that godly man as you may find it on the aforementioned page of
Freedom's Journal. I know that thousands and perhaps millions of my
brethren in these States, have never heard of such a man as Bishop
Allen--a man whom God many years ago raised up among his ignorant and
degraded brethren, to preach Jesus Christ and him crucified to
them--who notwithstanding, had to wrestle against principalities and
the powers of darkness to diffuse that gospel with which he was
endowed, among his brethren--but who having overcome the combined
powers of devils and wicked men has under God planted a church among
us which will be as durable as the foundation of the earth on which it
stands. Richard Allen! O my God!! the bare recollection of the labours
of this man, and his ministers among his deplorably wretched brethren
(rendered so by the whites,) to bring them to a knowledge of the God
of heaven, fills my soul with all those very high emotions which would
take the pen of an Addison to portray. It is impossible, my brethren,
for me to say much in this work respecting that man of God. When the
Lord shall raise up coloured historians in succeeding generations, to
present the crimes of this nation to the then gazing world, the Holy
Ghost will make them do justice to the name of Bishop Allen, of
Philadelphia. Suffice it for me to say, that the name of this very man
(Richard Allen,) though now in obscurity and degradation, will
notwithstanding stand on the pages of history among the greatest
divines who have lived since the apostolic age, and among the
African's, Bishop Allen's will be entirely pre-eminent. My brethren,
search after the character and exploits of this godly man among his
ignorant and miserable brethren, to bring them to a knowledge of the
truth as it is in our Master. Consider upon the tyrants and false
christians against whom he had to contend in order to get access to
his brethren. See him and his ministers in the states of New York,
New Jersey, Penn. Delaware and Maryland, carrying the gladsome tidings
of free and full salvation to the colored people. Tyrants and false
christians however, would not allow him to penetrate far into the
South for fear that he would awaken some of his ignorant brethren,
whom they held in wretchedness and miseries--for fear, I say it, that
he would awaken and bring them to a knowledge of their Maker. O my
Master! my Master! I cannot but think upon Christian Americans!! What
kind of people can they be? Will not those who were burnt up in Sodom
and Gomorrah rise up in judgment against Christian Americans with the
Bible in their hands, and condemn them? Will not the Scribes and
Pharisees of Jerusalem, who had nothing but the laws of Moses and the
Prophets to go by, rise up in judgment against Christian Americans,
and condemn them[22] who in addition to these have a revelation from
Jesus Christ the son of the living God? In fine, will not the
Antediluvians, together with the whole heathen world of antiquity,
rise up in judgment against Christian Americans and condemn them? The
Christians of Europe and America go to Africa, bring us away, and
throw us into the seas, and in other ways murder us, as they would
wild beasts. The Antediluvians and heathens never dreamed of such
barbarities. Now the Christians believe because they have a name to
live, while they are dead, that God will overlook such things. But if
he does not deceive them, it will be because he has overlooked it sure
enough. But to return to this godly man, Bishop Allen. I do hereby
openly affirm it to the world, that he has done more in a spiritual
sense for his ignorant and wretched brethren than any other man of
colour has, since the world began. And as for the greater part of the
whites, it has hitherto been their greatest object and glory to keep
us ignorant of our Maker, so as to make us believe that we were made
to be slaves to them and their children to dig up gold and silver for
them. It is notorious that not a few professing christians among the
whites who profess to love our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, have
assailed this man and laid all the obstacles in his way they possibly
could, consistent with their profession--and what for? Why, their
course of proceeding and his, clashed exactly together--they trying
their best to keep us ignorant that we might be the better and more
obedient slaves--while he on the other hand, doing his very best to
enlighten us and teach us a knowledge of the Lord. And I am sorry that
I have it to say, that many of our brethren have joined in with our
oppressors, whose dearest objects are only to keep us ignorant and
miserable, against this man to stay his hand. However, they have kept
us in so much ignorance that many of us know no better than to fight
against ourselves, and by that means strengthen the hands of our
natural enemies, to rivet their infernal chains of slavery upon us and
our children. I have several times called the white Americans our
_natural enemies_--I shall here define my meaning of the phrase. Shem,
Ham, and Japheth, together with their father Noah and wives, I believe
