Smithsonian museum Historic church donates bell

Associated Press

WILLIAMSBURG, Va.

A historic black church in Virginia will help dedicate the Smithsonian’s new African American museum.

Williamsburg’s First Baptist Church is lending its bell to the opening in Washington, D.C., planned next Saturday.

The National Museum of African American History and Culture is years in the making. It was established by an Act of Congress in 2003.

The church in Williamsburg was formed in 1776 by a group of enslaved and free blacks. It’s believed to be the first black Baptist church organized by African-Americans, for African-Americans.

The church bought the 400-pound bell in 1886. It fell silent in the 1950s because of structural problems. But it was recently restored.