THE NEGRO CHURCH OF TO-DAY
These new developments have kept the Negro ministry still attractive,
but because of many undesirable situations here and there in the church
comparatively few young men have, during the last decade or so, aspired
to this work. Some young Negroes have learned to look upon the calling
as a necessary nuisance. Except in church schools where the preparation
for the ministry is an objective, it has often been unusual to find one
Negro student out of a hundred aspiring to the ministry, and too often
those who have such aspirations represent the inferior intellect of the
group, as it happened in the church during the middle ages. So rapidly
did the ministry fall into discredit in many quarters a few years ago
that most women of promise would not dare to engage themselves to men
who thought of becoming clergymen; and, if the marital connection
happened to be effected before the lot of the bride was known, it was in
many cases considered a calamity. Because Negroes now realize how
limited the opportunity for the race is in politics and some of the
professions, however, the ministry will doubtless continue, as it has
since the Reconstruction, a sort of avenue through which the ambitious
youth must pass to secure a hearing and become a man of influence among
his people. This does not mean that irreligious men will masquerade as
spiritual advisers but that, inasmuch as the church as an institution is
considered a welfare agency as well as a spiritual body to edify souls,
some Negroes, interested in the social uplift of the race, are learning
to accomplish this task by accepting leadership in the church.
Negroes see in the ministry, moreover, a new mission. The world, having
now gone mad after the trifles of this life, is sadly in need of a
redeemer to save men from themselves. In the contest between selfishness
and godliness the former has been victor in the soul of the American and
European. There are those like Bishop John Hurst believing that the
Negro church must play the role of keeping the fire burning on the altar
until the day when men again become reverent, and that the Negro's
liberal interpretation of the Christian religion, based upon the
brotherhood of man and the fatherhood of God, must gain ascendancy and
be accepted by a regenerated world of to-morrow.
As a preparation to this end the afflictions of the Negro have
adequately developed self-control in the race. The watchword of the
Negro church has been patience while waiting on the Lord. The Negro has
learned not to avenge his own wrongs, believing that God will adjust
matters in the end. The Negro agrees with Professor Joseph A. Booker,
that he that taketh up the sword shall perish by the sword. Even during
these days, when we learn much about the lawless, the behavior of the
Negroes is no exception to the rule. An investigation shows that the
Negroes never do any more than to defend themselves in keeping with the
first law of nature. White persons who once found it possible to
intimidate the whole group by shooting or lynching one or two now face
persons of color bent upon defending their homes. At heart, however, the
Negro is conservatively Christian and looks forward to that favorable
turn in the affairs of man when the wrongs of the oppressed shall be
righted without the shedding of blood.
The Negro church is criticized by a few radical members of the race as a
hindrance to the immediate achievement of the aims of the race, in that
the white race in the exercise of foresight encourages and even
subsidizes the Negro ministry in carrying out this conservative program.
This will tend, it is said, to keep the Negro down, whereas the white
people themselves do not actually believe in such doctrine; for their
own actions show that they use it as a means to an end. This, however,
is hardly a fair criticism of the Negro church of to-day. No force from
without can claim control of this institution, and certainly no one can
bridle its fearless speakers who stand for the Negro of to-day. The
Negro churchmen, moreover, are not any more conservative than other
leaders of the people. They may be more generally effective because of
their greater influence. That the Negro church is conservative is due to
teaching and to tradition, and it is fortunate that Providence has had
it so. Acting as a conservative force among the Negroes, the church has
been a sort of balance wheel. It has not been unprogressive but rather
wise in its generation in not rushing forward to a radical position in
advance of public opinion. In other words, the Negro church has known
how far it can safely instruct its people to go in righting their own
wrongs, and this conservatism has no doubt saved the Negro from the fate
of other oppressed groups who have suffered extermination because of the
failure to handle their case more diplomatically.
This does not mean, however, that the Negro church of to-day is not
alive to the sufferings of the race and is not critical of the attitude
of the so-called Christian elements in this country. Some Negro
ministers like Dr. F. J. Grimke are decidedly outspoken, even to the
extent of being classed with the militant Reds now being deported. Dr.
Pezavia O'Connell, a gentleman of scholarship and character, has all but
suffered professional martyrdom because he has always fearlessly
championed the cause of the Negro. Inasmuch as such an advanced position
does not always harmonize with the faith of his communicants, he has
been proscribed in certain circles. R. W. Bagnall, George Frazier
Miller, and Byron Gunner have actually preached the use of force and
encouraged resistance to the mobs to the extent that some Negroes have
probably addressed themselves vindictively to the task of retribution.
Through the Negro churches, and these alone, have the Negroes been able
to effect anything like a cooperative movement to counteract the evil
influences of such combinations against the race as the revived Ku Klux
Klan.
The church then is no longer the voice of one man crying in the
wilderness, but a spiritual organization at last becoming alive to the
needs of a people handicapped by social distinctions of which the race
must gradually free itself to do here in this life that which will
assure the larger life to come. To attain this the earth must be made
habitable for civilized people. Funds are daily raised in Negro churches
to fight segregation, and an innocent Negro in danger of suffering
injustice at the hands of the local oppressor may appeal with success to
the communicants with whom he has frequented a common altar. The
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People would be
unable to carry out its program without the aid of the Negro church.
Although Negroes are not now attracted to the church as much as
formerly, the census reports still show that there are more Negroes in
the ministry than in any other profession. The only really close
competitor of the Negro in this profession is the southern white man.
While the educated white men of the North are taking up scientific
pursuits and business, the southern whites are carrying out their
designs on the ministry, in keeping with the well-laid plans by which
they have succeeded in getting partial control of the northern press.
During recent years so many southern white students have crowded
northern schools of theology that, in keeping with the spirit of
Beelzebub, some of these institutions now deny Negroes admission. The
pulpits of the North are being gradually taken over by the apostles
indoctrinated by the medieval agents of race hate.
Since the Negro ministry is still the largest factor in the life of this
race, it naturally conflicts with the propaganda of the ministry
preaching caste. These representatives of the master and slave classes
must, in the capacity of spokesmen of widely differing groups, work out
the solution of the problems of the church in the United States; for
either the one or the other must dictate the religious program of the
economically mad North. The North cares little about priest-craft. The
struggle there for dollars and cents and for opportunities to spend them
in riotous living is too keen to spare time for such matters as
Christian living and the remote hereafter. The South, on the other hand,
has never lost its bearing. In spite of riots here and there and
lynchings almost anywhere, that section still considers itself a
Christian land and, in its way, has lifted high the name of Christ
without being influenced by his life. The North, then, if it ever awakes
from its lethargy, will probably accept either the principles of Jesus
of Nazareth as they have been preached and practiced by the Negroes, or
the Anglo-Saxon-chosen-people-of-God faith for which many misguided
white communicants have jeopardized their own lives and have taken those
of Negroes unwilling to worship at the shrine of race prejudice.
The white people of this country are not interested in the real mission
of Christ. In the North the church has surrendered to the capitalistic
system and developed into an agency seeking to assuage the pains of
those suffering from the very economic evils which the institution has
not the courage to attack. In the southern portion of the United States,
the white churches have degenerated into perfunctory machines engaged in
the service of deceiving the multitude with the doctrine that the
Anglo-Saxon, being superior to other races by divine ordination, may
justly oppress them to maintain its supremacy and that the principles of
Jesus are exemplified in the lives of these newly chosen people of God
when they permit their so-called inferiors to eat the crumbs let fall by
those whom their idol god has carefully selected as the honor guests at
the feast. If the humble Nazarene appeared there disturbing the present
caste system, he would be speedily lynched as he was in Palestine.
In spite of the Negroes' logical preaching of the fatherhood of God and
the brotherhood of man, however, the North now seems inclined to accept
the faith of the South. Science has long since uprooted the theory that
one race can be superior to another, but the northern churches are loath
to act accordingly. The same churches, which prior to emancipation,
championed the cause of the Negro, are to-day working indirectly to
promote racial distinctions. The southern white man, wiser in his
generation than most of his competitors, easily realized that he could
not legally reenslave the Negro, but early devised a scheme to convert
the North to the doctrine of segregation, educational distinctions, and
the elimination of the Negroes from the body politic, to make it
improbable, if not impossible, for the Negroes to attain the status of
white men. The Christian spirit of the North at first rebelled against
the very idea; but, already pledged to the policy of the economic
proscription of Negroes through trades unions, that section, once
bristling with churches dominated by abolitionists, soon yielded to the
temptation of sacrificing the principles of Jesus for dollars and cents.
