Historic Tanner Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church is the oldest African American Church in Arizona. The original structure was established during the pioneer days (1886, according to courthouse records). With the acquisition of another piece of property in 1899, the African Methodist Episcopal Mission was named Tanner Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church in honor of Bishop Benjamin T. Tanner. Years later, the property was sold, and the present site was purchased. The Tanner Chapel you see today was completed in 1929.

On June 3, 1964, during a visit to Phoenix, Martin Luther King Jr. spoke in front of the chapel. According to Arizona State University archives, King spoke for about six minutes, saying the battle for racial justice was a “fight to save the soul of America.” His brief remarks came about nine months after his famous “I Have a Dream” speech during the March on Washington. “People of goodwill all over the nation must come to see racial injustice as wrong and they must not rest until it is removed from every area of our society,” King told the congregants at Tanner.

On Dec. 15, 2010, the Phoenix City Council voted to approve the church as a historic landmark with both standard and landmark historic designations.

Weekly services, including worship and sermons, are currently taking place virtually.