National Baptist Convention Becomes Largest Black Organization in America

By the early 1920s, the National Baptist Convention—founded in 1895—had grown to over 3 million members, making it the largest Black organization of any kind in America. The NBC's constituent churches served as the primary social institution for Black communities across the country, providing community organizing, education, and mutual aid alongside religious services. The growth of Black churches during the Great Migration decade was one of the era's most significant sociological developments.