The Negro of to-day, therefore, is hated as much by the northern
religious devotee as by the southern enthusiast at the shrine of race
prejudice.
Evidence as to such conditions obtaining is not wanting. In the midst of
the changing order involving all but the annihilation of the Negro, the
race has repeatedly appealed to the "Christian" element of the North
only to have a deaf ear turned to its petition. Inasmuch as the northern
ministers are influenced by rich laymen whose businesses have so many
ramifications in the South, they refrain from such criticism or
interference in behalf of the Negro, since it might mean economic loss.
Negroes at first secured from northern churches large sums of money to
establish adequate private schools and colleges throughout the South,
but before these institutions could be developed these funds were
diverted to the support of industrial education which the South openly
interpreted to signify that no Negro must be encouraged to become the
equal of any white man, and that education for him must mean something
entirely different from that training provided for the Caucasian. The
northern white man, more interested in developing men to produce cotton
and tobacco than in the training of a race to think for itself, again
bowed to mammon. Churches which once annually raised sums for the
maintenance of various Negro schools have now, as a majority, restricted
their contributions to Hampton and Tuskegee, where, it is believed, the
ultimate distinctions of the whites and blacks can, by the process of
safeguarded education, be best effected. Practically all of the
so-called Christian philanthropists have followed their example.
The Negro church, however, finds itself facing still another problem.
During recent years Negroes have manifested more interest in the
redemption of Africa. Negro churches have long since contributed to
missions and the periodical return of the apostle to the lowly far away
has been awaited with the anticipation of unwonted joy; but it is only
recently that the church has begun to make sacrifices for the cause.
Whereas a few years ago a congregation felt that it had done its duty in
raising a missionary collection of ten or fifteen dollars, that same
group is to-day supporting one or two missionaries in Africa. The
raising of funds for this purpose and the administration of it have been
of late so well extended, as noted above, that the national church
organizations have had to assign this work to boards, whose business is
to supply the missionaries at the various posts and extend their
operations by establishing schools where they have sufficiently well
established the work to require systematic training.
In spite of their well-laid plans, however, the Negro church finds
itself handicapped in reaching the Africans. Controlled as that
continent is by the capitalistic powers of Europe, they have much
apprehension as to the sort of gospel the Negro missionary may preach in
Africa, lest the natives be stirred up to the point of self-assertion.
They desire that missionaries to Africa, like race leaders in the
United States, be "hand-picked." In other words, the missionary movement
must bow to mammon. To the heathen, then, must go those who have served
only as forerunners of foreign conquests involving the discomfiture, the
oppression, and in many cases the annihilation of the very people whom
they professed to be saving.
Following in their wake, a certain American "Christian" organization
financed by "philanthropists" recently sent to Africa Thomas J. Jones
who, in behalf of his race, sought to carry out this policy. The effect
of this mission was soon apparent. After having nobly served in Africa
and India, Max Yergan, an International Young Men's Christian
Association Secretary, appointed to serve permanently in Africa,
recently toured the United States for a mission fund which the Negroes
freely contributed that through him some portion of Africa might be
redeemed. This man in Africa having ingratiated himself into the favor
of the capitalistic government there, however, according to Yergan's
statement, influenced the administration to refuse him the permit to
work among his own people. The same meddler, according to a complaint
made by the colored branch of the Young Men's Christian Association, all
but made himself the dictator of the appointments of that department and
other Negro welfare agencies sent abroad during the World War. His
business now seems to be that of furnishing the world with
"hand-picked" Negro leaders to damn even the natives in Africa. The
white church then, has not only failed to preach the social gospel of
Jesus, but is preventing the Negroes from carrying that message to their
own people. In other words, the principles of the humble Nazarene must
be crushed out to make money and perpetuate caste.
This and other handicaps, however, have not prevented the progress of
the church. Probably the most promising aspect is that Negro ministers
of to-day measure up to a higher standard than formerly. They are not
diverted from their course by politics and the like. Here and there, of
course, are some of little promise, who in a poverty-stricken condition
accept almost any bribe offered them by political bosses, but
fortunately this number is known to be rapidly decreasing. During the
last generation there has developed among Negroes the feeling that the
political embroglio is an unclean sphere which the minister should not
enter. The increasing duties of the Negro preachers, moreover, have
recently so multiplied that they have no time for such service.
Experience has shown that even in the case of those who have gone into
politics in self-defense that they have accomplished little good or that
some layman could have handled the matter more successfully.
We have recently had two striking cases in evidence. Bishop Alexander
Walters, after having rendered valuable service to the cause as an
educator and minister in Kentucky, California, and Tennessee, became
the ranking bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. He
then decided that his people had been so long duped by the grafters and
tricksters masquerading as the successors of Lincoln and Grant, that he
would use his influence to have the Negroes divide their vote by
supporting Woodrow Wilson in 1912. Dr. J. Milton Waldron, an influential
Baptist minister of Washington, feeling that it would mean a new day for
the Negro to have this democratic college president of many promises
elevated to the headship of the nation by the aid of the Negro vote, did
likewise. Disappointed in the end, however, by the hypocrisy of Wilson,
who, in his heart hated Negroes, these churchmen saw themselves
painfully humiliated among their people, who, in return for the large
number of votes which they gave Wilson, received nothing but segregation
in the civil service, elimination from public office, and conscription
to do forced labor in the World War, while he was promising that the
Negroes should have justice and have it abundantly.
[Illustration: BISHOP ALEXANDER WALTERS]
The Negro churchmen of to-day realize, as most leaders of the race do,
that the hope of the blacks lies not in politics from without but in
race uplift from within in the form of social amelioration and economic
development. Neither Democrats nor Republicans are interested in the
Negro except so far as the race may be used to enable them to get into
office. Their platform promises have been not something to stand on but
to get into office on. This does not in any sense, however, mean that
the Negro minister has lost interest in public matters of concern to
every citizen, but rather that he has learned the possibilities in the
political world. He will in no sense withdraw from the contest in behalf
of the rights of his people. His method of attack will be different.
Carrying out this reconstructed policy for the rehabilitation of the
race, the Negro minister, like a majority of the thinking members of
this group to-day, will welcome the assistance and cooperation of the
white man, but will not suffer himself to be used as a tool in
connection with forces from without the circles of the race, pretending
to be interested in the solution of its problems.
FOOTNOTES
[Footnote 1: At a love feast conducted by Bishop Asbury at the Virginia
Conference in 1783, strong testimonials were borne in favor of African
liberty. He said in 1785, speaking of the Virginia Conference: "I found
the minds of the people greatly agitated with our rules against slavery
and a proposed petition to the General Assembly for the emancipation of
the blacks. A colonel and Dr. Coke disputed on the subject and the
colonel used some threats; next day brother O'Kelly let fly at them, and
they were made angry enough; we, however, came off with whole bones."
Working in this field against slavery, these Methodists waited upon
George Washington, who politely received them and gave his opinion
against slavery. This conference, however, did not bring striking
results. Saying that he was much pained in mind, Bishop Asbury asserted:
"I am brought to conclude that slavery will exist in Virginia perhaps
for ages. There is not a _sufficient sense of religion nor liberty to
destroy it_." In Georgia in 1741 he said, "Away with the false cant that
the better you use the Negroes, the worse they will use you! Make them
good; then, teach them the fear of God, and learn to fear him
yourselves, ye masters. I understand not the doctrine of cruelty."]
[Footnote 2: He published a pamphlet entitled _Involuntary, Unmerited,
Perpetual, Absolute, Hereditary Slavery, examined on the principles of
Nature, Reason, Justice, Policy, and Scripture_. The work is written in
grave and manly style and with nice discriminations and candid reasons
set forth the claims of the emancipating Baptists in a creditable
manner.
In 1778, Mr. Barrow received an invitation to preach at the house of a
gentleman who lived on Nansemond River, near the mouth of James River. A
ministering brother accompanied him. They were informed on their
arrival, that they might expect rough usage, and so it happened. A gang
of well-dressed men came up to the stage, which had been erected under
some trees, as soon as the hymn was given out, and sang one of their
obscene songs. They then undertook to plunge both of the preachers. Mr.