were not natural enemies to each other. When the ark rested after the
flood upon Mount Arrarat in Asia, they (eight) were all the people
which could be found alive in all the earth--in fact if scriptures be
true (which I believe are) there were no other living men in all the
earth, notwithstanding some ignorant creatures hesitate not to tell
us, that we, (the blacks) are the seed of Cain, the murderer of his
brother Abel. But where those ignorant and avaricious wretches could
have got their information, I am unable to declare. Did they receive
it from the Bible? I have searched the Bible as well as they, if I am
not as well learned as they are, and have never seen a verse which
testifies whether we are the seed of Cain or of Abel.--Yet those men
tell us that we are of the seed of Cain and that God put a dark stain
upon us, that we might be known as their slaves!!! Now I ask those
avaricious and ignorant wretches, who act more like the seed of Cain,
by murdering, the whites or the blacks? How many vessel loads of human
beings have the blacks thrown into the seas? How many thousand souls
have the blacks murdered in cold blood to make them work in
wretchedness and ignorance, to support them and their
families?[23]--However, let us be the seed of Cain, Harry, Dick or
Tom!!! God will show the whites what we are yet. I say, from the
beginning, I do not think that we were natural enemies to each other.
But the whites having made us so wretched, by subjecting us to
slavery, and having murdered so many millions of us in order to make
us work for them, and out of devilishness--and they taking our wives,
whom we love as we do ourselves--our mothers who bore the pains of
death to give us birth--our fathers & dear little children, and
ourselves, and strip and beat us one before the other--chain, handcuff
and drag us about like rattle-snakes--shoot us down like wild bears,
before each other's faces, to make us submissive to and work to
support them and their families. They (the whites) know well if we are
_men_--and there is a secret monitor in their hearts which tells them
we are--they know, I say, if we _are_ men, and see them treating us in
the manner they do, that there can be nothing in our hearts but death
alone, for them; notwithstanding we may appear cheerful, when we see
them murdering our dear mothers and wives, because we cannot help
ourselves. Man, in all ages and all nations of the earth, is the same.
Man is a peculiar creature--he is the image of his God, though he may
be subjected to the most wretched condition upon earth, yet that
spirit and feeling which constitute the creature man, can never be
entirely erased from his breast, because the God who made him after
his own image, planted it in his heart; he cannot get rid of it. The
whites knowing this, they do not know what to do; they are afraid that
we, being men, and not brutes, will retaliate, and woe will be to
them; therefore, that dreadful fear, together with an avaricious
spirit, and the natural love in them to be called masters, (which term
we will yet honour them with to their sorrow) bring them to the
resolve that they will keep us in ignorance and wretchedness, as long
as they possibly can[24] and make the best of their time while it
lasts. Consequently they, themselves, (and not us) render themselves
our natural enemies, by treating us so cruel. They keep us miserable
now, and call us their property, but some of them will have enough of
us by and by--their stomachs shall run over with us; they want us for
their slaves, and shall have us to their fill. (We are all in the
world together!!) I said above, because we cannot help ourselves,
(viz. we cannot help the whites murdering our mothers and our wives)
but this statement is incorrect--for we can help ourselves; for, if we
lay aside abject servility, and be determined to act like men, and
not brutes--the murderers among the whites would be afraid to show
their cruel heads. But O, my God!--in sorrow I must say it, that my
colour, all over the world, have a mean, servile spirit. They yield in
a moment to the whites, let them be right or wrong--the reason the
whites are able to keep their feet on our throats. Oh! my coloured
brethren, all over the world, when shall we arise from this death-like
apathy?--And be men!! You will notice, if ever we become men (I mean
_respectable_ men, such as other people are,) we must exert ourselves
to the full. For remember, that it is the greatest desire and object
of the greater part of the whites, to keep us ignorant, and make us
work to support them and their families.--Here now, in the Southern
and Western Sections of this country, there are at least three
coloured persons for one white, why is it, that those few weak,
good-for-nothing whites, are able to keep so many able men, one of
whom, can put to flight a dozen whites, in wretchedness and misery? It
shows at once, what the blacks are, we are ignorant, abject, servile,
and mean--and the whites know it--they know that we are too servile to
assert our rights as men--or they would not fool with us as they do.
