"M. Moran Weston and Housing Development in Harlem"

This paper focuses on the economic development work of M. Moran Weston, the Rector of St. Philip’s Episcopal Church in Harlem from 1957 to 1982 and a founder of Carver Savings and Loan Association, a Black-owned financial institution. Weston and his church created several multi-million dollar affordable housing projects, as well as a community center, using non-profits that were predecessors to what would later be called community development corporations. Existing scholarship has underplayed the role of Black churches in Harlem real estate development in the late twentieth century. Additionally, relatively little of the scholarly literature on African American business history focuses on New York City, although that city is the financial services capital of the United States and a location where real estate development is particularly valuable. This paper demonstrates that St. Philip’s, among other churches, was central to so-called “urban renewal” through construction projects financed by public-private partnerships. Weston, motivated by his religious philosophy, marshaled the resources of a major Black institution, combined with public funding, to promote economic and real estate development in Harlem. The paper relies on records from St. Philip’s Episcopal Church and Moran Weston’s personal papers, as well as media reporting about his work.