Ah
The Atlanta University Publications, No. 8
The
Negro Church
A Social Study
\
Made under the Direction of Atlanta Uni=
versity by the Eighth Atlanta
Conference
Price, 50 Cents
The Atlanta University Press
Atlanta, Ga.
1903
NO student of the race problem, no per-
son who would either think or speak
upon it intelligently, can afford to be igno=>
rant of the facts brought out in the Atlanta
series of sociological studies of the condi=
tions and the progress of the Negro.
The OUTLOOK, March 7, 1903.
THE NEGRO CHURCH
Report of a Social Study made under the direction of Atlanta
University; together with the Proceedings of the Eighth
Conference for the Study of the Negro Problems,
held at Atlanta University, May 26th, 1903
EDITED BY
W. E. BURGHARDT DU BOIS
CORRESPONDING SECRETARY OF THE CONFERENCE
The Atlanta University Press
Atlanta, Ga.
1903
HTHE Negro Church is the only social institution of the
Negroes which started in the African forest and sur¬
vived slavery; under the leadership of priest or medicine
man, afterward of the Christian pastor, the Church pre¬
served in itself the remnants of African tribal life and be¬
came after emancipation the center of Negro social life.
So that today the Negro population of the United States is
virtually divided into church congregations which are the
real units of race life.
Report of the Third Atlanta Conference, 1898.
CONTENTS
PAGE
Preface v
Bibliography vi
1. Primitive N egro Religion 1
2. Effect of Transplanting 2
3. The Obeah Sorcery 5
4. Slavery and Christianity 6
5. Early Restrictions 10
6. The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel .... 12
7. The Moravians, Methodists, Baptists, and Presbyterians . . 15
8. The Sects and Slavery 20
9. Toussaint L'Ouverture and Nat Turner 22
10. Third Period of Missionary Enterprise 26
11. The Earlier Churches and Preachers. (By Mr. John W.
Cromwell) 30
12. Some Other Ante-Bellum Preachers 35
13. The Negro Church in 1890 37
14. Local Studies, 1902-3 49
15. A Black Belt County, Georgia. (By the Rev. W. H. Hollo way) 57
16. A Town in Florida. (By Annie Marion MacLean, Ph. D.) . 64
17. A Southern City 69
18. Virginia 80
19. The Middle West, Illinois. (By Monroe N. Work, A. M., and
the Editor) 83
20. The Middle West, Ohio. (By R. R. Wright, Jr.) . . .92
21. An Eastern City 108
22. Present Condition of Churches—The Baptists . . . .111
23. The African Methodists 123
25. The Zion Methodists 131
26. The Colored Methodists 133
27. The Methodists 134
28. The Episcopalians 138
29. The Presbyterians 142
IV EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
80. The Congregationalists ....
31. Summary of Negro Churches, 1900-1903
32. Negro Laymen and the Church
33. Southern Whites and the Negro Church
34. The Moral Status of Negroes .
35. Children and the Church .
36. The Training of Ministers
37. Some Notable Preachers .
38. The Eighth Atlanta Conference
39. Remarks of Dr. Washington Gladden .
40. Resolutions
Index
PAGE
, 147
153
154
164
176
185
190
202
202
204
207
209
PREFACE
A study of human life to-day involves a consideration of conditions of
physical life, a study of various social organizations, beginning with the
home, and investigations into occupations, education, religion and
morality, crime and political activity. The Atlanta Cycle of studies
into the Negro problem aims at exhaustive and periodic studies of all
these subjects so far as they relate to the American Negro. Thus far, in
the first eight years of the ten-year cycle, we have studied physical
conditions of life (Reports No. 1 and No. 2), social organization (Reports
No. 2 and No. 3), economic activity (Reports No. 4and No. 7), and Edu¬
cation (Reports No. 5 and No. 6). This year we take up the important
subject of the Negro Church, studying the religion of Negroes and its
influence on their moral habits.
Such a study could not be made exhaustive for lack of funds and
organization. On the other hand, the United States government and the
churches themselves have published a great deal of material and it is
possible from this and limited investigations in various typical localities
to make a study of some value.
This investigation bases its results on the following data:
United States Census of 1890.
Minutes of Conferences.
Reports of Conventions, Societies, etc.
Catalogues of Theological Schools.
Two hundred and fifty special reports from pastors and officials.
One hundred and seventy-five special reports from colored laymen.
One hundred and seventeen special reports from heads of schools
and prominent men, white and colored.
Fifty-four special reports from Southern white persons.
Thirteen special reports from Colored Theological Schools.
One hundred and nine special reports from Northern Theological
Schools.
Answers from 1,300 school children.
Local studies in—
Richmond, Virginia. Atlanta, Georgia.
Chicago, Illinois. Greene County, Ohio.
Thomas County, Georgia. Deland, Florida.
General and periodical literature.
In the preparation of this report the editor begs to acknowledge his
indebtedness to the several hundred persons who have so kindly
answered his inquiries; to students in Atlanta University and Virginia
Union University, who have made special investigations; and particu¬
larly to Professor B. F. Williams, Mr. M. N. Work, Mr. R. R. Wright, Jr.,
vi
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
and Mr. W. H. Holloway, all of whom have given valuable time and
services to this work. The Bev. F. J. Grimke has kindly allowed the
use of his unpublished report, made to the Hampton Conference in 1901;
Mr. J. W. Cromwell has loaned us the results of his historical researches,
and Dr. A. M. MacLean has given us the results of a valuable local
study. The proof-reading was largely done by Mr. A. G. Dill.
Atlanta University has been conducting studies similar to this for
the past seven years. The results, distributed at a nominal sum, have
been widely used.
Notwithstanding this success the further prosecution of these import¬
ant studies is greatly hampered by the lack of funds. With meagre
appropriations for expenses, lack of clerical help and necessary appa¬
ratus, the Conference cannot cope properly with the vast field of work
before it.
We appeal therefore to those who think it worth while to study this,
the greatest group of social problems that has ever faced the Nation,
for substantial aid and encouragement in the further prosecution of the
work of the Atlanta Conference.
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY OF NEGRO CHURCHES
A brief statement of the rise and progress of the testimony of the religious society
of Friends against slavery and the slave-trade. Philadelphia: Joseph and
William Kite. 1843.
