On May 2, 1870, William J. Seymour was born in Centerville, Louisiana. The son of formerly enslaved parents, Seymour would rise to become one of the most influential religious leaders in American history. As the central figure of the 1906 Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles, Seymour is widely credited as the driving force behind the rise of Pentecostalism in the United States—a movement characterized by expressive worship, speaking in tongues, and a strong emphasis on the Holy Spirit.

What made Seymour’s leadership revolutionary was not just his theology, but his commitment to racial unity in worship. At a time when Jim Crow laws enforced segregation, the Azusa Street Revival welcomed people of all races to worship together, breaking social norms and igniting a global spiritual movement. Today, Pentecostalism has over 500 million adherents worldwide, with Seymour’s influence still at its core.