By Jeffery Kazembe Batts
IG: @kazbatts
On Sunday, November 17th, 2025, the Cornerstone Baptist Church celebrated its 107th Anniversary. From its humble beginnings in 1917 at 933 Dekalb Ave, the home of Mrs. M. Freeman, to the present church at 574 Madison St., along with an Education and Daycare Center at 289 Lewis Ave, Cornerstone has become a vital institution in the Bed-Stuy community.
The legendary Rev. Dr. Sandy Frederick Ray led the church for 35 years. Since 2003 Cornerstone has been under the leadership of Pastor Lawrence E. Aker III. At the celebration, he welcomed some of Brooklyn’s and the country’s top elected officials and national leaders.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a church member, urged congregants not to be dismayed by the outcome of the recent national general election.
He pledged to do the hard work necessary to confront the incoming Trump administration while thanking the church for impacting him while he was growing up. As Rep. Jeffries made an early departure the Keynote speaker Rev. Dr. Al Sharpton arrived. Already sitting in the audience, off to the side was New York State Attorney General Leticia James. Yes, “Brooklyn was in the house!”
Amongst rousing applause, the Attorney General made her way to the podium. She did not disappoint the parishioners in her presentation. Everyone was on their feet as she challenged the former and soon returning president and his surrogates who have threatened to go after her by defiantly saying “Tell Trump to meet me on Nostrand and Fulton.” Her confidence and tone electrified the audience as she, like Rep. Jeffries, pledged to do the hard work necessary in the coming Trump era.
After a short video of his life and an introduction by Pastor Aker, Rev. Dr. Afred Sharpton stepped onto the elevated stage located underneath the choir, at the front of the sanctuary. Rev. Al reminded us to be thankful to be alive because many did not wake up last night. He briefly described his history, including referencing the same Nostrand and Fulton intersection that the Attorney General shouted out, where he once had a headquarters early in his activist life. Rev. Sharpton described how superior Vice President Harris was to “the Don” in her qualifications and her plans of action if she were elected president. Nonetheless “Rev” urged listeners to be steadfast and to be organized.
All were invited to join the National Action Network in Washington DC on January 20, 2005, in memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr on the national holiday. At the same time on the other side of DC, Donald Trump will be inaugurated as the 47th United States president.
Near the end of the service after the recognition of some Cornerstone leaders and a soul-reaching song by the elevated choir, Pastor Lawrence Aker called both AG Tish James and Rev. Sharpton to the front of the sanctuary. He announced that most Baptist churches don’t use oil, he would anoint the two leaders by putting oil on their foreheads. That he did as the assembled held out their right hands in unison during prayer.
The Cornerstone Baptist Church anniversary celebration was spiritual, political, and empowering. After the service networking, light refreshments and an opportunity to engage the leaders directly took place.