The First Missionary Baptist Church in Hayneville played a significant role in the 1966 elections in Lowndes County, as it served as the site for the Lowndes County Freedom Party convention and mass meetings to support the Civil Rights Movement. Local black community leaders collaborated with members of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee to form the party and run a slate of African Americans in the county’s election. The church building, constructed in 1959, remains largely unchanged and serves as a reminder of its pivotal role during the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s.
