In our most recent Artifactual Journey Podcast episode, we uncovered some amazing African American history in Memphis, Tennessee with Dr. William Gregory Thompson, PhD. And as always, we endeavor to connect it all back to Old West Baltimore. As the song says, "The road leads back to you..."
Rev. Benjamin Albert Imes, an African American minister, was the first Black minister to head up the Second Congregational Church, an all-white congregation.
Imes held two degrees from Oberlin College and was involved with an influential group that pushed for the integrations of public facilities in Memphis during the late 19th century.
Imes' nephew, George Lake Imes, was a Congregational minister, college professor, dean, and Tuskegee administrator. He was a member of the Tuskegee Institute staff from 1910 to 1935. He was also a 1904 graduate of Lincoln University of Pennsylvania.
G. Lake Imes lived in Old West Baltimore; his address was 1940 Druid Hill Avenue. He and his wife, Grace McCard Imes, lived there until G. Lake Imes' death in 1957.