Barrow was plunged twice. They pressed him into the mud, held him long
under the water, and came near drowning him. In the midst of their
mocking, they asked him if he believed? and throughout treated him with
the most barbarous insolence and outrage. His companion they plunged but
once. The whole assembly was shocked, the women shrieked, but no one
durst interfere; for about twenty stout fellows were engaged in this
horrid measure. They insulted and abused the gentleman who invited them
to preach, and every one who spoke a word in their favor. Before these
persecuted men could change their clothes, they were dragged from the
house, and driven off by these outrageous churchmen. But three or four
of them died in a few weeks, in a distracted manner, and one of them
wished himself in hell before he had joined the company, &c.
In Mr. Barrow's piece against slavery, we find the following note: "To
see a man (a Christian) in the most serious period of all his
life--making his last will and testament--and in the most solemn manner
addressing the Judge of all the earth--_In the name of God,
Amen._--Hearken to him--he will very shortly appear before the Judge,
where kings and slaves have equal thrones!--He proceeds:
"Item. I give and bequeath to my son ----, a negro man named ----,
a negro woman named ---- with five of her youngest children.
"Item. I give and bequeath to my daughter ----, a negro man named
----, also a negro woman named ----, with her three children.
"Item. All my other slaves, whether men, women or children, with
all my stock of horses, cattle, sheep, and hogs, I direct to be
sold to the highest bidder, and the monies arising therefrom
(after paying my just debts) to be equally divided between my two
above-named children!!!
"The above specimen is not exaggerated; the like of it often turns
up. And what can a real lover of the rights of man say in
vindication thereof?
"Suppose for a moment, that the testator, or if the owner, dies
intestate (which is often the case), was ever so humane a person,
who can vouch for their heirs and successors? This consideration,
if nothing else, ought to make all slaveholders take heed what
they do, 'for they must give an account of themselves to God.'"]
[Footnote 3: Departing under similar circumstances at the same time,
went Rev. Mr. Amos, a product of the same Christian environment,
directing his course to New Providence, Bahama Islands, British West
Indies, where he established a flourishing Baptist Church.]
[Footnote 4: When he purchased the property for the Bethel Church on
Lombard Street near Sixth and the majority of the committee refused to
accept, Allen having given his word so to do, kept it at a great
personal loss.]
[Footnote 5: A man of fair education, Willis was a power in that State
as early as 1798. We hear of him in Louisiana in 1804. Mississippi sent
two ministers to ordain him in Louisiana in 1812. He organized later the
Louisiana Baptist Association and was chosen as its moderator in 1837.]
[Footnote 6: "In all of his journeyings," says a contributor to the
_Baptist Magazine_, "he seemed to go among the people in the fullness of
the blessings of the Gospel of Christ. He was not indeed an ordinary
man, for without those advantages of good education in early life, he
became distinguished as a preacher. His understanding was vigorous, his
imagination was vivid, his personal appearance was interesting and his
elocution was grateful. We have heard him preach to an audience of more
than 1000 persons when he seemed to have the complete command of their
feelings for an hour together. On baptismal occasions he was truly
eloquent. His arguments were unanswerable, and his appeals to the heart
were powerful. The slow and gentle manner in which he placed candidates
under the water, and raised them up again, produced an indelible
impression on the spectators, that they had indeed seen the burial with
Christ in baptism. Near the close of his career in 1831 when he finally
died of a painful illness, he bore striking testimony to his faith in
Jesus. His mind being 'wonderfully sustained by the consolations of the
Gospel,' he said on one occasion to a friend, 'Since I saw you last I
have been happy in God--my sky has been without a cloud. I know that
when the earthly house of my tabernacle is dissolved, I have a house not
made with hands, eternal in the heavens.' When asked at another time if
he had a good hope through grace, O, said he, I am altogether unworthy,
but trust in him 'who of God is made unto me wisdom, righteousness,
sanctification and redemption.' After a short pause, he observed, 'I
know in whom I have believed, and that he is able to keep that which I
have committed unto him until that day.' When his sufferings were great,
and he felt as if he were dying, he would say in broken accents,
'Come--Lord--Jesus--come quickly.' But he would add, 'I pray for
patience.' He frequently repeated, 'I know that my Redeemer liveth. Whom
I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another.' On
his daughter's observing what a fine day it was, and how calm the water
was, he said smiling, 'Just like my mind, my dear--not a
wave--unruffled.' One morning being asked how he had rested the
preceding night, he replied, 'The Lord has spared my life one night
longer; but I never longed for any thing so really, as to die and to be
with my Saviour.' Towards the close of his last sickness, he exclaimed
with emphasis and a voice stronger than usual--'I am now ready to be
offered up and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good
fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith; henceforth
there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord the
righteous Judge, shall give me at that day.'"]
[Footnote 7: There appeared later between 1830 and 1840 others of much
worth. These were Charles A. Boyd, Henry Johnson, William H. Bishop,
Hosea Easton, James Simmons, Henry Drayton, David Blake, Adam Ford,
Daniel Vandevier, Francis P. Graham, John W. Lewis, George Garnett,
William Fuller, J. H. Williams, William Serrington, John A. King, John
Tappen, John Dungy, Richard Noyee, Peter Ross, John Lyle, John P.
Thompson, John Chester, Nathan Blunt, John N. Mars, J. B. Johnson,
Thomas James, Edward Bishop, Thomas Jackson, Dempsey Kennedy, William
Tilmon, George Washington, Benjamin Simms, W. L. Brown, John Wells,
Samuel Serrington, George A. Spywood, Jesse Kemble, Leonard Collins,
Basil McKall, William Jones, John Jackson, Abraham Cole, Samuel T. Gray,
William McFarlan, Philip Lum, Shadrach Golden, and Abraham Miller.]
[Footnote 8: The Assembly bore it grievously that slavery exhibits the
persons of color as dependent on the will of others, "whether they shall
know and worship the true God, whether they shall enjoy the ordinances
of the gospel; whether they shall perform the duties and cherish the
endearments of husbands and wives, parents and children, neighbors and
friends; whether they shall preserve their chastity and purity, or
regard the dictates of justice and humanity." ... "The evils to which
the slave is always exposed often take place in fact, and in their very
worst degree and form; and where all of them do not take place, as we
rejoice to say in many instances, through the influence of the
principles of humanity and religion on the mind of masters, they do
not--still the slave is deprived of his natural right, degraded as a
human being, and exposed to the danger of passing into the hands of a
master who may inflict upon him all the hardships and injuries which
humanity and avarice may suggest.
"From this view of the consequences resulting from the practice into
which Christian people have most inconsistently fallen, of enslaving a
portion of their brethren of mankind--for 'God hath made of one blood
all nations of men to dwell on the face of the earth'--it is manifestly
the duty of all Christians who enjoy the light of the present day, when
the inconsistency of slavery, both with the dictates of humanity and
religion, has been demonstrated, and is generally seen and acknowledged,
to use their honest, earnest, and unwearied endeavors, to correct the
errors of former times, and as speedily as possible to efface this blot
on our holy religion, and to obtain the complete abolition of slavery
through Christendom, and if possible throughout the world."]
[Footnote 9: The following is a specimen:
DEAR SIR:--My woman, Clarissa Hill, has expressed a wish to unite
herself in Christian communion with the church of which you are
the acting minister. She is a most faithful servant, and one, of
whom it affords me pleasure to say, that I believe she endeavors
to conform to the great principles of her faith, and I believe she
will be an exemplary and honorable member of your church, should
you think proper to receive her as such. She has belonged to me
for sixteen years, during which time her conduct has been most
unexceptionably moral, and therefore, I cheerfully consent to her
being baptized and admitted to your communion.
Very respectfully, etc.,
C. S. M.]
[Footnote 10: Three years later this convention sent six missionaries to
Africa. These were J. H. Pressly, W. W. Cooley together with their
wives, J. J. Coles and H. McKinney. The National Convention was
organized in 1880, out of a protest against the attitude of certain
whites toward the Negroes and they have since continued as a separate
body having a publishing house of their own rather than patronize the
American Baptist Publication Society.]
