Written by Pearly Bowser

Albany - Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church is recognized as the birthplace of the 1960’s Albany Civil Rights Movement largely because of the courageous efforts of its leader, Reverend H.C. Boyd. He became a Civil Rights trailblazer by refusing to yield to threats by equal rights opponents. Boyd, who permitted mass meetings to take place at the facility, will be the keynote speaker at the ASU Martin Luther King, Jr. Convocation at 9:50 a.m., Thursday, Jan. 16 in the Student Center Ballroom located on the campus.

He became Shiloh’s pastor in 1959. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. addressed overflowing crowds from its pulpit during the 60s and today, a trail of footprints originating at Shiloh and ending at the Albany Bus Station commemorates the Albany Civil Rights marches which ended with arrests at the bus station.

Boyd received college and seminary training at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Ga. The World War II veteran began preaching in 1946 at Engineer Chapel – Schofield Barracks on the Island of Oahu, Hawaii.

He also served as secretary of the Albany Ministerial Brotherhood, and as assistant secretary of the General Missionary Baptist Convention of Georgia.

Boyd held the position of dean at the Albany Seminary Extension Center and was a commissioned board member of the Dougherty County Family and Child Services.