Ernest H. Abbott. Religious life in America. A record of personal observation.
New York: The Outlook, 1902. XII, 730 pp. 8o.
Nehemiah Adams. A South side view of slavery. 8o. Boston, 1854.
Richard Allen, first bishop of the A. M. E. Church. The life, experience and gos¬
pel labors of the Rt. Rev. Richard Allen. Written by himself. Philadelphia,
1883.
Richard Allen and Jacob Tapisco. The doctrine and discipline of the A. M. E.
Church. Philadelphia, 1819.
Matthew Anderson. Presbyterianism and its relation to the Negro. Philadelphia,
1897 •
A statistical inquiry into the condition of the people of color of the city and dis¬
tricts of Philadelphia. Philadelphia, 1849,1856 and 1859.
Samuel J. Baird* A collection of the acts, deliverances and testimonies of thf
supreme Judiciary of the Presbyterian Church, from its origin in America
r-i P^esent time, with notes and documents explanatory and historical, c
stituting a complete illustration of her polity, faith and history. Philadelph
Presbyterian Board of Publications. p
J. C. Ballagh. A history of slavery in Virginia. Johns Hopkins Univer
Studies. Extra vol., No. 24. Baltimore, 1902.
THE NEGRO CHURCH
vii
Albert Barnes. Inquiry into the scriptural views of slavery. Philadelphia, 1857.
John S. Bassett. History of slavery in North Carolina. Johns Hopkins University
studies. Baltimore, 1899.
Slavery and servitude in the colony of North Carolina. Baltimore: The
Johns Hopkins Press, April and May, 1896.
David Benedict. A general history of the Baptist denomination in America and
other parts of the world. Boston, 1813.
Edward W. Blyden. Christianity, Islam and the Negro race. With an introduc¬
tion by the Hon. Samuel Lewis. 2d edition. London: W. B. Whittingham &
Co. 432 pp. 8o.
George Bourne. Main-stealing and Slavery denounced by the Presbyterian and
Methodist Churches. Boston : Garrison and Knapp.
Jeffrey R. Brackett. Notes on the progress of the colored people of Maryland
since the war. A supplement to the Negro in Maryland, a study of the insti¬
tution of slavery. Baltimore: J. Hopkins Univ., 1890. 96 pp.8o.
The Negro in Maryland. A study of the institution of slavery. Baltimore:
N. Murray. (6 ) 268 pp. 8o. (Johns Hopkins University studies in his¬
torical and political science.) Extra vol. 6.
William Burling. An address to the elders of the church upon the occasion of
some Friends compelling certain persons and their posterity to serve them con¬
tinually and arbitrarily, without regard to equity or right, not heeding
whether they give them anything near so much as their labor deserveth. 1718.
In Lay, All Slave Keepers Apostates, pp. 6-10.
Rev. Dr. R. P. Campbell. The race problem in the South. Pamphlet, 1899.
W. E. Burghardt DuBois. 1900. The religion of the American Negro. New
World, vol. 9 (Dec. 1900) 614-625.
The Philadelphia Negro. A Social Study. Philadelphia, 1899: Ginn & Co.
The Negroes of Farmville, Va. 88 pp. Bulletin U. S. Department of Labor,
Jan. 1898.
Some efforts of American Negroes for their own social betterment. Report
of an investigation under the direction of Atlanta University, together
with the proceedings of the third Conference for the study of the
Negro problems, held at Atlanta University, May 25-26, 1898. Atlanta,
Ga. (Atlanta University, 1898. 66 pp.)
The Souls of Black Folk. Chicago, 1908.
William Douglass. Sermons preached in the African Protestant Episcopal Church
of St. Thomas. Philadelphia, 1854.
Annals of St. Thomas's Church. Philadelphia, 1862.
Bryan Edwards. History, civil and commercial, of the British Colonies in the
West Indies. London, 1807.
Friends. A brief testimony of the progress of the Friends against slavery and the
slave-trade. 1671-1787. Philadelphia, 1843.
William Goodell. The American slave code in theory and practice. Judiciary
decisions and illustrative facts. New York, 1452.
H. Gregoire. Enquiry concerning the intellectual and moral faculties, etc., of
Negroes. Brooklyn, 1810.
L. M. Hagood. The Colored Man in the Methodist Episcopal Church. Cincinnati.
Bishop J. W. Hood. One Hundred Years of the A. M. E. Zion Church.
Edward Ingle. The Negro in the District of Columbia. Johns Hopkins University
studies. Vol. XI. Baltimore, 1893.
Samuel M. Janney. History of the religious society of Friends. Philadelphia,
1859-1867.
Chas. C. Jones. The religious instruction of the Negroes in the United States.
Savannah, 1842.
Absalom Jones. A Thanksgiving sermon on account of the abolition of the Afri¬
can slave-trade. Philadelphia, 1808.
viii
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
Robert Jones. Fifty years in the Lombard Street Central Presbyterian Church.
Philadelphia, 1894. 170 pp.
Fanny Kemble. A journal of a residence on a Georgia plantation. New York,
1863.
Walter Laidlow, editor. The Federation of Churches and Christian Workers in
New York City. New York, 1896-1897.
Lucius C. Matlack. The history of American slavery and Methodism from 1789-
1849. New York, 1849.
Holland McTyeire. A history of Methodism, comprising a view of the rise of this
revival of spiritual religion in the first half ox the eighteenth century. Nash¬
ville, Tenn.: Southern Methodist Publishing House, 1887.
Minutes, Annual Conferences, A. M. E. Church.
Minutes, Annual Conferences, C. M. E. Church.
Minutes, Annual Conferences, M. E. Church.
Minutes, Annual Conferences, A. M. E. Z. Church.
Minutes, General Conferences, A. M. E. Church.
Minutes, General Conferences, C. M. E. Church.
Minutes, General Conferences, M. E. Church.
Minutes, General Conferences, A. M. E. Z. Church.
Minutes, National Baptist Convention.
Edward Needles. Ten years' progress or a comparison of the state and condition
of the colored people in the city and county of Philadelphia from 1837-1847.
Philadelphia, 1849.
Daniel A. Payne. History of the A. M. E. Church. Nashville, 1891.