INDEX
Abbott, Lyman, interest of, in the freedmen, 212
Abrams, Joseph, a Negro preacher in Richmond, 163
Adams, Henry, pioneer Negro preacher in Louisville, 119
Adams, J. B., pastor of the Concord Baptist Church, 282
Afflictions, the effect of, 301-302
Africa, missionary work in, impeded, 309-311
African Civilization Society, the, achievements of, 211-212
A. M. E. Church, the establishment of, 72-78;
troubles of, with the Zionites, 81-85;
schools of, 205;
educational program, 212
A. M. E. Zion Church, the beginnings of, 78-85;
indecision of, 81-85;
struggles of, 82-84;
schism in, 106-107;
schools of, 206
African Union First Colored Methodist Protestant Church of
America, established, 192
African Union Church organized, 107
Alabama, Negro churches in, 118;
reactionary laws of, 132;
Presbyterians in, 155, 156-157
Alexander, Dr. A., a friend of John Gloucester, 66
Allen, Richard, the work of, 73-78;
recognition of, 73;
early efforts, 74-75;
elected bishop, 76;
death of, 101
Allen University, the establishment of, 205
Allensworth, Allen, religious work of, 229;
in politics, 229-230
Ambrose, F., a pioneer C. M. E. worker, 196
American Baptist Home Mission Association, efforts of, 209
American Baptist Home Mission Society, the, achievements of,
203, 209-210;
the attack on, 261-264
American Freedmen's Aid Commission, the work of, 212
American Freedmen's Union Commission, the establishment of,
213
American Missionary Association, schools of, 203-204
American Union Commission, the, achievements of, 212-213
Americans, unfavorable attitude of, 41
Anderson, I. H., a pioneer C. M. E. preacher, 196
Anderson, Thomas, a preacher in Savannah, 116
Anderson, William, a supporter of Richard Allen, 76
Andrew, Governor John A., a friend of the freedmen, 213
Andrew, a pioneer Negro teacher in Charleston, 8-9
Anglican clergy, the attitude of, 20-24; corruption, 20, 21,
22
Anthony Street Church, establishment of, in Mobile, 135
Arnett, Bishop B. W., religious work of, 236;
in politics, 235-236;
effort of, to repeal "Black Laws," 236
Asbury, Bishop, the position of, 26, 28;
work of, 28-30;
recognition of Richard Allen by, 73
Ashmun Institute, the establishment of, 152
Atkinson, Edward, a friend of the freedmen, 213
Auchmutty, the work of, among Negroes in New York, 14
Austin, J. C., a popular preacher in Pittsburg, 282
Babbit, Bessie, white wife of Lemuel Haynes, 63
Bacon, Thomas, sermons of, on the instruction of Negroes, 23,
151-152
Bacote, S. W., a preacher in Missouri, 277-278
Bagnall, R. W., a social welfare minister, 277;
advanced position of, 304
Ballou, Hosea, contest of, with Lemuel Haynes, 64
Baltimore, Baptist churches in, 111;
Association for the moral and Educational Improvement of the
Colored People of, the efforts of, 208, 211
Baptists, early progress of, 85-91, 107-122, 298;
reason for growth of, 108-109, 110;
in the North, 120-122;
statistics of schools of, 206;
statistics of, 286, 296;
division and increase of Negro Baptists, 256-257
Baptist Association of Western States and Territories, 200
Baptist conventions, the rise of, 199-201
Baptist Foreign Mission Convention, 201
Baptist Home Missionary Society, the American, the work of,
203, 209-210
Baptists (white) the Emancipating, 32-36
Baptists (white) the work of, among Negroes, 31-36;
position in 1789, 32;
anti-slavery work of, 32-36;
the schism of, 130;
interest of, in the Negro, 160
Baptized Licking-Locust Association, 36
Barclay, T., the work of, in New York, 15
Barnett, Nelson, a pioneer Baptist preacher of West Virginia,
240
Barrow, David, the position of, 33-34
Bartow, the work of, among Negroes, 11
Baxter, Richard, ideas of, carried out, 16
Beach, J., the work of, among Negroes, 16-17
Beckett, the work of, in Pennsylvania, 11
Beebe, J. A., a bishop of the C. M. E. Church, 196
Beecher, H. W., interest of, in the freedmen, 212
Benezet, Anthony, a worker among Negroes in Philadelphia, 18
Bentley, George, a pioneer Negro preacher in Tennessee, 137
Bethel Church, organization of, 75
Bible, influence of, among Negroes, 266-272
Biddle University, the establishment of, 203
Binga, Anthony, a useful minister in Richmond, 240
Bishop, Bishop, election of, 106;
schismatic connection of, 106-107
Bishop, Josiah, a Negro Baptist preacher among whites, 54-55
Bishops of England, interested in proselyting the Negroes, 6-7
Black Code, 5
Black Harry, a pioneer Methodist Negro preacher, 56-58
"Black Laws" of Ohio, efforts to have them repealed, 236
Blackburn, Gideon, master of John Gloucester, 66-67
Book Concern of the A. M. E. Church, established, 102
Booker, J. A., an educator, 206;
opinion of, 302
Boone, L. W., a preacher of power in North Carolina, 240
Boston, the Negro Baptists in, 121
Boucher, Jonathan, the words of, 23-24
Boulden, J. F., in politics, 227-228;
religious efforts of, 227
Bowen, J. W. E., a prominent candidate for bishop, 299
Bowling, R. H., a preacher of renown in Norfolk, 282
Boyd, R. H., head of the National Baptist Publishing House,
261, 297
Bradby, a social welfare minister, 277
Braxton, P. H. A., religious effort of, 228-229;
in politics, 229
Bray, Dr. Thomas, the mission of, 10
British, favorable attitude of, 41
Brooks, Bishop Sampson, a popular social preacher, 278
Brooks, Philip, interest of, in the freedmen, 212
Brooks, Walter H., quotation from, 41-42;
the education of, 217;
attack of, on white Baptists, 261
Brooks, W. H., a Methodist minister in New York, 277
Brown, Marcus, a co-worker of Morris Brown, 76
Brown, Morris, a pioneer African Methodist preacher in South
Carolina, 76;
elected bishop of A. M. E. Church, 101
Brown, William, a pioneer in the A. M. E. Zion Church, 78
Brown, W. W., popular pastor in New York, 278
Browne, W. W., a minister in business, 267
Bryan, Andrew, efforts of, in Savannah, 43, 47-53;
persecution of, 49-52
Bryan, Jonathan, master of Andrew Bryan, 49;
his friend, 50
Bryan, Sampson, brother and co-worker of Andrew Bryan, 49-50
Bryant, Ira T., a publisher, 297
Bryant, William C., interest of, in the freedmen, 212
Bryce, John, a preacher to Negroes, 160, 164
Bull, Henry, a co-worker of Morris Brown, 76
Bumstead, Horace, an educator, 215
Burling, William, interest of, in Negroes, 18
Burns, Francis, a Negro made bishop to Africa by the
Methodists, 189
Burroughs, N. H., the achievements of, 206
Burrows, pastor of the African Baptist Church in Philadelphia,
87
Burt, Thomas, a supporter of the work in Savannah, 48
Buxton, Fowell, a comment of, 27
Caesar, a pioneer Negro Baptist preacher, 137
Cain, Bishop R. H., religious work of, 234-235;
in politics, 234-235;
a member of Congress, 234
Call of politics, 220-246
Cameron, Paul C., quotation from, on John Chavis, 68-69
Camp meetings among Negro Methodists, 144-145
Campbell, Alexander, sermon of, in Andrew Marshall's church,
114;
trouble resulting from, 114, 115
Campbell, General, a friend of George Liele, 45
Campbell, William J., successor to Andrew Marshall, 117
Camphor, A. P., a Methodist missionary bishop, 299
Capucin monks, protest of, 3
Carroll, Richard, a preacher of social welfare tendency, 278
Carter, R. A., a bishop of the C. M. E. Church, 240
Cary, Lott, sketch of, 137-140;