Would they fool with any other people as they do with us? No, they
know too well that they would get themselves ruined. Why do they not
bring the inhabitants of Asia to be body servants to them? They know
they would get their bodies rent and torn from head to foot. Why do
they not get the Aboriginies of this country to be slaves to them and
their children, to work their farms and dig their mines? They know
well that the Aboriginies of this country, (or Indians) would tear
them from the earth. The Indians would not rest day or night, they
would be up all times of night, cutting their cruel throats. But my
colour, (some, not all,) are willing to stand still and be murdered by
the cruel whites. In some of the West-India Islands, and over a large
part of South America, there are six or eight coloured persons for one
white. Why do they not take possession of those places? Who hinders
them? it is not the avaricious whites--for they are too busily engaged
in laying up money--derived from the blood and tears of the blacks.
The fact is they are too servile, they love to have Masters too
well!!!!!! Some of our brethren, too, who seeking more after self
aggrandizement, than the glory of God, and the welfare of their
brethren, join in with our oppressors, to ridicule and say all manner
of evils falsely against our Bishop. They think, that they are doing
great things, when they get in company with the whites, to ridicule
and make sport of those who are labouring for their good. Poor
ignorant creatures, they do not know that the sole aim and object of
the whites, are only to make fools and slaves of them and put the whip
to them, and make them work to support them and their families. But I
do say, that no man can well be a despiser of Bishop Allen, for his
public labors among us, unless he is a despiser of God and
Righteousness. Thus, we see, my brethren, the two very opposite
positions of those great men, who have written respecting this
"Colonizing Plan," (Mr. Clay and his slave holding party,) men who are
resolved to keep us in eternal wretchedness, are also bent upon
sending us to Liberia. While the Reverend Bishop Allen, and his party,
men who have the fear of God, and the welfare of their brethren at
heart. The Bishop in particular, whose labors for the salvation of his
brethren, are well known to a large part of those, who dwell in the
United States, are completely opposed to the plan--and advise us to
stay where we are. Now we have to determine whose advice we will take
respecting this all important matter, whether we will adhere to Mr.
Clay and his slave-holding party, who have always been our oppressors
and murderers, and who are for colonizing us, more through
apprehension than humanity, or to this godly man who has done so much
for our benefit, together with the advice of all the good and wise
among us and the whites. Will any of us leave our homes and go to
Africa? I hope not.[25] Let them commence their attack upon us as they
did on our brethren in Ohio, driving and beating us from our country,
and my soul for theirs, they will have enough of it. Let no man of us
budge one step, and let slave-holders come to beat us from our
country. America is more our country, than it is the whites--we have
enriched it with our _blood and tears_. The greatest riches in all
America have arisen from our blood and tears:--and will they drive us
from our property and homes, which we have earned with our _blood_?
They must look sharp or this very thing will bring swift destruction
upon them. The Americans have got so fat upon our blood and groans,
that they have almost forgotten the God of armies. But let them go on.
How cunning slave-holders think they are!!!!--How much like the king
of Egypt, who after he saw plainly that God was determined to bring
out his people, in spite of him and his, as powerful as they were. He
was willing that Moses, Aaron and the Elders of Israel, but not all
the people should go and serve the Lord. But God deceived him as he
will christian Americans, unless they are very cautious how they move.
What would have become of the United States of America, was it not for
those among the whites, who not in words barely, but in truth and in
deed, love and fear the Lord Our Lord and Master said:--[26]
"Whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe
in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged
about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depths of
the sea."