I. Garland Penn and J. W. E. Bowen. The United Negro: his problems and his
progress. Containing the addresses and proceedings of the Negro Young Peo¬
ple's Christian and Educational Congress, held August 6-11,1902. Atlanta, Ga.:
D. E. Luther Publishing Co., 1902, XXX, 600 pp. Plates, portraits. 12o.
Reports, Freedmen's Aid Society, Presbyterian Church.
Robert R. Semple. History of the rise and progress of Baptists in Virginia. Rich¬
mond, 1810.
William J. Simmons. Men of Mark, Eminent, Progressive and Rising. Cleveland,
Ohio.
Slavery as it is; the testimony of a thousand witnesses. Publication of Anti-
Slavery Society. New York, 1839.
George Smith. History of Wesleyan Methodism. London, 1862.
David Spencer. Early Baptists of Philadelphia. Philadelphia, 1877.
William B. Sprague. Annals of the American Pulpit. New York, 1858.
Benjamin T. Tanner. An outline of history and government for A. M. E. Church¬
man. Philadelphia, 1884.
An apology for African Methodism. Baltimore, 1867.
H. M. Turner. Methodist Polity. Philadelphia.
United States Census, 1890. Churches.
A. W. Wayman. My Recollections of A. M. E. Ministers. Philadelphia, 1883.
S. D. Weld. American Slavery as it is: testimony of thousands of witnesses. New
York, 1839.
Stephen B. Weeks. Anti-slavery sentiment in the South. Washington D C 1898
Southern Quakers and Slavery. Baltimore, 1896. ' '
George W. Williams. History of the Negro race in America. New York 1883.
White. The African Preacher. '
THE NEQRO CHURCH
1. Primitive Negro Religion. The prominent characteristic of primi¬
tive Negro religion is Nature worship with the accompanying strong
belief in sorcery. There is a theistic tendency: "Almost all tribes
believe in some supreme god without always worshiping him, generally
a heaven and rain god; sometimes, as among the-Cameroons and in
Dahomey, a sun-god. But the most widely-spread worship among
Negroes and Negroids, from west to northeast and south to Loango,
is that of the moon, combined with a great veneration of the cow."*
The slave trade so mingled and demoralized the west coast of Africa
for four hundred years that it is difficult to-day to find there definite re¬
mains of any great religious system. Ellis tells us of the spirit belief
of the Ewne people; they believe that men and all Nature have the
indwelling "Kra," which is immortal. That the man himself after
death may exist as a ghost, which is often conceived of as departed
from the "Kra," a shadowy continuing of the man. So Bryce, speak¬
ing of the Kaffirs of South Africa, a branch of the great Bantu tribe,
says:
"To the Kaffirs, as to the most savage races, the world was full of spirits—spirits
of the rivers, the mountains, and the woods. Most important were the ghosts of
the dead, who had power to injure or help the living, and who were, therefore,
propitiated by offerings at stated periods, as well as on occasions when their aid
was especially desired. This kind of worship, the worship once most generally
diffused throughout the world, and which held its ground among the Greeks and
Italians in the most flourishing period of ancient civilization, as it does in China
and Japan to-day, was, and is, virtually the religion of the Kaffirs."
The supreme being of the Bantus is the dimly conceived Molimo,
the Unseen, who typifies vaguely the unknown powers of nature or of
the sky. Among some tribes the worship of such higher spirits has
banished fetichism and belief in witchcraft, but among most of the
African tribes the sudden and violent changes in government and social
organization have tended to overthrow the larger religious conceptions
and leave fetichism and witchcraft supreme. This is particularly true
on the west coast among the spawn of the slave traders.
There can be no reasonable doubt, however, but that the scattered
remains of religious systems in Africa to-day among the Negro tribes
* Professor C. P. Thiele, in Encyclopedia Britannica, 9th ed., XX, p. 362.
2
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
are survivals of the religious ideas upon which the Egyptian religi°n
was based, and that the basis of the religion of Egypt was "of a
purely Negritian character." *
The early Christian church had an Exarchate of fifty-two dioceses in
Northern Africa, but it probably seldom came in contact with purely
Negro tribes on account of the Sahara. The hundred dioceses of the
patriarchate of Alexandria, on the other hand, embraced Libya, Penta-
polis, Egypt, and Abyssinia, and had a large number of Negroid mem¬
bers. In Western Africa, after the voyage of Da Gama, there were
several kingdoms of Negroes nominally Catholic, and the church
claimed several hundred thousand communicants. These were on the
slave coast and on the eastern coast.
Mohammedanism entered Africa in the seventh and eighth centuries
and has since that time conquered nearly all Northern Africa, the
Soudan, and made inroads into the populations of the west coast.
"The introduction of Islam into Central and West Africa has been the
most important if not the sole preservation against the desolations of
the slave-trade,"t and especially is it preserving the natives against the
desolations of Christian rum.
2. Effect of Transplanting. It ought not to be forgotten that each
Negro slave brought to America during the four centuries of the Afri¬
can slave trade was taken from definite and long-formed habits of
social, political, and religious life. These ideas were not the highest,
measured by modern standards, but they were far from the lowest,
measured by the standards of primitive man. The unit of African
tribal organization was the clan or family of families ruled by the pat¬
riarch or his strongest successor; these clans were united into tribes
ruled by hereditary or elected chiefs, and some tribes were more or less
loosely federated into kingdoms. The families were polygamous, com¬
munistic groups, with one father and as many mothers as his wealth
and station permitted; the family lived together in a cluster of homes,
or sometimes a whole clan or village in a long, low apartment house.
In such clans the idea of private property was but imperfectly devel¬
oped, and never included land. The main mass of visible wealth be¬
longed to the family and clan rather than to the individual; only in
the matter of weapons and ornaments was exclusive private ownership
generally recognized.
The government, vested in fathers and chiefs, varied in different
tribes from absolute despotisms to limited monarchies, almost republi¬
can. Viewing the Basuto National Assembly in South Africa, Mr.
Bryce recently wrote: '
* Encyclopedia Britannica, 9th ed., XX, p. 862.
tBlydeu, Meth. Quar. Review, Jan. 1871. See also his Christianity, Islam and the Negro Race.