ordained to preach, 139;
work of, in Liberia, 139-140;
death of, 140;
interest of, in religious instruction, 160
Casas, las, a missionary, 2;
attitude of, on slavery, 2
Caste in the white church, 306-309
Catholics working among Negroes, 1-6;
appeal to Negroes a failure, 98;
attraction of Negroes by, 256
Challenge to the Negro in freedom, 168
Change in worship advocated, 254-255
Chapman, James, a co-worker of Richard Allen, 75
Charleston, a Negro school in, 8-9;
Morris Brown's work in, 77;
fracas in church, in, 133-134;
Negro churches of, demolished, 134;
Presbyterians of, interested in the instruction of Negroes,
155
Charlton, the work of, among Negroes in New York, 14
Chase, Salmon P., interest of, in freedmen, 213
Chavis, John, an educated Negro teacher and preacher, 67-69
Christian, W., pastor of a Negro Baptist Church in Toronto,
122
Christian character emphasized, 252
"Christianity" of the whites, a farce in modern times, 306-309
Church management, questioned, 254
Churchill, W. P., one of the pioneer C. M. E. workers, 196
Civil War, the, and the church, 185-201;
an upheaval, 188
Clair, M. W., a bishop of the M. E. Church, 299
Clarke, James Freeman, a friend of the freedmen, 213
Clayton, Moses C., a pioneer Baptist preacher in Baltimore,
111, 136
Cleaves, N. C., a bishop of the C. M. E. Church, 240
Coke, Bishop, the position of, 26
Coker, Daniel, a pioneer preacher in the A. M. E. Church,
75-76;
elected bishop, 76;
resigned, 76;
work of, in Baltimore, 76
Cole, Abraham, a preacher of power, 104
Coleman, Elihu, interest of, in Negroes, 18
Colgan, the work of, in New York, 14
Collins, Leonard, a pioneer preacher in the A. M. E. Zion
Church, 104
Colonization Society, the American, opposed, 170
Colored Cumberland Presbyterian Church organized, 192
Colored Methodist Episcopal Church organized, 193-197;
unfair criticism of, 193-194
Columbus, missionary spirit of, 1
Conflict of sects, 19-20
Congregationalists, interest of, in Negroes, 99;
small following, 99;
promotion of education by, 203-204;
attract Negroes later, 256
Conservative and progressive in the Negro church, 247-265
Consolidated American Baptist Missionary Convention, 200
Control of Negro church, desired by whites, 278-280
Cook, Steven A., a friend of George Liele, 46
Cooke, John F., founder of the Fifteenth Street Presbyterian
Church, 136
Cooperation taught through the church, 284, 285
Coppin, Bishop L. J., foreign mission work of, 296-297
Corpew, E. G., a preacher in Portsmouth, 135
Cottrell, Elias, a bishop of the C. M. E. Church, 240
Coxe, General, attitude of, toward the teaching of slaves, 164
Crockett, J. W., denominational work of, 297
Cruikshanks, Amos, a co-worker of Morris Brown, 76
Crummell, Alexander, the struggles of, 176-177;
interest of, in civil rights, 238
Cuff, Peter, a supporter of Richard Allen, 76
Cunningham, Henry, a co-worker with Andrew Marshall, 113
Curry, J. L. M., work of, 214
Cutler, Dr., a missionary in Boston, 17
D'Alone, M., supporter of Negro and Indian Missions, 10
Davis, Edward, a friend of Andrew Bryan, 48
Davis, Noah, a pioneer Baptist preacher in Baltimore, 111, 136
Dawn, the, of a new day, 23-39
DeBaptiste, Richard, a pioneer Baptist preacher in the
Northwest Territory, 122;
religious work of, 241-242
DeBerry, W. N., church of, socialized, 277
Derrick, Bishop W. B., religious work of, 231;
in politics, 231-232
Development, the early, of the Negro church, 100-122
Devous, John, a preacher in Savannah, 116
Differing ideas in the Negro church, 247-265
Difficulties, the, of missions, 19-22
District of Columbia, Negro churches in, 110-111, 136
Dixwell Avenue Congregational Church, establishment of, 99
Dover Baptist Association, received Negro church, 135
Dow, Lorenzo, sermon of, in Andrew Bryan's church, 49
Drayton, Henry, a co-worker of Morris Brown, 76
Drummond, Hugh, the escape of a slave preacher from, 72
Durham, Clayton, a co-worker of Richard Allen, 75
Early development of the Negro Church, 100-122
Eden, James, a co-worker of Morris Brown, 76
Education, a concern of the Negro preacher, 168
Edwards, Mrs., interest of, in proselyting Negroes, 7
Eliot, John, interest of, in slaves, 15
Ellis, Harrison, a Negro preacher in Alabama, 140-142
Episcopalians, interest of, in Negroes, 94-97;
attitude of, toward Negroes, 150-152;
assistance of, given freedmen, 210-211;
attract Negroes, 256
Evangelical sects, work of, 23-29;
appeal of, successful, 143-144
Evans, Henry, a pioneer Negro preacher in North Carolina, 56
Farrand, Daniel, teacher of Lemuel Haynes, 63
Finley, J. B., the successor of John Stewart, 60-61
First Colored Methodist Protestant Church organized, 107
Fisk University, the establishment of, 203
Fleetwood, Bishop, sermon of, on the conversion of Negroes, 9
Foreign mission and the Negro church, 296, 297
Foreign relief to freedmen, 208
Ford, J. E., church institutional work of, 276
Fox, George, attitude of, toward freedom and enlightenment, 18
France, decrees of, as to indoctrinating slaves, 3
Francis, Henry, a Negro preacher in Savannah, 52
Fray, S. T., a pioneer preacher in the A. M. E. Zion Church,
104
Frazer, Garrison, a pastor in Savannah, 117
Free African Society, organization of, 75;
comment of, 92
Free-Will Baptists, the achievements of, 203, 209
Freedmen Aid Societies, the work of, 208-209
Freedmen Aid Society, the, of the Methodist Church, the
establishment of, 209
Freedmen's Bureau, facts from, 208
French, missionary spirit of, 1
Friends, the relief work of, 207-208;
the Society of, in England, the efforts of, 208
Friends' Association of Philadelphia, for the relief of
colored Freedmen, the work of, 207
Friends' Association for the Aid and Elevation of the
Freedmen, 208
Frink, S., a missionary in Georgia, 11
Fugitive Slave Law, effect of, on the migration of Negroes,
122
Galbreth, George, election of, as bishop, 105-106;
dispute concerning, 106
Gales, G. W., in politics, 226;
religious efforts of, 226
Galphin, George, patron of the Silver Bluff Church, 42
Garnett, Henry Highland, the career of, 175-176
Garretson, Freeborn, attitude of, on Negro conversion, 28
Garrison, William L., interest of, in relief of freedmen, 212
George, David, pastor of the Silver Bluff Church, 42;
work of, in Nova Scotia, 42;
in Sierre Leone, 42
Georgia, the instruction of Negroes in, 10-11;
Negro Baptists in, 112-118;
reactionary laws of, 132;
Presbyterians of, interested in the Negro, 155, 157
Gibbs, Thomas, the escape of a slave preacher from, 72
Gibson, Bishop, interested in proselyting Negroes, 7;
letters of, 7
Gillfield Baptist Church, Petersburg, establishment of, 136
Gilliard, Nicholson, a supporter of Richard Allen, 76
Gloucester, John, a pioneer Presbyterian preacher, 65-67
Goff, Lyman B., interested in the preaching of Charles T.
Walker, 245
Goose Creek Parish, Negroes of, instructed, 7
Graham, Solon, an early C. M. E. minister, 196
Graham, W. F., a minister in business, 267
Grant, Bishop, a useful churchman, 238
Great, Evans, a preacher in Savannah, 112, 113
Green, A. R., an editor and Book Steward, 102
Green, Beriah, a friendly teacher of Negroes, 175, 176
Gregg, David, interested in the preaching of Charles T.
