4861 Michelson Dr., Irvine, CA

Selected Chronology
The following list

1920s and 1930s


 * (1923) Twelve members led by Julia Sullivan met in the 1800 block of West 8th Street to form the Second Baptist Church of Santa Ana. Rev. Ferris E. Tisdale was called as the Pastor. Later that year, Rev. A.W. Hill became the pastor.
 * (1927) Rev. McGriff served as Pastor and served until 1929.
 * (1929) Rev. F.W. Cooper served at Pastor, but resigned prematurely. He was replace by Rev. Stovall, who served until 1937.


 * (1937) Pastor Cooper resigned. Rev. Thomas Jefferson Anderson was called as pastor.
 * (1938) The West 8th Street property was sold and Second Baptist Church purchased a two-story building on the corner of 2nd and Baker.

1940s and 1950s


 * (1940) Rev. Edward Clinton Thornton was elected as Pastor. He is one of the founding pastors and moderators of Tri County District Association of the Western Baptist State Convention. The Church continues to grow in membership and plans were formulated to build a new building.
 * (1941) The old church was moved to the back of the lot and a new building was built on the corner of 2nd and Baker. The cornerstone was laid on May 3, 1941.
 * (1940s-1950s) The local Orange County Mendez v. Westminster (ending "Mexican schools") and national Brown vs. The Board of Education (overturning Plessy v. Ferguson) cases struck down school segregation. Many members of Second Baptist Church took part in integrating Santa Ana's Willard Intermediate and Santa Ana High School s.
 * (1948) Second Baptist Church celebrates its 25th Anniversary.


 * During the decade of the 50’s Second Baptist grew to approximately 100 persons. Second Baptist Church (also known as SBC) actively participated in the TRI-County Association. The youth participated in the Western Baptist Convention’s Easter Convocations and summer camps held at Thousand Pines, located in the San Bernardino Mountains.

1960s and 1970s


 * (1964) Pastor Whitten resigns due to illness in April. Eight months later, he died in the city of Los Angeles. He was honored later by the Western Baptist Convention. In May, Rev. S.Z. Henderson was called as Pastor. During Rev. Henderson’s ministry, new choirs were organized, the Pastor’s Aide was reorganized, and the second mortgage was paid off. As the membership grew a new church facility was purchased at Raitt and McFadden
 * (1967) SBC members Dorothy and Lincoln Mulkey prevail in Reitman v. Mulkey. The Supreme Court Case struck down housing discrimination practices by overturning Prop 14.
 * (1968) Co-Founder of Second Baptist Church, Julia Sullivan born February 22, 1882 dies at the age of 86 year old. She is buried at Santa Ana Cemetery, section U.
 * (1972) SBC becomes the home of a federally funded Head Start child preparation program and later a day care center under the direction of Sister Marcella Roberts. Child care continued at SBC until 1984.
 * (1972) In January the church fellowship marched from the 2nd and Baker facility to their new home at 1915 W. McFadden Avenue, Santa Ana, CA. Following this event, Rev. Henderson resigned to work in the mission fields of Panama on behalf of the American Baptist Convention.
 * (1973) Second Baptist Church celebrates its 50th Anniversary.
 * (1973) The Board of Deacons, along with Rev. Boyd, Rev. Hardeman, and Rev. Samuel Craig worked together caring for the church family.
 * (1973) In November Rev. Richard Kessee, Jr. of Mary Magdalene Baptist Church of Los Angeles was called as the Pastor. Under the leadership of Pastor Kessee, an additional service (8:00 A.M.) was added, and many auxiliaries were organized. During his tenure, three ministers were ordained through the TRI-County District Association for the work and service in the gospel ministry; Rev. John McReynolds, Rev. Frank Phillips, and Rev. Paul Hurst.
 * (1979) In November the enlargement of the Sanctuary from 18 to 36 pews is completed and dedicated by the Rev. Dr. Manuel L. Scott Sr., Pastor of the Calvary Baptist Church of Los Angeles.

1980s and 1990s


 * 1991 Mackrenolds education.

2000s and 2010s


 * (2017) First Baptist Church of Santa Ana joins SBC's Santa Ana campus after selling their church building located on 17th street since 1871.

2020s

Changing Demographics
pastor pitts

The vision identified was to “be a beacon of love for every nation, generation and situation” and to encourage “a unique ethnic flavor” and openness to people regardless of socio-economic status, he says.

“No matter your background, whether you’re homeless or a corporate VP, you can find a place here.”

But the aim also is to stay true to the church’s historic character.

Historical Significance
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Selected Chronology
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History
First Baptist was one of the earliest Protestant churches founded in Orange County, California.

Although Anaheim, Orange County’s Mother Colony, was founded in 1857, the city did not establish a church until a decade later. At the time, no German-speaking Lutheran minister was available in the 1860s and 1870s. Other Anaheim pioneers had fallen out of the habit of church attendance after the German Revolution of 1848 or their journey to California, facing a scarcity of available ministers of any denomination.

Conversely, the city of Santa Ana, founded in 1869, began constructing churches immediately after its establishment. Post-Civil War American migrants to Southern California considered the construction of churches necessary for a settlement’s success. By 1879, the settlement was home to at least nine Christian congregations. Santa Ana’s first church, the Methodist Episcopal Church South, later called the Spurgeon Memorial Methodist Church, originally began meeting in the home of Mr. and Mrs. W.H. Titchenal in December of 1870. Eventually, Methodist Episcopal Church South, First Baptist, and two other denominations founded in the 1870s shared a local school building at West and Church streets, alternating Sunday services.

The Southern Methodists were quickly followed by the Baptists, whose church was founded only four months later, in March of 1871. Thirteen members, led by Reverend Richard C. Fryer of Pomona, laid the roots of this congregation and its mission. In 1873, Reverend Isaac Hickey, known for his fiery sermons in Gospel Swamp, became the first Baptist minister to live within Santa Ana.

Three years later, the First Baptist Church built its first church on the corner of Church and Main Streets on four lots donated by William H. Spurgeon. At the price of $4,000, the church interior was left unfinished for many years as members mortgaged their homes to pay the cost. Yet, as Santa Ana developed, so did the church. In 1901 and 1913, the church was renovated and enlarged.

Significance and Legacy
First Baptist Church operated as a beacon of outreach and acceptance in Orange County for over a century. Many of the region's pioneers, including those of Santa Ana, Westminster, Garden Grove, and Orange, were Confederate Veterans and even affiliated with the Reconstruction-era Ku Klux Klan. Santa Ana's first church, the Methodist Episcopal Church South, was a branch of the pro-slavery wing of the Methodist denomination, which had split over the issue of slavery in 1844.

In contrast, First Baptist Church was founded as an abolitionist institution, building a lasting and living legacy in Orange County and offering hope in times of despair. By 1923, members of First Baptist Church worked with members of Santa Ana's Black community to found the Second Baptist Church of Santa Ana, Orange County's oldest Black Church. Church historian Milana Oyunga described:"“They helped them get started with the down payment of $150, a Bible, and the first pew, which we still have on our premises. . . With that initial help they had given us, they have been a friend and support to us all these years, that culminated to today.'"During the Jim Crow era, First and Second Baptist often collaborated, fundraised together, and welcomed each other's congregations. Standing with Black Orange Countians throughout the strife of the Civil Rights Movement, First Baptist reached out to and cared for its neighbors.

Despite church membership waning in its later years, First Baptist found a home in the home it helped found for others, spending its last three years of operation worshiping at Second Baptist. Upon closing, First Baptist left an endowment to Second Baptist to be used for maintaining First Baptist's memory and continuing its mission through community outreach in First Baptist's name.