But the Americans with this very threatening of the Lord's, not only
beat his little ones among the Africans, but many of them they put to
death or murder. Now the avaricious Americans think that the Lord
Jesus Christ will let them off, because his words are no more than the
words of a man! In fact, many of them are so avaricious and ignorant
that they do not believe in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Tyrants
may think they are so skilful in State affairs is the reason that the
government is preserved. But I tell you, that this country would have
been given up long ago, was it not for the lovers of the Lord. They
are indeed, the salt of the earth. Remove the people of God among the
whites, from this land of blood, and it will stand until they cleverly
get out of the way. I adopt the language of the Rev. S.E. Cornish, of
N. York, editor of the Rights of All, and say:
"Any colored man of common intelligence who gives his
countenance and influence to that colony further than its
missionary object and interest extend, should be considered
as a traitor to his brethren, and discarded by every
respectable man of colour: and every member of that society,
however pure his motive, whatever may be his religious
character and moral worth, should in his efforts to remove
the coloured population from their rightful soil, the land
of their birth and nativity, be considered as acting
gratuitously unrighteous and cruel."
Let me make an appeal brethren, to your hearts, for your cordial
co-operation in the circulation of "The Rights of All," among us. The
utility of such a vehicle, if rightly conducted, cannot be estimated.
I hope that the well informed among us, may see the absolute necessity
of their co-operation in its universal spread among us. If we should
let it go down, never let us undertake any thing of the kind again,
but give up at once and say that we are really so ignorant and
wretched that we cannot do any thing at all! As far as I have seen the
writings of its editor, I believe he is not seeking to fill his
pockets with money, but has the welfare of his brethren truly at
heart. Such men, brethren, ought to be supported by us.
But to return to the colonizing trick. It will be well for me to
notice here at once, that I do not mean indiscriminately to condemn
all the members and advocates of this scheme, for I believe that there
are some friends to the sons of Africa, who are laboring for our
salvation, not in words only but in truth and in deed, who have been
drawn into this plan. Some, more by persuasion than any thing else;
while others, with humane feelings and lively zeal for our good,
seeing how much we suffer from the afflictions poured upon us by
unmerciful tyrants, are willing to enroll their names in any thing
which they think has for its ultimate end our redemption from
wretchedness and miseries; such men, with a heart truly overflowing
with gratitude for their past services and zeal in our cause, I humbly
beg to examine this plot minutely, and see if the end which they have
in view will be completely consummated by such a course of procedure.
Our friends who have been imperceptibly drawn into this plot I view
with tenderness, and would not for the world injure their feelings,
and I have only to hope for the future, that they will withdraw
themselves from it; for I declare to them, that the plot is not for
the glory of God, but on the contrary the perpetuation of slavery in
this country, which will ruin them and the country forever, unless
something is immediately done.
Do the colonizationists think to send us off without first being
reconciled to us? Do they think to bundle us up like brutes and send
us off, as they did our brethren of the State of Ohio? Have they not
to be reconciled to us, or reconcile us to them, for the cruelties
with which they have afflicted our fathers and us? Methinks
colonizationists think they have a set of brutes to deal with, sure
enough. Do they think to drive us from our country and homes, after
having enriched it with our blood and tears, and keep back millions of
our dear brethren, sunk in the most barbarous wretchedness, to dig up
gold and silver for them and their children? Surely, the Americans
must think that we are brutes, as some of them have represented us to
be. They think that we do not feel for our brethren, whom they are
murdering by the inches, but they are dreadfully deceived. I
acknowledge that there are some deceitful and hypocritical wretches
among us, who will tell us one thing while they mean another, and thus
they go on aiding our enemies to oppress themselves and us. But I
declare this day before my Lord and Master, that I believe there are
some true-hearted sons of Africa, in this land of oppression, but
pretended _liberty!!!!!_--who do in reality feel for their suffering
brethren, who are held in bondage by tyrants. Some of the advocates of
this cunningly devised plot of Satan represent us to be the greatest
set of cut throats in the world, as though God, wants, us to take his
work out of his hand before he is ready. Does not vengeance belong to
the Lord? Is he not able to repay the Americans for their cruelties,
with which they have afflicted Africa's sons and daughters, without
our interference, unless we are ordered? Is it surprising to think
that the Americans, having the bible in their hands, do not believe
it. Are not the hearts of all men in the hands of the God of battles?