THE NEGRO CHURCH
3
"The resemblance to the primary assemblies of the early peoples of Europe is
close enough to add another to the arguments which discredit the theory that
there is any such thing as an 'Aryan Type' of institutions." *
In administering justice and protecting women these governments
were as effective as most primitive organizations.
The power of religion was represented by the priest or medicine man.
Aided by an unfaltering faith, natural sharpness and some rude knowl¬
edge of medicine, and supported by the vague sanctions of a half-seen
world peopled by spirits, good and evil, the African priest wielded a
power second only to that of the chief, and often superior to it. In
some tribes the African priesthood was organized and something like
systematic religious institutions emerged. But the central fact of
African life, political, social and religious, is its failure to integrate—
to unite and systematize itself in some conquering whole which should
dominate the wayward parts. This is the central problem of civiliza¬
tion, and while there have arisen from time to time in Africa conquer¬
ing kingdoms, and some consolidation of power in religion, it has been
continually overthrown before it was strong enough to maintain itself
independently. What have been the causes of this ? They have been
threefold: the physical peculiarities of Africa, the character of exter¬
nal conquest, and the slave-trade—the "heart disease of Africa." The
physical peculiarities of the land shut out largely the influence of for¬
eign civilization and religion and made human organization a difficult
fight for survival against heat and disease; foreign conquest took the
form of sudden incursions, causing vast migrations and uprooting of in¬
stitutions and beliefs, or of colonizations of strong, hostile and alien
races, and finally for four centuries the slave-trade fed on Africa, and
peaceful evolution in political organization or religious belief was
impossible.
Especially did the slave-trade ruin religious evolution on the west
coast; the ancient kingdoms were overthrown and changed, tribes and
nations mixed and demoralized, and a perfect chaos of ideas left.
Here it was that animal worship, fetichism and belief in sorcery and
witchcraft strengthened their sway and gained wider currency than
ever.
The first social innovation that followed the transplanting of the
Negro was the substitution of the West Indian plantation for the tribal
and clan life of Africa. The real significance of this change will not
appear at first glance. The despotic political power of the chief was
now vested in the white master; the clan had lost its ties of blood rela¬
tionship and became simply the aggregation of individuals on a plot of
ground, with common rules and customs, common dwellings, and a
certain communism in property. The two greatest changes, however,
were, first, the enforcement of severe and unremitted toil, and, seeond,
* Impressions of S. Africa, 3rd ed„ p. 852.
4 EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
the establishment of a new polygamy—a new family life. These social
innovations were introduced with much difficulty and met determined
resistance on the part of the slaves, especially when there was com¬
munity of blood and language. Gradually, however, superior force
and organized methods prevailed, and the plantation became the unit
of a new development. The enforcement of continual toil was not the
most revolutionary change which the plantation introduced. Where
this enforced labor did not descend to barbarism and slow murder, it
was not bad discipline; the African had the natural indolence of a
tropical nature which had never felt the necessity of work; his first
great awakening came with hard labor, and a pity it was, not that he
worked, but that voluntary labor on his part was not from the first
encouraged and rewarded. The vast and overshadowing change that
the plantation system introduced was the change in the status of
women—the new polygamy. This new polygamy had all the evils and
not one of the safeguards of the African prototype. The African sys¬
tem was a complete protection for girls, and a strong protection for
wives against everything but the tyranny of the husband; the planta¬
tion polygamy left the chastity of Negro women absolutely unprotected
in law, and practically little guarded in custom. The number of wives
of a native African was limited and limited very effectually by the
number of cattle he could command or his prowess in war. The num¬
ber of wives of a West India slave was limited chiefly by his lust and
cunning. The black females, were they wives or growing girls, were
the legitimate prey of the men, and on this system there was one, and
only one, safeguard, the character of the master of the plantation.
Where the master was himself lewd and avaricious the degradation of
the women was complete. Where, on the other hand, the plantation
system reached its best development, as in Virginia, there was a fair
approximation of a monogamic marriage system among the slaves;
and yet even here, on the best conducted plantations, the protection
of Negro women was but imperfect; the seduction of girls was fre¬
quent, and seldom did an illegitimate child bring shame, or an adulter¬
ous wife punishment to the Negro quarters.
And this was inevitable, because on the plantation the private home,
s a self-protective, independent unit, did not exist. That powerful
institution, the polygamous African home, was almost completely
destroyed and in its place in America arose sexual promiscuity, a weak
community life, with common dwelling, meals and child-nurseries.
The internal slave trade tended to further weaken natural ties. A
small number of favored house servants and artisans were raised above
this h&d their private homes, came in contact with the culture of the
master class, and assimilated much of American civilization. Never¬
theless, broadly speaking, the greatest social effect of American slavery
was to substitute for the polygamous Negro home a new polygamy less
guarded, less effective, and less civilized.
THE NEGRO CHURCH
5
At first sight it would seem that slavery completely destroyed every
vestige of spontaneous social movement amongthe Negroes; the home
had deteriorated; political authority and economic initiative was in
the hands of the masters, property, as a social institution, did not exist
on the plantation, and, indeed, it is usually assumed by historians and
sociologists that every vestige of internal development disappeared,
leaving the slaves no means of expression for their common life,
thought, and striving. This is not strictly true; the vast power of the
priest in the African state has already been noted; his realm alone—
the province of religion and medicine—remained largely unaffected by
the plantation system in many important particulars. The Negro
priest, therefore, early became an important figure on the plantation
and found his function as the interpreter of the supernatural, the com¬
forter of the sorrowing, and as the one who expressed, rudely, but
picturesquely, the longing and disappointment and resentment of a
stolen people. From such beginnings arose and spread with marvellous
rapidity the Negro Church, the first distinctively Negro American
social institution. It was not at first by any means a Christian Church,
but a mere adaptation of those heathen rites which we roughly desig¬
nate by the term Obe Worship, or "Voodoism." Association and mis¬
sionary effort soon gave these rites a veneer of Christianity, and gradu¬
ally, after two centuries, the Church became Christian, with a simple
Calvinistic creed, but with many of the old customs still clinging to
the services. It is this historic fact that the Negro Church of to-day
bases itself upon the sole surviving social institution of the African
fatherland, that accounts for its extraordinary growth and vitality.
