February 10, 1988, Portland Observer, Section II, Page 3
Z Z Z The Rise and the Glory of American Black Churches
Smithsonian News Service
"
Until the late 1700s, religious wor
ship for Blacks in this country was
restricted — by law and by social
custom — to either segregated sec
tions of white churches or to sepa
rate Black churches under the gui
dance of white ministers.
Despite untold numbers of gifted
Black preachers, both male and fe
male, none could boast a congrega
tion or church to which he or she
could minister.
For years. Colonial Black Philadel
phians had worshipped with whites
in St. George's Methodist Church,
enduring not only the indignities of
racism from the community at large
but similar treatment from fellow
parishioners.
Then in 1792, the
catalyst for a complete break from
St. George's Church and a victory
for religious freedom came in one
highly charged moment.
The change would have a pro
found impact on American society,
from the founding of church-
supported schools and universities
open to Blacks, to the civil rights
leadership of the 1960s offered by
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., to the
bpsic freedoms that Blacks now
share with other Americans.
Philadelphian Richard Allen, a
Black Methodist preacher, had o f
ten talked of a separate church with
his colleague Absolom Jones, a for
mer slave with a devotion to the
Black community. Vet their plan
lacked support. As an alternative,
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in 1787 the two formed The Free
American Society, a non-sectarian
group aimed at fostering moral cha
racter and helping fellow members
in need. The Society also served
to unify Blacks against injustices
at St. George's.
One Sunday morning, white pari
shioners tried to forcibly remove
Allen, Jones and others from a re
stricted area during prayer services.
Their resistance to moving to the
rear of the church culminated in a
mass walkout by Black worship
pers.
They never returned. Within two
years, Allen was preaching regularly
in his own church. Mother Bethel,
located in a converted blacksmith
shop. Although Allen remained a
Methodist minister, Jones' disillu
sionment deepened. He never re
turned to Methodism, founding in
stead St. Thomas Episcopal Church
for blacks.
What Allen and Jones accom
plished through their simple act of
protest soon reached Black commu
nities in other Eastern cities. In
1816, Allen and four other congre
gations formed the African Metho
dist Episcopal denomination based
in Philadelphia; Allen was elected
its first bishop.
Mother Bethel
Church, now known as the African
Methodist Episcopal Church, is one
of the oldest U.S. Black churches.
The religious conviction shown
by Black Philadelphians seeking to
One of the earliest Black churches in Am erica was the First A frican
B aptist Church organized in Savannah in 1788.
exist in an otherwise hostile envi
ronment bears more than a passing
resemblence to that of their ance
stors.
Brought to America as
slaves, they, nonetheless, held on
to elements of African spiritual tra
dition while adopting the religious
teachings of slave owners.
"This new religion, a blend of
African religious traditions and
Euro-American Christianity, fulfilled
spiritual needs and provided stability
within the confines of slavery," his
torian Edward Smith says. Smith
organized the exhibition, "Climbing
Jacob's Ladder: The Rise of Black
Churches in Eastern American Cit
ies, 1740-1877," on view through
March 20 at the Smithsonian's Ana-
costia Museum in Washington,
D.C. In that era, large numbers of
Blacks became Christians as a re
sult of an intense religious "awaken
ing" sparked by Methodist, Pres
byterian and Baptist ministers.
Spiritual revivals stressed a re
ligion of the heart rather than of the
mind. Such emotionalism appealed
to Blacks, many of whom became
preachers, and racially mixed con
gregations were commonplace, of
ten including newly licensed Black
ministers. The Baptist and Metho
dist denominations, which flourish
ed simultaneously, seemed espe
cially suited to the social and psy
chological needs of Blacks because
of their emphasis on the conversion
experience.
The first Great Awakening took
place in the mid-1700s as the Ame
rican Colonies were considering
their own liberation. At the same
moment, a strong anti-slavery senti
ment was building among white
colonists. These changes in social
thought were crucial to the spead
of Christianity among the slaves
and their eventual use of religion
to organize independently of white
churches, Smith says.
"The Great Awakening had a
leveling influence," he explains.
"There was a lot of equality in it;
poor or rich could be converted."
While Methodism was rapidly
making gains in Black communities
in the North, Separatist Baptist con
gregations were emerging in the
South. The earliest Black churches
drew their congregations from Sou
thern plantations in Virginia and
South Carolina. Still, strong oppo
sition, particularly in rural areas of
the South, forced Blacks to wor
ship together in secrecy.
