North Oakland Missionary Baptist Church

North Oakland Missionary Baptist Church is a few years older than St. Augustine’s, organized in 1904-1905 as Richard Clark Memorial Church. By 1922, they had moved a few blocks north to 32nd Street, but the old building constructed around 1913 remains.

One of the longest-serving pastors of the church was Rev. Dr. G.C. Coleman.

“I found that The Rev. Coleman had done more for his race in Oakland than all of the Negro preachers put together had ever done. Should one ever come to Oakland, look around a little and you will soon learn the Dr. Coleman is in the middle of everything. He was the cause of the city of Oakland having Colored Firemen, and all of the Colored men that hold political jobs are there by the request of this great preacher. And whenever a great trouble arises among the people, they look up Dr. Coleman.”

Walter F. Watkins, Cry of the West, 1925

Coleman was part of the early efforts to get a Black YMCA, eventually leading to the Market Street YMCA, now better known as the M. Robinson Baker YMCA.