We easily forget that in the United States to-day there is a Church
organization for every sixty Negro families. This institution, therefore,
naturally assumed many functions which the other harshly suppressed
social organs had to surrender; the Church became the center of
amusements, of what little spontaneous economic activity remained, of
education, and of all social intercourse.
3. The Obeah Sorcery. Let us now trace this development historic¬
ally. The slaves arrived with a strong tendency to Nature worship
and a belief in witchcraft common to all. Beside this some had more or
less vague ideas of a supreme being and higher religious ideas, while a
few were Mohammedans, and fewer Christians. Some actual priests
were transported and others assumed the functions of priests, and soon
a degraded form of African religion and witchcraft appeared in the West
Indies, which was known as Obi,* or sorcery. The French Creoles
* Obi (Obeah, Obiah or Obia), is the adjective : Obe or Obi, the noun. It is of African origin,
probably connected with Egyptian Ob, Aub, or Obron, meaning serpent. Moses forbids Israelites
ever to consult the demon Ob, i. e., "Charmer, Wizard." The Witch of Endor is called Oub or
Ob. Oubaous is the name of the Baselisk or Royal Serpent, emblem of the Sun, and, according
to Horus Appollo, "ancient oracular Deity of Africa."—Edwards, West Indies, II, pp. 100-119.
6 EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
called it "Waldensian" ( Vaudois ), because of the witchcraft cha,r£>.e(^
against the wretched followers of Peter Waldo, whence comes the c
lect name of Voodoo or Hoodoo, used in the United States. Edwards
gives as sensible an account of this often exaggerated form of witch¬
craft and medicine as one can get:
"As far as we are able to decide from our own experience and information when
we lived in the island, and from the current testimony of all the Negroes we have
ever conversed with on the subject, the professors of Obi are, and always were,
natives of Africa, and none other; and they have brought the science with them
from thence to Jamaica, where it is so universally practiced, that we believe there
are few of the large estates possessing native Africans, which have not one or more
of them. The oldest and most crafty are those who usually attract the greatest
devotion and confidence; those whose hoary heads, and a somewhat peculiarly
harsh and forbidding aspect, together with some skill in plants of the medical
and poisonous species, have qualified them for successful imposition upon the weak
and credulous. The Negroes in general, whether Africans or Creoles, revere,
consult, and fear them. To these oracles they resort, and with the most implicit
faith, upon all occasions, whether for the cure of disorders, the obtaining revenge
for injuries or insults, the conciliating of favor, the discovery and punishment of
the thief or adulterer, and the prediction of future events. The trade which these
imposters carry on is extremely lucrative; they manufacture and sell their Obeis
adapted to the different cases and at different prices. A veil of mystery is studi¬
ously thrown over their incantations, to which the midnight hours are allotted,
and every precaution is taken to conceal them from the knowledge and discovery
of the White people."*
At first the system was undoubtedly African and part of some more
or less general religious system. It finally degenerated into mere im¬
posture. There would seem to have been some traces of blood sacrifice
and worship of the Moon, but unfortunately those who have written on
the subject have not been serious students of a curious human phe¬
nomenon, but rather persons apparently unable to understand why a
transplanted slave should cling to heathen rites.
4. Slavery and Christianity. The most obvious reason for the spread
of witchcraft and persistence of heathen rites among Negro slaves was
the fact that at first no effort was made by masters to offer them any¬
thing better. The reason for this was the widespread idea that it was
contrary to law to hold Christians as slaves. One can realize the
weight of this if we remember that the Diet of Worms and Sir John
Hawkins' voyages were but a generation apart. From the time of the
Crusades to the Lutheran revolt the feeling of Christian brotherhood
had been growing, and it was pretty well established by the end of the
sixteenth century that it was illegal and irreligious for Christians to
hold each other as slaves for life. This did not mean any widespread
abhorrence of forced labor from serfs or apprentices and it was ar
♦Edwards: West Indies, II, 108-109.
THE NEGRO CHURCH
7
ticularly linked with the idea that the enslavement of the heathen
was meritorious, since it punished their blasphemy on the one hand
and gave them a chance for conversion on the other.
When, therefore, the slave-trade from Africa began it met only feeble
opposition here and there. That opposition was in nearly all cases
stilled when it was continually stated that the slave-trade was simply
a method of converting the heathen to Christianity. The corrollary
that the conscience of Europe immediately drew was that after conver¬
sion the Negro slave was to become in all essential respects like other
servants and laborers, that is bound to toil, perhaps, under general
regulations, but personally free with recognized rights and duties.
Most colonists believed that this was not only actually right, but
according to English law. And while they early began to combat the
idea they continually doubted the legality of their action in English
courts. In 1635 we find the authorities of Providence islands condemn¬
ing Mr. Besh worth's behavior concerning the Negroes who ran away,
as indiscreet, "arising, as it seems, from a groundless opinion that
Christians may not lawfully keep such persons in a state of servitude
during their strangeness from Christianity," and injurious to them¬
selves.*
The colonies early began cautiously to declare that certain distinc¬
tions lay between "Christian" inhabitants and slaves, whether they
were Christians or not. Maryland, for instance, proposed a law, in
1638, which failed of passage. It was:
"For the liberties of the people" and declared "all Christian inhabitants
(slaves only excepted) to have and enjoy all such rights, liberties, immunities,
privileges and free customs, within this province, as any natural born subject of
England hath or ought to have or enjoy in the realm of England, saving in such
cases as the same are or may be altered or changed by the laws and ordinances of
this province."t
The question arose in different form in Massachusetts when it was
enacted that only church members could vote. If Negroes joined the
church, would they become free voters of the commonwealth? It
seemed hardly possible.* Nevertheless, up to 1660 or thereabouts it
seemed accepted in most colonies and in the English West Indies that
baptism into a Christian church would free a Negro slave. Massachu¬
setts first apparently attacked this idea by enacting in 1641 that slavery
should be confined to captives in just wars "and such strangers as will¬
ingly sell themselves or are sold to Us," meaning by "strangers" ap¬
parently heathen, but saying nothing as to the effect of conversion.