Historians believe that the exi
stence of "invisible" black congre
gations, comprised of numerous
slave families living and working on
Southern plantations, represents
the first organized Black churches.
These underground congregations
H is to ry is being written today
And Mai G oode’s writing it.
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reveal the varied ways in which
Blacks established their own chur
ches.
Black churches in Southern cities
existed only in affiliation with white
congregations or if their services
were overseen by white ministers.
White Southerners, in particular,
were not convinced that Blacks
should be permitted to gather for
prayer. Moreover, there was grow
ing suspicion of the influence held
by Black preachers. The suspicions
appeared to be confirmed by two
events in 1822 and 1831.
Black religious activity did in fact
facilitate a conspiracy between city
and plantation slaves led in 1822
by Denmark Vesey, an ex-slave in
Charleston, S.C. Though it did not
develop into a rebellion, Vesey and
36 co-conspirators were hanged.
Nine years later, in Southampton
County, VZa., a rebellion led by Nat
Turner, who claimed that he had
been called to deliver his people
from the bondages of slavery, re
sulted in the death of 200 Blacks
and widespread fear of similar up
risings.
To counteract these fears, states
throughout the South passed laws
forbidding Blacks to preach. How
ever, the statutes proved unen
forceable because of the sheer num
ber of Black preachers, licensed and
unlicensed.
"When we think of the develop
ment of the Black church, we don't
tend to look to the South,” Smith
said, citing the secrecy of Black
religious services. But researchers
have found records that show the
establishment of visible Black con
gregations on plantations in Vir
ginia and South Carolina as early
as 1756.
By 1860, Blacks were represented
in every Christian denomination in
the South. The growth in Black
membership came in part with a
second surge of religious re viva l
and the promotion o f format "Te*
ligious instruction. Christianization
of slaves was advocated through
prayer services supervised by plan
tation owners.
The movement was so successful
that Black membership far exceed
ed that of whites in many churches.
As early as 1838, for instance, Black
membership at the First Baptist
Church in Richmond was nearly
three times the number of white
members.
The Civil War's disruption of nor
mal social order prompted the in
visible congregations in the South
to worship openly and indepen
dently. Moreover, Black and white
missionaries from the major deno
minations in the North simply trailed
the Union armies into the South
spreading the gospel and recruiting
Black converts. A number of Black
ministers even served as chaplains
to Northern Black troops.
"The Civil War upset the social
and economic system of the
South," Smith concludes. "It was
during these years that a truly inde
pendent Black church emerged."
In addition to providing spiritual
growth, early Black churches pro
vided classrooms for education.
And the earliest colleges for Blacks,
among them Morehouse, Howard,
Fisk and Shaw, were established
with church support during and af-
ter the Reconstruction era.
s vvc celebrate Black I Iistorv m o n th , it s im-
k p o rtan t to reflect not only on the works
o f great leaders o f the past, bur vvc also m ust
recognize those individuals w ho are d o in g ex
traordinary things to r m ankind today.
A
Individuals like M alvin R. G oo d e. Beginning
w ith the Pittsburgh C ourier, then to radio station
W H O P , o n to ABC New s and finally to T he
Black N ational N etw o rk , Mai G o o d e has
plaved and is playing a key role as a black
journalist in today's w orld, fro m the
w orld o f sports to the U nited N ations, the C uban
missile crisis to the civ il rights crisis, Mai G oode
has covered them all. T h ro u g h o u t his journalism
career, Mai G o o d e has never wavered from his
personal dedication to excellence, integritv and
honesty.
W ith indiv iduals like Mai G o o d e, historv is
happening now . M iller Brewing C om panv
salutes die black men and w om en of the
past and present w ho have m ade and ait
making this a better vv <»rid in w Inch to livc.
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Black ministers and their con
gregations had new options follow
ing the Civil War. With the pas
sage of new civil rights laws, Blacks
were able to compete directly with
whites for government jobs. Those
who had been fortunate enough to
receive formal training participated
in society in ways that once had
been unthinkable. In 1870, Hiram
Revels, an African Methodist Epi
scopal minister, became the first
Black man elected to the U.S. Se
nate.
As the oldest institution in this
country controlled by Blacks, the
church today maintains great fol
lowing in the Black community.
Smith says. "Alm ost all aspects of
Black history have been influenced
by the role of the church."