Samuel W. Bacote

1866 – 1946 

The son of former slaves, Samuel W. Bacote in 1895 became pastor of Second Baptist Church, one of Kansas City’s oldest and largest African American congregations. 

Bacote had degrees from Benedict College in Columbia, South Carolina, and the Theological Seminary in Richmond, Virginia; he received a doctorate in divinity from Kansas City University, Kansas City, Kansas. 

Instrumental in establishing the Western Baptist Seminary in Kansas City, Bacote was considered the “dean of Baptist ministers in the Midwest.” He edited the book “Who’s Who Among the Colored Baptists of the United States” (1913) and served at his church until his death.