Connecticut adopted similar legislation in 1650 and Virginia declared
* Sainsbury: Calendar of State Papers, 1574-1660, If 262.
t Williams' History of the Negro Race, I, 239.
tlbid, 1,190.
8
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
in 1661 that Negroes "are incapable of making satisfaction" for time
lost in running away by lengthening their time of service, thus imply¬
ing that they were slaves for life, and Maryland declared flatly in 1663
that Negro slaves should serve "durante vita." In Barbadoes the Coun¬
cil presented, in 1663, an act to the Assembly recommending the
christening of Negro children and the instruction of all adult Negroes
to the several ministers of the place.
At the same time in the ready-made Duke of York's laws sent over
to the new colony of New York in 1664 the old idea seems to prevail:
" No Christian shall be kept in bondslavery, villenage, or captivity, except such
who shall be judged thereunto by authority, or such as willingly have sold or
shall sell themselves, in which case a record of such servitude shall be entered in
the Court of Sessions held for that jurisdiction where such masters shall inhabit,
provided that nothing in the law contained shall be to the prejudice of master or
dame who have or shall by any indenture or covenant take apprentices for term of
years, or other servants for term of years or life." *
It was not until 1667 that Virginia finally plucked up courage to
attack the issue squarely and declared by law:
" Baptisme doth not alter the condition of the person as to his bondage or free¬
dom, in order that diverse masters freed from this doubt may more carefully
endeavor the propagation of Christianity." *
Following this Virginia took three further decisive steps in 1670,1682,
and 1705. First she declared that only slaves imported from Christian
lands should be free. Next she excepted Negroes and mulattoes from
even this restriction unless they were born of Christians and were
Christians when taken in slavery. Finally only personal Christianity
in Africa or actual freedom in a Christian country excepted a Virginia
Negro slave from life-long slavery, t
This changing attitude of Christians toward Negroes was reflected in
Locke's Fundamental Constitutions for Carolina in 1670, one article of
which said:
"Since charity obliges us to wish well to the souls of all men, and religion ought
to alter nothing in any man's civil estate or right, it shall be lawful for slaves as
well as others to enter themselves and to be of what church or profession any of
them shall think best, and thereof be as fully members as any freeman. But yet
no slave shall hereby be exempted from that civil dominion his master hath over
him, but be in all things in the same state and condition he was in before." %
So much did this please the Carolinians that it was one of the few
articles re-enacted in the Constitution of 1698. In 1671 Maryland was
moved to pass "An Act for the Encouraging of the Importation of
Negroes and Slaves." This law declared that conversion or the holy
* Williams 1,139.
t Ballagh, pp. 47-52.
t Bassett: Slavery in Colony of N. C., p. 41.
THE NEGRO CHURCH
9
sacrament of baptism should not be taken to give manumission in any
way to slaves or their issue who had become Christians or had been or
should be baptized either before or after their importation to Maryland,
"any opinion to the contrary notwithstanding."
It was explained that this law was passed because "several of the
good people of this province have been discouraged from importing or
purchasing therein any Negroes or other slaves; and such as have im¬
ported or purchased any there have neglected—to the great displeasure
of Almighty God and the prejudice of the souls of those poor people—
to instruct them in the Christian faith, and to permit them to receive
the holy sacrament of baptism for the remission of their sin, under the
mistaken and ungrounded apprehension that their slaves by becoming
Christians would thereby be freed." * This law was re-enacted in 1692
and 1715.
It is clear from these citations that in the seventeenth century not
only was there little missionary effort to convert Negro slaves, but that
there was on the contrary positive refusal to let slaves be converted, and
that this refusal was one incentive to explicit statements of the doctrine
of perpetual slavery for Negroes. The French Code Noir of 1685 made
baptism and religious instruction of Negroes obligatory. We find no
such legislation in English colonies. On the contrary, the principal
Secretary of State is informed in 1670 that in Jamaica the number of
tippling houses has greatly increased, and many planters are ruined
by drink. "So interests decrease, Negroes and slaves increase. There
is much cruelty, oppression, rape, whoredoms, and adulteries."t
In Massachusetts John Eliot and Cotton Mather both are much con¬
cerned that "so little care was taken of their (the Negroes1) precious
and immortal souls," which were left to "a destroying ignorance
merely for fear of thereby losing the benefit of their vassalage."
So throughout the colonies it is reported in 1678 that masters, "out of
covetousness," are refusing to allow their slaves to be baptized; and
in 1700 there is an earnest plea in Massachusetts for religious instruc¬
tion of Negroes since it is "notorious" that masters discourage the
"poor creatures" from baptism. In 1709 a Carolina clergyman writes
to the secretary of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in
England that only a few of 200 or more Negroes in his community were
taught Christianity, but were not allowed to be baptized. Another
minister writes, a little later, that he prevailed upon a master after
much importuning to allow three Negroes to be baptized. In North
Carolina in 1709 a clergyman of the Established Church complains that
masters will not allow their slaves to be baptized for fear that a Chris¬
tian slave is by law free. A few were instructed in religion, but not
baptized. The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel combated
* Erackett, p. 29.
f Salnsbury's Calendars, 1669-74, 138.
10
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
this notion vigorously. Later, in 1732, Bishop Berkeley reports that few
Negroes have been received into the church.*
This state of affairs led to further laws, and the instructions to some
of the royal Governors contain a clause ordering them to "find out the
best means to facilitate and encourage the conversion of Negroes and
Indians to the Christian religion."! New York hastened to join the
States which sought to reassure masters, declaring in 1706:
" Whereas, Divers of her Majesty's good subjects, inhabitants of this colony,
now are, and have been willing that such Negroes, Indian and Mulatto slaves, who
belong to them, and desire the same, should be baptized, but are deterred and
hindered therefrom by reason of a groundless opinion that hath spread itself in
this colony, that by the baptizing of such Negro, Indian or Mulatto slaves, they
would become free, and ought to be set at liberty. In order, therefore, to put an
end to all such doubts and scruples as have, or hereafter any time may arise
about the same:
"Be it enacted, etc., That the baptizing of a Negro, Indian, or Mullatto slave shall
not be any cause or reason for the setting them, or any of them, at liberty.
