Abyssinian Baptist Church is one of the oldest Black churches in America, and certainly one of the most storied. Hundreds of mourners have gathered at the 216-year-old institution in recent years for the memorial services of Cicely Tyson and André Leon Talley. It’s the kind of church where networking mixes with Bible study, and the roll reads like a who’s who list of Black intelligentsia and entrepreneurship. A year later, Ms. Porter and her husband, Tommie Porter, hired the deacon as a contractor to lead the renovations of the $1.44 million house. “We really loved the idea of keeping it in the community,” said Ms. Porter, 44, host of “CrimeFeed” on Investigation Discovery.

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Persons: Barack Obama, Cicely Tyson, André Leon Talley, Mara Porter, Porter, Tommie Porter, “, ” Organizations: Abyssinian, Church, Columbia University Locations: America, Harlem