Whenever Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Made his way to Cleveland, Olivet Institutional Baptist Church was his headquarters. One of the largest African American churches in Ohio, Olivet was a civil rights hub led by Rev. Odie M. Hoover. Throughout its history, the church has worked tirelessly to provide fellowship, recreation and an improved quality of life for residents in the Fairfax neighborhood. Under Rev. Otis Moss, the church became a leader in promoting gender equality in the ministry, ordaining Rev. Margaret Mitchell as Olivet’s first female minister in 1989. In 1999, the church’s community organizations co-sponsored the National Conference on African American Health, Spirituality, and Healing that brought religious and medical communities together to address issues of medical care in inner-city communities.