"And be it, etc., That all and every Negro, Indian, Mullatto and Mestee bastard
child and children, who is, are, and shall be born of any Negro, Indian, or Mestee,
shall follow the state and condition of the mother and be esteemed, reputed, taken
and adjudged a slave and slaves to all intents and purposes whatsoever.'^
In 1729 an appeal from several colonies was made to England on the
subject in order to increase the conversion of blacks. The Crown At¬
torney and Solicitor General replied that baptism in no way changed
the slave's status.§
5. Early Restrictions. "In the year 1624, a few years after the arrival
of the first slave ship at Jamestown, Va., a Negro child was baptized
and called William, and from that time on in almost all, if not all, the
oldest churches in the South, the names of Negroes baptized into the
church of God can be found upon the registers." ||
It was easy to make such cases an argument for more slaves. James
Habersham, the Georgia companion of the Methodist Whitefield, said
about 1730:
" I once thought it was unlawful to keep Negro slaves, but I am now induced to
think God may have a higher end in permitting them to be brought to this Chris¬
tian country, than merely to support their masters. Many of the poor slaves in
America have already been made freemen of the heavenly Jerusalem and possibly
a time may come when many thousands may embrace the gospel, and thereby be
brought into the glorious liberty of the children of God These, and other consid¬
erations, appear to plead strongly for a limited use of Negroes; for, while we
can buy provisions in Carolina cheaper than we can here, no one will be induced
to plant much."
* Brackett, p. 31. Bassett: Slavery in Colony of N. C., p. 46.
t Instructions of Lord Cornbury of Va., 702. Williams 1,140.
I Williams I, p. 141.
I Brackett, p. 30. || Archdeacon J. H. M. Pollard.
THE NEGRO CHURCH
11
In other cases there were curious attempts to blend religion and exped¬
iency, as for instance, in 1710, when a Massachusetts clergyman evolved
a marriage ceremony for Negroes in which the bride solemnly promised
to cleave to her husband "so long as God in his Providence" and the
slave-trade let them live together!
The gradual increase of these Negro Christians, however, brought
peculiar problems. Clergymen, despite the law, were reproached for
taking Negroes into the church and still allowing them to be held as
slaves. On the other hand it was not easy to know how to deal with
the black church member after he was admitted. He must either be
made a subordinate member of a white church or a member of a Negro
church under the general supervision of whites. As the efforts of
missionaries, like Dr. Bray, slowly increased the number of converts,
both these systems were adopted. But the black congregations here
and there soon aroused the suspicion and fear of the masters, and as
early as 1715 North Carolina passed an act which declared:
•' That if any master or owner of Negroes or slaves, or any other person or persons
whatsoever in the government, shall permit or suffer any Negro or Negroes to build
on their, or either of their, lands, or any part thereof, any house under pretense
of a meeting-house upon account of worship, or upon any pretense whatsoever, and
shall not suppress and hinder them, he, she, or they so offending, shall, for every
default, forfeit and pay fifty pounds, one-half toward defraying the contingent
charges of the government, the other to him or them that shall sue for the same."*
This made Negro members of white churches a necessity in this
colony, and there was the same tendency in other colonies. "Maryland
passed a law in 1723 to suppress tumultuous meetings of slaves on
Sabbath and other holy days," a measure primarily for good order, but
also tending to curb independent religious meetings among Negroes.
In 1800 complaints of Negro meetings were heard. Georgia in 1770 for¬
bade slaves "to assemble on pretense of feasting," etc., and "any con¬
stable," on direction of a justice, is commanded to disperse any assem¬
bly or meeting of slaves "which may disturb the peace or endanger the
safety of his Majesty's subjects; and every slave which may be found
at such meeting, as aforesaid, shall and may, by order of such justice,
immediately be corrected, without trial, by receiving on the bare back
twenty-five stripes, with a whip, switch, or cowskin," etc.t In 1792 in
a Georgia act "to protect religious societies in the exercise of their
religious duties," punishment was provided for persons disturbing
white congregations, but "no congregation or company of Negroes shall
upon pretense of divine worship assemble themselves" contrary to the
act of 1770. Whether or not such acts tended to curb the really religious
meetings of the slaves or not it is not easy to know. Probably they
did, although at the same time there was probably much disorder and
* Lapsed in 1741. See Laws of 1715, Ch. 46, Sec. 18; Bassett: Colony, p. 50.
t Prince's Digest, 447.
12
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
turmoil among slaves, which sought to cloak itself under the name o
the church. This was natural, for such assemblies were the only sur¬
viving African organizations, and they epitomized all there was in
slave life outside of forced toil.
It gradually became true, as Brackett says, that "any privileges of
church-going which slaves might enjoy depended much, as with chil¬
dren, on the disposition of the masters." * In some colonies, like
North Carolina, masters continued indifferent throughout the larger
part of the eighteenth century. In New Hanover county of that state
out of a thousand whites and two thousand slaves, 307 masters were
baptized in 1742, but only nine slaves. The English are told of continued
indifference in Massachusetts, the Connecticut General Assembly is
asked in 1738 if masters ought not to promise to train slaves as Chris¬
tians, and instructions are repeatedly given to Governors on the matter,
with but small results.t
6. The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel.* "The Society for
the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts" was incorporated under
William III, on the 16th day of June, 1701, and the first meeting of the
society under its charter was the 27th of June of the same year.
Thomas Laud, Bishop of Canterbury, Primate and Metropolitan of all
England, was appointed by his majesty the first president.
This society was formed with the view, primarily, of supplying the
destitution of religious institutions and privileges among the inhabi¬
tants of the North American colonies, members of the established
church of England; and, secondarily, of extending the gospel to the
Indians and Negroes. The society entered upon its duties with zeal,
being patronized by the king and all the dignitaries of the Church of
England.
They instituted inquiries into the religious condition of all the colo¬
nies, responded to "by the governors and persons of the best note,"
(with special reference to Episcopacy), and they perceived that their
work "consisted of three great branches: the care and instruction of
our people settled in the colonies; the conversion of the Indian savages,
and the conversion of the Negroes." Before appointing missionaries
they sent out a traveling preacher, the Rev. George Keith (an itinerant
missionary), who associated with himself the Rev. John Talbot. Mr.
Keith preached between North Carolina and Piscataqua river in New
England, a tract above eight hundred miles in length, and completed
his mission in two years, and returned and reported his labors to the
society.