Walker, 245
Gregg, Jacob, an Emancipating Baptist, 35
Grimes, Leonard, sketch of, 180-182
Grimke, F. J., position of, 303
Grouch, Job, a C. M. E. worker, 196
Growth of the Negro church, 286-299
Guy, Rev. Mr., a preacher to Negroes, 8
Gunner, Byron, the advanced position of, 304
Haig, Mrs., interest of, in proselyting Negroes, 7
Hale, Edward Everett, a friend of the freedmen, 213
Hall, C., preaching of, to Negroes, in North Carolina, 10
Hall, Stephen, a supporter of Richard Allen, 76
Hamilton, Leroy, the master of Henry Francis, 52
Hamilton, William, a pioneer in the A. M. E. Zion Church,
78-79
Hampton Institute, the establishment of, 204
Hanover Presbytery, John Chavis a missionary for, 68
Harden, Henry, troubles of, with the A. M. E. Zion Church,
82-83
Harding, Henry, a supporter of Richard Allen, 75-76
Harper, Alexander, a co-worker of Morris Brown, 76
Harry, a Negro teacher in Charleston, 8-9
Haversham, Justice James, favorable to Andrew Bryan, 49-50
Hawkins, Gen. Rush C., interested in the preaching of Charles
T. Walker, 245
Hawkins, John R., a business man in the church, 267
Hawthorne Keidor, a preacher to Negroes in Mobile, 135
Hayes, Gregory W., the work of, 206;
conflict of, with the American Baptist Home Mission Society,
262
Haygood, A. G., a friend of the freedmen, 213
Haynes, Lemuel, a scholarly Negro preacher to whites, 62-65
Henderson, Archibald, a student under John Chavis, 70
Henderson, John, a student under John Chavis, 70
Henderson, J., a preacher in Philadelphia, 121
Hepburn, John, a worker among Negroes, 18
Hogarth, George, election of as A. M. E. Book Steward, 102
Hogg, Kate, a member of the Savannah African Church, 45
Holly, J. T., the record of, 179-180
Holmes, Donald, an emancipating Baptist, 35
Holsey, L. H., an early C. M. E. preacher, 196;
elected bishop, 196;
work of, 239-240
Home missions of the Negro church, 295-296
Honyman, J., the efforts of, among Negroes, 17
Hood, Bishop James W., the religious work of, 236;
in politics, 236-238
Hopkins, Samuel, the interest of, in Negroes, 36
Houston, U. L., a pastor in Savannah, 117
Howard, O. O., an educator, of freedmen, 215
Howard University, the establishment of, 204
Huddlestone, work of, in New York, 14
Hunt, Rev. Mr., a teacher of Negroes, 8
Hurst, Bishop John, the faith of, 301
Illinois, Negro Baptists in, 122
Independent church movement, 71-99
Intelligent people lost to the church, 255-256;
welcomed by others, 256
Jack, Uncle, a pioneer Negro preacher in Virginia, 55-56
Jackson, Anderson, an early C. M. E. minister, 196
Jackson, Edward, a supporter of Richard Allen, 76
Jackson, William, a preacher in Philadelphia, 121
Jackson, Tennessee, C. M. E. Church organized at, 195-196
Jacksonville, Florida, Negro Baptist church in, 118-119
Jacob, a slave preacher, the escape of, 72
Jacobs, Francis, a pioneer in the A. M. E. Zion Church, 78-79
Jamaica, the work of George Liele in, 43-46
James, Thomas, an anti-slavery preacher, 173
Jasper, John, a popular Baptist preacher, 238-239
Jaudan, Rev. J., a preacher to Negroes in Florida, 118
Jenny, Rev. Mr., the work of, among Negroes, 11
Jernagin, W. H., a social welfare minister in Washington, 278
John Street Methodist Episcopal Church, troubles of, 78, 83-84
Johnson, Adam, pastor of a schismatic church in Savannah, 114
Johnson, Dr., a worker at Stratford, 17
Johnson, D. L., a teacher of contrabands, 215
Johnson, Harvey, attack of, on white Baptists, 261
Johnson, Henry, a pioneer preacher in the A. M. E. Zion
Church, 104
Johnson, Bishop J. Albert, foreign mission work of, 296-297
Johnson, M. W., a rising preacher in the Baptist Church, 282
Johnson, Robert, a pastor of Baptists in Washington, D. C.,
282
Johnson, W. B., a Baptist preacher in the District of
Columbia, 240
Johnson, Bishop W. D., an A. M. E. minister of educational
tendencies, 278
Jones, Absalom, a co-worker of Richard Allen, 74;
differing ideas of, 75;
rector of St. Thomas, 75, 94
Jones, C. C., interest of, in the enlightenment of Negroes,
153-155
Jones, Joshua H., a substantial supporter of Wilberforce, 264
Jones, R. E., a bishop of the M. E. Church, 299
Jones, Thomas, escape of a slave preacher from, 72
Jones, William, a pioneer C. M. E. worker, 196
Jordan, L. G., interest of, in business, 282;
foreign mission work of, 296
Keith, George, promoter of religious training, 18
Kennedy, Dempsey, an anti-slavery preacher, 173
Kentucky, the Emancipating Baptists in, 34-36;
Negro Baptists in, 119-120
Kirkland, Colonel, a friend of George Liele, 44, 45
Lambert, William, a pioneer Methodist preacher, 81;
troubles with the A. M. E. Zion Church, 81;
relations with Richard Allen, 80-82
Lane, Isaac, a bishop of the C. M. E. Church, 240
Lane, John W., a C. M. E. worker, 196
Lane College, the establishment of, 203
Latin element, missionary spirit of, 2
Law, Josiah, a preacher to Negroes, 155
Lawton, Bristol, a minister in Savannah, 117
Leadership in the Negro church, 280-281
Lee, George W., achievements of, 244
Lee, Bishop, President of Wilberforce, 238
Legislation, reactionary, 131-132
Lemon, William, a Negro Baptist preacher in Virginia, 53
Lexington, Kentucky, the Baptist Church in, 86;
Negro Baptist Church in, 119
Liberty County, Georgia, instruction of Negroes in, 165
Liele, George, preacher at the Silver Bluff Church, 42;
efforts of, in Savannah, 43-45;
in Jamaica, 44-45
Lincoln University, development of, 203
Lindsay, the work of, in New Jersey, 12
Literature for religious instruction, 166
Livingston College, the establishment of, 205-206
Locke, a white minister interested in Thomas Paul, 88
Locke, John, the philosophy of, influential, 25
Locke, Richard, the work of, among Negroes, 11
London Freedmen's Aid Society, the work of, 208
Lott Cary Convention, organization, 262-263
Love, E. K., a popular preacher in Georgia, 240
Louisville, Negro Baptists in, 119
MacIntosh County, Georgia, instruction of Negroes in, 165
Macsparran, Dr., a worker among Negroes at Narragansett, 17
McClaskey, John, an adviser of the A. M. E. Zion Church, 79
McDonald, James, a co-worker with Negroes in Florida, 118
McKall, Basil, a preacher of power, 104
McLemore, James, an evangelist among Negroes, 137
McQueen, Steven, a preacher in Savannah, 116
McTyeire, interest of, in the Colored Methodist, 195
Management of the Church, the, questioned, 254
Manchester, Virginia, large Negro Baptist church in, 111-112
Manly, Governor Charles, a student under John Chavis, 70
Mangum, P. H., a student under John Chavis, 69
Mangum, W. P., a student under John Chavis, 69
Manning, J. M., a friend of the freedmen, 213
Mars, John N., an anti-slavery Methodist preacher, 173
Marsh, Jacob, a supporter of Richard Allen, 76
Marshall, Abraham, organizer of the Savannah Baptist Church,
48
Marshall, Andrew, a noted Baptist preacher in Savannah, 112;
troubles of, 113-115;
work of, 112-118
Martin, J. C., denominational work of, 297
Martin J. Sella, an eloquent preacher, 238
Maryland, Catholic workers among Negroes in, 4-5
Massachusetts Episcopal Association, the efforts of, 211
Mather, Cotton, interest of, in slaves, 15-16
Matthews, John, a co-worker of Morris Brown, 76
Mayo, A. D., the efforts of, 214
Meacham, J. B., a pioneer Negro preacher in St. Louis, 120
Meade, Bishop, interest of, in the instruction of Negroes,
151-152
Methodist and Baptist attract Negroes, 196-197, 217
Methodists, African, in the North, 120-122;
school statistics of, 203
Methodist Episcopal Church, position on slavery in 1784, 29;
pioneer work among Negroes, 26-31;
division of, on slavery, 123-124;
interest of, in Negro uplift, 158-159;
in the Civil War, 186-187, 189-192;
attitude of, toward the Negroes, 188-192, 258-259;
qualified recognition of Negroes, by, 191-192, 193-197
Mifflin, Warner, the memorial of, 38
Migration of Negro Methodists and Baptists, 122