And does he not suffer some, in consequence of cruelties, to go on
until they are irrecoverably lost? Now, what can be more aggravating,
than for the Americans, after having treated us so bad, to hold us up
to the world as such great throat cutters? It appears to me as though
they are resolved to assail us with every species of affliction that
their ingenuity can invent. ([Hand->] See the African Repository and
Colonial Journal, from its commencement to the present day--see how we
are, through the medium of that periodical, abused and held up by the
Americans, as the greatest nuisance to society, and throat-cutters in
the world.) But the Lord sees their actions. Americans!
notwithstanding you have and do continue to treat us more cruel than
any heathen nation ever did a people it had subjected to the same
condition that you have us. Now let us reason--I mean you of the
United States, whom I believe God designs to save from destruction, if
you will hear. For I declare to you, whether you believe it or not,
that there are some on the continent of America, who will never be
able to repent. God will surely destroy them, to show you his
disapprobation of the murders they and you have inflicted on us. I
say, let us reason; had you not better take our body, while you have
it in your power, and while we are yet ignorant and wretched, not
knowing but a little, give us education, and teach us the pure
religion of our Lord and Master, which is calculated to make the lion
lay down in peace with the lamb, and which millions of you have beaten
us nearly to death for trying to obtain since we have been among you,
and thus, at once, gain our affection, while we are ignorant? Remember
Americans, that we must and shall be free, and enlightened as you are,
will you wait until we shall, under God, obtain our liberty by the
crushing arm of power? Will it not be dreadful for you? I speak
Americans for your good. We must and shall be free I say, in spite of
you. You may do your best to keep us in wretchedness and misery, to
enrich you and your children but God will deliver us from under you.
And wo, wo, will be to you if we have to obtain our freedom by
fighting. Throw away your fears and prejudices then, and enlighten us
and treat us like men, and we will like you more than we do now hate
you,[27] and tell us now no more about colonization, for America is as
much our country, as it is yours.--Treat us like men, and there is no
danger but we will all live in peace and happiness together. For we
are not like you, hard hearted, unmerciful, and unforgiving. What a
happy country this will be, if the whites will listen. What nation
under heaven, will be able to do any thing with us, unless God gives
us up into his hand? But Americans, I declare to you, while you keep
us and our children in bondage, and treat us like brutes, to make us
support you and your families, we cannot be your friends. You do not
look for it, do you? Treat us then like men, and we will be your
friends. And there is not a doubt in my mind, but that the whole of
the past will be sunk into oblivion, and we yet, under God, will
become a united and happy people. The whites may say it is impossible,
but remember that nothing is impossible with God.
The Americans may say or do as they please, but they have to raise us
from the condition of brutes to that of respectable men, and to make a
national acknowledgement to us for the wrongs they have inflicted on
us. As unexpected, strange, and wild as these propositions may to some
appear, it is no less a fact, that unless they are complied with, the
Americans of the United States, though they may for a little while
escape, God will yet weigh them in a balance, and if they are not
superior to other men, as they have represented themselves to be, he
will give them wretchedness to their very heart's content.
And now brethren, having concluded these four Articles, I submit them,
together with my Preamble, dedicated to the Lord for your inspection,
in language so very simple, that the most ignorant, who can read at
all, may easily understand--of which you may make the best you
possibly can.[28] Should tyrants take it into their heads to
emancipate any of you, remember that your freedom is your natural
right. You are men, as well as they, and instead of returning thanks
to them for your freedom, return it to the Holy Ghost, who is your
rightful owner. If they do not want to part with your labours, which
have enriched them, let them keep you, and my word for it, that God
Almighty, will break their strong band. Do you believe this my
brethren?--See my Address delivered before the General Coloured
Association of Massachusetts, which may be found in Freedom's Journal,
for Dec. 20, 1828.--See the last clause of that Address. Whether you
believe it or not, I tell you that God will dash tyrants, in
combination with devils, into atoms, and will bring you out from your
wretchedness and miseries, under these _Christian People!!!!!!_
Those philanthropists and lovers of the human family, who have
volunteered their services for our redemption from wretchedness, have
a high claim on our gratitude, and we should always view them as our
greatest earthly benefactors.