Tabernacle Baptist was organized in 1885 for Selma University students. The church’s ministers were leaders in African-American Baptist organizations, including Rev. D. V. Jemison, who served as president of the National Baptist Convention. Its ministers and congregation were also active in the Civil Rights movement; Pastor John D. Hunter and Marie Foster were two of the “Courageous Eight,” the steering committee for the Dallas County Voters League who invited Dr. King to Selma in 1964.
Tabernacle Baptist is also locally significant for its Classical Revival design, executed by African American architect David T. West, a congregation member, in 1922.