Miles, W. H., one of the first bishops of the C. M. E. Church,
196
Miller, George Frazier, an Episcopal rector of Brooklyn, 277,
304
Miller, Kelly, opinion of, referred to, 280-281
Miller, Thomas, pioneer in the A. M. E. Zion Church, 78
Miller, William, a pioneer preacher among the Methodists, 78;
elected bishop of the A. M. E. Zion Church, 105;
death of, 105
Missionaries, the attitude of the early, among Negroes, 1-2;
in the West Indies, 26-27
Missionary work, the lack of, in America, 21;
impeded in Africa, 309-311
Mississippi, the Presbyterians of, interested in the Negro,
155
Mixed churches, procedure in, 132-133
Mobile, a Negro church in, 118;
establishment of the Anthony Street Church in, 135
Monks, Capucin, protest of, 3
Montague, Justice James, favorable to Andrew Bryan, 49-50
Montgomery, Alabama, Negro Baptists in, 118
Moore, Matthew, the pastor of whites and Negroes, 44
Moore, Bishop, election of, 105;
retirement of, 105
Morehouse College, the establishment of, 203
Morris Brown University, the establishment of, 205
Morris, E. C., head of the National Baptist Convention, 261
Morris, Rev. Mr., a preacher in Virginia, 135
Moses, Rev. Mr., a worker among Negroes in Virginia, 53
Mound Bayou, mixed Baptist Church in, 86
Muir, a worker in Kentucky, 38
National Association for the Relief of Destitute Colored Women
and Children, the efforts of, 307
National Baptist Convention, 201;
the fight of, against white Baptists, 257-264
National Freedmen's Relief Association, the work of, 207
Neal, Rev. Mr., the labors of, in Dover, 12
Neau, Elias, the work of, among Negroes in New York, 12-14
Negro Baptists, connection of, with white Baptists, 201
Negro Church, the, socialized, 266-285;
a place for recreation, 267-268;
educational institution, 268-273;
a welfare agency, 273-277;
leadership in, 280-281;
the criticism of, 302-303;
its present situation, 300-313
Negro ministers, restrictions upon, 131;
the authority of, 278-279;
unique position of, 281-282;
still numerous, 304-305;
in conflict with southern white ministers, 305-306;
a redeeming force, 301
Negro schools established after the Civil War, 203-219
Negroes, the religious point of view of, 146-147
New England Missionary Convention, the, 200
New England, missionary work of, among Negroes, 15-17;
Negro churches in, 121
New Haven, Connecticut, Negro Congregational Church in, 99
New Jersey, the conversion of Negroes in, 12
New York, the instruction of Negroes in, 12-15
New York City, the Abyssinian Baptist Church in, organized,
88-89
Newman, Rev. Mr., preaching of, to Negroes in North Carolina,
9-10
Norman, M. W. D., a preacher of power, 282
North, Negro Baptists in, 120, 122
North Carolina, the instruction of Negroes in, 9-10;
the work of the Quakers in, 18;
Negro Baptists of, organized the first State Convention,
199-200
Northern philanthropy, change in, 263-264
Northwestern Baptist Convention, 200
Northwestern Freedmen's Aid Commission, the work of, 207
Ohio, Negro Baptists in, 122
Olivet Baptist Church, the success of, 278-279
Olmsted, F. L., comment of, on religious instruction, 149-151;
interest of, in the freedmen, 212
O'Neal, J. B., ideas of, as to Negro uplift, 164
Opinions, differences of, a difficulty, 19-20
Osborne, Justice Henry, favorable to Andrew Bryan, 49
Paine, Bishop Robert, interest of, in Colored Methodists,
195-196
Paine College, the establishment of, 205
Palmer, founder of the Church at Silver Bluff, 41-42
Pamphlet, Gowan, a preacher of the Negro race in Virginia, 53
Panama, de Luna Victoria, a bishop in, 4
Parsippany, Presbyterian School at, 152
Patterson, Robert, an elder in Kentucky, 38
Paul, Thomas, a pioneer Negro Baptist preacher in New England,
88-91;
work of, in Boston, 88;
efforts of, in New York, 89-90;
missionary efforts of, 90-91
Payne, Bishop Daniel A., early work of, 171-172
Payne, C. H., religious work of, 230;
in politics, 230-231
Penn, William, interest of, in Negroes, 18
Pennington, J. W. C., the achievements of, 178-179
Pennsylvania Freedmen's Relief Association, the efforts of,
207
Pennsylvania, the missionary movement in, 11-12
Perkins, R. J., a pioneer preacher of West Virginia, 240
Perry, Rufus L., religious and educational work of, 242-244
Peru, a Negro bishop in, 4
Peter, Jesse, the work of, in reviving the Silver Bluff
Church, 42
Petersburgh, Virginia, Baptist Church in, 53, 85
Philadelphia, the Negro Baptist Church of, established, 86;
proslavery element in, 86-87
Philanthropy, northern, change in, 263-264
Phillips, C. H., a bishop of the C. M. E. Church, 240
Phillips, Doc., a pioneer Negro preacher, 137
Pierce, Edward L., interest of, in the freedmen, 212
Pioneer Negro preachers, 40-70
Poindexter, James, a pioneer Negro Baptist preacher in Ohio,
122;
religious efforts of, 223;
in politics, 223-224
Politics, the call of, 220-246
Polk, Bishop, attitude of, toward the instruction of his
slaves, 149-151
Pontier, Samuel, a pioneer in the A. M. E. Zion Church, 78
Porteus, Bishop, interest of, in the salvation of Negroes, 7
Portsmouth, Virginia, Negro Baptist church in, 54-55, 111
Powell, A. C, a preacher with a following, 282
Preachers, Negro, pioneer work of, 40-70;
educational work of, 168-169;
as spokesmen of the Negroes, 169;
interested in colonization, 170;
in the underground railroad, 170, 171;
in the press, 171
Preachers, Negro Pioneer, 40-70
Preachers of versatile genius, 167-184
Presbyterians, interest of, in Negroes, 97-98;
failure to win Negroes, 98;
position on slavery and the Negro, 36-39;
position of in 1782, 36-37;
pacifist letter of, 38-39;
the attitude of, on slavery, 124-127, 128, 130;
interest of, in the instruction of Negroes, 152-158;
schools of, 203, 204, 205;
educational work of, 210;
attract Negroes, 256
Price, J. C., the record of, 206;
the education of, 217
Primitive Baptist Church, Negroes separate therefrom, 192
Princeton, John Chavis at, 68
Proctor, H. H., church institutional work of, 276
Progressive Baptists, the separation of, from whites, 259-264
Progressive ideas in the Negro church, 247-265
Protestant Episcopal Freedmen's Commission, aid of, to
Negroes, 211
Protracted meetings among Baptists, 143-144
Providence Baptist Association, organization of, 122
Pugh, the work of, among Negroes, 12
Quakers, the efforts of, among Negroes, 17-19
Quinn, W. P., a successful missionary, 101;
elected bishop, 101
Race prejudice in the church, 305-309
Ranford, of Chowan, a preacher to Negroes, 9
Ransom, R. C., head of the Institutional Church, Chicago, 276;
an editor, 297
Ray, Charles B., the work of, 173-174
Recent growth of the Negro church, 286-299
Recent statistics of the Negro church, 286-299
Reddick, M. W., a preacher of influence, 282
Relation of the individual to the church, differing ideas as
to, 251-252
Relations of whites and blacks in churches, 132-134
Religion, differing ideas of, 250-251
Religious education as a preparation, 202-219
Religious instruction revived, 148-166
Revells, Hiram R., sketch of, 183-184
Rice, an elder in Kentucky, interested in the Negro, 38
Richard, a slave preacher, the escape of, 72
Riddle, J. M., a minister in California, 278
Riot of Negroes in New York in 1812, 14
Rippon, Dr., testimony of, as to Andrew Bryan, 51
Roberts, Isaac, a preacher in Savannah, 117
Roberts, John W., a Negro made bishop to Africa by the
Methodists, 189
Roberts, R., the missionary work of, 100
Rockefeller, John D., interested in the preaching of Charles
T. Walker, 245
Roger Williams University, the establishment of, 203
Rogers, E. P., a preacher before the Civil War, 179;
poem of, on the Missouri Compromise, 179
Rose, David, friend of Lemuel Haynes, 62
Ross, the work of, in Pennsylvania, 11
Rush, Christopher, a pioneer in A. M. E. Zion Church, 85;
election of, as bishop, 102;
the success of, 102-103
