National Committee of Black Churchmen Pin at State Museum of Pennsylvania

The National Conference of Black Churchmen, founded in 1966 as the National Committee of Negro Churchmen, was an interdenominational organization to promote Black Power and encourage the influence of the movement on African American communities throughout the country. In 1966, the group published a full-page advertisement in the New York Times demanding power, freedom, and justice from the nation’s leaders. Three years later, the committee issued a statement that defined Black theology as a theology of Black liberation. While the late 1960s witnessed the creation of many Black interdenominational organizations, the group was distinctive because it influenced the political discussions of the day regarding the African American experience. This committee pin, measuring 13⁄4 inches in diameter, was a gift to The State Museum of Pennsylvania by the estate of LeRoy Patrick (1915–2006), Pittsburgh, a leading figure in the civil rights movement recognized by Time in 1953 as one of “100 leaders of tomorrow.” Dr. Patrick, a Presbyterian minister, served as a member of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission from 1979 through 2003.