The Union United Church of Montreal is the city of Montreal’s oldest Black congregation. It was founded in 1907 by several members of Montreal’s Black community who experienced racial conflict and were banned from entering all-White churches. Union was started with a treasury of just $1.83. The church has gone on to have a long and rich history, and celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2007. It is just one of the many churches that are part of the United Church of Canada denomination.

Noted current and former members

Union United Church can be credited with helping to produce some of Canada’s high-profile Black Canadians. This includes, but not limited to, Kenneth and Rufus Rockhead (owners of the jazz club Rockhead’s Paradise), the late jazz great Oscar Peterson

Oscar Peterson

Oscar Emmanuel Peterson was a Canadian jazz pianist and composer. He was called the "Maharaja of the keyboard" by Duke Ellington, "O.P." by his friends. He released over 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards, and received other numerous awards and honours over the course of his career...

, actor Percy Rodrigues, bestselling novelist Mairuth Sarsfield

Mairuth Sarsfield

Mairuth Hodge Sarsfield, CQ is a Canadian author, activist journalist, researcher and television personality.Sarsfield has had a long, varied and distinguished career. Born and bred in Montreal, she has worked as host for the CBC, CTV, and TV Ontario...

, the Honourable Judge Juanita Westmoreland-Traoré

Juanita Westmoreland-Traoré

Juanita Westmoreland-Traoré, is the first appointed black judge in the history of Quebec. She also holds the distinction of being the first black dean of a law school in Canada’s history....

, Victor Phillips, and Brenda Paris.

Over the years, Union United Church has also welcomed high-profile visitors into its sanctuary. Among those are Stokely Carmichael

Stokely Carmichael

Kwame Ture , also known as Stokely Carmichael, was a Trinidadian-American black activist active in the 1960s American Civil Rights Movement. He rose to prominence first as a leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and later as the "Honorary Prime Minister" of the Black Panther Party...

, Rosemary Brown

Rosemary Brown (politician)

Rosemary Brown, PC, OC, OBC, née Wedderburn , was a Canadian politician.- Early years :Rosemary Brown was born in Kingston, Jamaica in 1930, and moved to Canada in 1950 to study at McGill University in Montreal...

, Sydney Poitier, Dr. Carrie Best

Carrie Best

Carrie M. Best, was a Black Canadian journalist.Born in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, a daughter to James and Georgina Ashe Prevoe, she married Albert T. Best in 1925. In 1946 she founded The Clarion, the first black-owned and published Nova Scotia newspaper. In 1952 she started a radio show, The...

, Bishop Desmond Tutu, Bernadette Allen, Thabo Mbeki

Thabo Mbeki

Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki is a South African politician who served two terms as the second post-apartheid President of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008. He is also the brother of Moeletsi Mbeki...

 and Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...

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