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During the early 1940s, Bethel AME's minister, Rev. Emmer Henry Booker, corresponded with Nevada Governor E.P. Carville to promote racial equality. In early 1941, Booker sought new quarters for the Bethel congregation, which wanted to expand its facilities to include a kitchen and social hall. The church proposed to purchase an existing building in the predominantly white area of northwest Reno, near the University of Reno and Reno High School. Protests were made by the University, the school board, and Gamma Phi Beta Sorority at a Reno city council meeting against the black congregation moving to that section of the city. Due to the protests, the congregation decided not to move to another building, but to enlarge and renovate the existing church. The clapboard church was sheathed in brick, the vestibule enlarged, and a full basement constructed for offices, kitchen, a choir room, library and study, and parlor. The events that prompted the renovation of the building reflect the struggle for civil rights in the city of Reno. Until the 1960s, Reno practiced non-legislated segregation; African Americans were restricted in housing and employment opportunities, were not served in white restaurants and bars, could not enter white casinos, or stay in white hotels. Many members of Reno's NAACP chapter, founded in 1919, were also congregants of Bethel AME, and the church acted as the official meeting location of the chapter. Drawing attention to the discriminatory practices of Reno's businesses and government, the NAACP branch led activities such as picketing the local Woolworth store in 1960. Today, Bethel AME Church is one of the most significant buildings in the State of Nevada associated with its African American population and the civil rights movement. The Bethel AME Church is located at 220 Bell St., Reno, Nevada. The congregation sought a larger facility in 1993, after which a private owner purchased Bethel AME Church and converted it into a homeless shelter. It is not open to the public.
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