Rapp Road group to be honored by Baptist Church

Sunday’s service to be followed by annual ethnic feast

Albany’s Union Missionary Baptist Church will celebrate African American Heritage Month on Sunday by honoring The Rapp Road Historical Association during its 11 a.m. worship service.

Beverly Bardequez, the association’s president, will speak to the congregation about the history, creation and development of the African American community in the Rapp Road neighborhood off Western Avenue. Families still living there trace their roots to Mississippi and the people who came north to Albany, first settling in the city’s South End, during the Great Migration.

“I’m delighted to be celebrating African American Heritage Month under the theme ‘Living by Faith: The Great Migration,’” said the Rev. Victor Covington, church pastor. “That speaks to the fact that our people have always lived by faith in God. The Rapp Road Community sets a great precedent.”

Anne Pope, director of Christian education at the church, calls the Rapp Road community special. “It symbolizes strength, solidarity, and the capacity to withstand force and pressure,” she said. “It is a paradigm for the future.”

The church’s annual Ethnic Feast immediately follow’s Sunday service. The public is invited to attend this free event. Members will bring a variety of Southern, Caribbean, African and dishes from other ethnicities to share.

Union Baptist Church is at 3 Morton Ave., Albany.

Paul Buckowski / Times Union archive Beverly Bardequez, foreground, president of the Rapp Road Historical Association, addresses those gathered for the unveiling of a plaque during the Rapp Road community’s 60th Family Reunion Weekend in 2017.

Phoebe Sheehan / Special to The Times Union Beverly Bardequez will speak this Sunday at Albany’s Union Missionary Baptist Church about the history of the Rapp Road Community that traces its roots to Mississippi and the Great Migration.