Ryland, Robert, pastor of Negro church in Richmond, 111-112;
work of, among Negroes, in Richmond, 135;
promoter of religious instruction
among Negroes, 161-163;
comment on, 162-163
Samuels, an early C. M. E. worker, 196
Sandiford, Ralph, interest of, in Negroes, 18
Sandoval, Alfonso, protest of, in behalf of Negroes, 3
Savannah, resolutions of the Baptist Association of, on Andrew
Bryan, 53;
the Baptist Church in, 85;
the churches of, 115-117
Sayre, J., the work of, among Negroes in New York, 15
Schism among white Methodists, effect of, on Negro Methodists,
83-84-85;
in the Methodist Church, 123-124, 127-128, 130;
in all churches, 123-147;
in the Negro Baptist Church, 297-298
Schismatic movement in Negro church, 247-265;
results from, 257-258
Scott, Daniel, a preacher in Philadelphia, 121
Scott, June, a pioneer Methodist preacher, 78;
schismatic efforts of, 79-80
Secker, Bishop, sermon on conversion of Negroes, 7
Sewell, Jonathan, interest of, in slaves, 16
Shaw, Francis F., interest of, in the freedmen, 212
Shaw University, the establishment of, 203
Simmons, William J., religious efforts of, 223;
in politics, 223
Simpson, Hagar, a member of the Baptist Church in Savannah, 45
Simpson, Smart, a co-worker of Morris Brown, 76
Slaves indoctrinated, 3
Smith, Bishop C. S., educational efforts of, 297
Smith, George, an Emancipating Baptist, 35
Socializing the Negro church, 266-285
Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts,
organized, 6;
the work of, 6-22
South Carolina, Negroes in, instructed, 7;
a Negro school in, 8;
Negro Baptists in, 112;
Methodists in, interested in Negro uplift, 158-159
Southern Baptist Convention, 200
Sovereigns of Europe, change of attitude of, toward Negro, 2
Spain, decrees of, as to indoctrinating slaves, 3
Spanish sovereigns, missionary spirit of, 1
Spencer, Peter, a pioneer Negro preacher, 76
Spywood, election of, as bishop, 104-105
St. George Methodist Episcopal Church, in Philadelphia,
trouble in, 73
St. James, an Episcopal Church established in Baltimore, 96
St. Louis, Negro Baptists in, 120
St. Phillips Church, episcopal, established in New York, 94-95
St. Thomas, an episcopal church established in Philadelphia,
94
Statistics on Negro membership in mixed churches, 146;
of Freedmen Aid Societies, 206-208;
of the Negro church, 286-299
Stevens, David, a preacher of power, 104
Stewart, John, a pioneer Negro preacher in Ohio, 58-61
Stewart, Rev. Mr., a missionary in North Carolina, 10
Stiles, Ezra, interest in the Negro, 36
Storer, Bellamy, interest of, in the freedmen, 212
Stokes, W. H., a forceful preacher in Richmond, 241
Stoupe, the work of, in New York, 15
Straight College, the establishment of, 204
Stratton, Daniel, a pioneer preacher of West Virginia, 240
Struggle between the conservative and the progressive in the
Negro church, 247-265
Sturgeon, W., the work of, among Negroes, 11-12
Taft, William H., interested in the preaching of Charles T.
Walker, 245
Talented Negroes in conflict with the conservatives, 247-265
Talladega College, the establishment of, 203-204
Tanner, Bishop B. T., comment of, 92-93;
a power in the A. M. E. Church, 239
Tanner, C. M., an African Methodist preacher in Washington,
240
Tapsico, Jacob, a co-worker of Richard Allen, 75
Tarrant, Carter, an Emancipating Baptist, 35
Taylor, Charles, the work of, in New York, 15
Taylor, Rev. E., interest of, in the enlightenment of Negroes,
7-8
Teague, Collin, a co-worker of Lott Cary, 139-140
Tennessee, Baptists in, 119;
George Bentley's work in, 137
Terrell, L., pastor of Negro Baptist Church in Lexington, 119
Thiergood, R. T., an early C. M. E. worker, 196
Thomas, Samuel, a teacher of Negroes, 7
Thompson, Abraham, a pioneer in the A. M. E. Zion Church,
78-79;
schismatic efforts of, 79-80, 81
Tindley, C. A., a preacher of power, 244
Toronto, Negro Baptists in, 122;
Methodists in, 122
Tougaloo University, the establishment of, 204
Transylvania, the Presbytery of, concerned with the Negroes,
38
Trujillo, a Negro bishop in, 4
Turner, Bishop H. M., religious work of, 232;
in politics, 232-234
Turner, Nat, the effect of the insurrection of, 52, 69
Turpin, London, a co-worker of Morris Brown, 76
Uncle Jack, a Negro pioneer preacher, 55-56
Union American Methodist Episcopal Church organized, 107
Union Church of Africans, organized, 107
Union Seminary, the forerunner of Wilberforce, 205
Unwritten law as to holding Christians slaves, 4
Usher, J., the work of, among Negroes, 16
Vanderhorst, R. H., a pioneer preacher in the C. M. E. Church,
196;
elected bishop, 196
Varick, James, a pioneer in the A. M. E. Zion Church, 78;
elected bishop, 85;
death of, 102
Vaughn, Richard, a preacher in Philadelphia, 121
Vermont Avenue Baptist Church, 282
Vesey, a supporter of Negro missions, 13
Vesey, Denmark, the effect of the insurrection of, 78
Vices, so-called, 253
Victoria, Francisco Xavier de Luna, a churchman of Negro
blood, 4
Virginia, Quakers in, 17-18;
Emancipating Baptists in, 32-34;
Negro Baptists in, 53-54:
reactionary laws of, 131
Virginia Theological Seminary and College, the establishment
of, 206
Waldron, J. M., church institutional work of, 276;
in politics, 312
Walker, C. T., a preacher of power, 245-246
Walker, William, opposition of, to work of John Stewart, 60
Walters, Bishop A., church work of, 311-312;
in politics, 312
Ward, Samuel R., record of, 182-183;
Frederick Douglass' opinion of, 183
Watcoat, Richard, recognition of Richard Allen by, 73
Waters, Edward, ordained assistant bishop, 101
Webster, Thomas, a co-worker of Richard Allen, 75
Wells, Richard, a useful minister in Richmond, 240
West Indies, missionaries to Negroes in, 4
Western Colored Baptist Convention, organization of, 122
Western Freedmen's Aid Commission, the work of, 207
Western University, the establishment of, 205
Wesley, John, the position of, 26
White, J. T., in politics, 225;
religious efforts of, 225
White, Sampson, a pioneer preacher in the Baptist Church,
110-111;
preaching of, in New York, 121;
pastor of the Gillfield Baptist Church, 136
White, W. J., a successful minister, 240
White, William, a co-worker of Richard Allen, 74-75
White man's standard, an influence, 252-253
Whitefield, George, the position of, on the Negro, 26
Whitmore, the work of, in New York, 14
Whittier, John G., interest of, in the freedmen, 212
Wilberforce University, the establishment of, 205
Williams, John A., a pioneer preacher in the A. M. E. Zion
Church, 104;
a noted revivalist, 104
Williams, L. K., popular pastor in Chicago, 278;
social work of, 278-279
Williams, Peter, a pioneer in the A. M. E. Zion Church, 78;
rector of St. Phillips in New York, 94-95;
his lack of force, 95
Williams, Richard, a supporter of Richard Allen, 75
Williams, R. S., a bishop of the C. M. E. Church, 240
Williamsburg, Virginia, the Baptist Church in, 1785, 53
Williamson, Edward, a supporter of Richard Allen, 76
Willis, J. E., a preacher of power, 282
Willis, Joseph, a pioneer preacher in the South, 86
Wood River Baptist Association, organization of, 122
Woods, R. C., progress of the Virginia Theological Seminary
under, 264
Woolman, John, efforts of, for enlightenment of Negroes, 18
Worlds, J. J., a pioneer preacher of North Carolina, 240
Worship, mode of, questioned, 254-255
Wortham, Dr. James F., a student under John Chavis, 70
Wright, R. R., editor and publisher, 297
Yates, a worker in Pennsylvania, 11
Young Negroes in conflict with the old in the church, 247-249
[Transcriber's note: Original spelling variations have not been
standardized. Underscores have been used to indicate _italic_ fonts.
Footnotes have been collected at the end of the text, followed by the
Index. "THE FIRST COLORED BAPTIST CHURCH IN NORTH AMERICA" [in the
caption of the image] is listed as "The Oldest Negro Baptist Church in
the United States" in the list of illustrations.]