The annual meetings of this society were regularly held from 1702 to
1819 and 118 sermons preached before it by bishops of the Church of
• Brackett, pp. 308-110. f Bassett: Colony, p. 49; Williams I, p. 188.
t This section is taken largely from Charles Colcock Jones' "The Religious Instruction of the
Negroes," Savannah, 1842.
THE NEGRO CHURCH
13
England, a large number of them distinguished for piety, learning, and
zeal.
In June, 1702, the Rev. Samuel Thomas, the first missionary, was
sent to the colony of South Carolina. The society designed he should
attempt the conversion of the Yammosee Indians; but the governor,
Sir Nathaniel Johnson, appointed him to the care of the people settled
on the three branches of Cooper river, making Goose creek his resi¬
dence. He reported his labors to the society and said "that he had
taken much pains also in instructing the Negroes, and learned twenty
of them to read." He died in October, 1706, He was succeeded by a
number of missionaries.
"In 1709 Mr. Huddlestone was appointed school-master in New York
city. He taught forty poor children out of the society funds, and pub¬
licly catechised in the steeple of Trinity Church every Sunday in the
afternoon, 'not only his own scholars, but also the children, servants
and slaves of the inhabitants, and above one hundred usually attended
him.'
"The society established also a catechising school in New York city
in 1704, in which there were computed to be about 1,500 Negro and Indian
slaves. The society hoped their example would be generally followed
in the colonies. Mr. Elias Neau, a French Protestant, was appointed
catechist, who was very zealous in his duty, and many Negroes were
instructed and baptized.
"In 1712 the Negroes in New York conspired to destroy all the English,
which greatly discouraged the work of their instruction. The con¬
spiracy was defeated, and many Negroes taken and executed. Mr.
Neau's school was blamed as the main occasion of the barbarous plot;
two of Mr. Neau's students were charged with the plot; one was cleared
and the other was proved to have been in the conspiracy, but guiltless
of his master's murder. 'Upon full trial the guilty Negroes were found
to be such as never came to Mr. Neau's school; and, what is very ob¬
servable, the persons whose Negroes were found most guilty were such
as were the declared opposers of making them Christians.' In a short
time the cry against the instruction of the Negroes subsided: the gov¬
ernor visited and recommended the school. Mr. Neau died in 1722,
much regretted by all who knew his labors." He was succeeded by
Rev. Mr. Wetmore, who afterwards was appointed missionary to Rye
in New York. After his removal "the rector, church wardens, and
vestry of Trinity Church in New York city" requested another cate¬
chist, "there being about 1,400 Negro and Indian slaves, a considerable
number of whom had been instructed in the principles of Christianity
by the late Mr. Neau, and had received baptism and were communicants
in their church. The society complied with this request and sent over
Rev. Mr. Colgan in 1726, who conducted the school with success."*
*Cf. Atlanta University Publications, No. 6.
14
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
The society looked upon the instruction and conversion of the Negroes
as a principal branch of its care, esteeming it a great reproach to the
Christian name that so many thousands of persons should continue in
the same state of pagan darkness under a Christian government and
living in Christian families as they lay under formerly in their own
heathen countries. The society immediately from its first institu¬
tion strove to promote their conversion, and inasmuch as its income
would not enable it to send numbers of catechists sufficient to in¬
struct the Negroes, yet it resolved to do its utmost, and at least to
give this work the mark of its highest approbation. Its officers wrote,
therefore, to all their missionaries that they should use their best
endeavors at proper times to instruct the Negroes, and should especially
take occasion to recommend zealously to the masters to order their
slaves, at convenient times, to come to them that they might be in¬
structed.
The history of the society goes on to say: uIt is a matter of commen¬
dation to the clergy that they have done thus much in so great and
difficult a work. But, alas! what is the instruction of a few hundreds
in several years with respect to the many thousands uninstructed,
unconverted, living, dying, utter pagans. It must be confessed what
hath been done is as nothing with regard to what a true Christian
would hope to see effected." After stating several difficulties in respect
to the religious instruction of the Negroes, it is said: "But the greatest
obstruction is the masters themselves do not consider enough the obli¬
gation which lies upon them to have their slaves instructed." And in
another place, "the society have always been sensible the most effectual
way to convert the Negroes was by engaging their masters to counten¬
ance and promote their conversion." The bishop of St. Asaph, Dr.
Fleetwood, preached a sermon before the society in the year 1711, set¬
ting forth the duty of instructing the Negroes in the Christian religion.
The society thought this so useful a discourse that they printed and
dispersed abroad in the plantations great numbers of that sermon in
the same year; and in the year 1725 reprinted the same and dispersed
again great numbers. The bishop of London, Dr. Gibson, (to whom
the care of plantations abroad, as to religious affairs, was committed,)
became a second advocate for the conversion of Negroes, and wrote two
letters on the subject. The first in 1727, "addressed to masters and
mistresses of families in the English plantations abroad, exhorting
them to encourage and promote the instruction of their Negroes in the
Christian faith. The second in the same year, addressed to the mis¬
sionaries there, directing them to distribute the said letter, and exhort¬
ing them to give their assistance towards the instruction of the Negroes
within their several parishes."
The society were persuaded this was the true method to remove the
great obstruction to their conversion, and hoping so particular an appli¬
cation to the masters and mistresses from the See of London would have
THE NEGRO CHURCH
15
the strongest influence, they printed ten thousand copies of the letter
to the masters and mistresses, which were sent to all the colonies on
the continent and to all the British islands in the West Indies, to be
distributed among the masters of families, and all other inhabitants.
The society received accounts that these letters influenced many mas¬
ters of families to have their servants instructed. The bishop of Lon¬
don soon after wrote "an address to Serious Christians among ourselves,
to assist the Society for Propagating the Gospel in carrying on this
work."
In the year 1783, and the following, soon after the separation of our
colonies from the mother country, the society's operations ceased, leav¬
ing in all the colonies forty-three missionaries, two of whom were in
the Southern States—one in North and one in South Carolina. The
affectionate valediction of the society to them was issued in 1785.
"Thus terminated the connection of this noble society with our country,
which, from the foregoing notices of its efforts, must have accomplished
a great deal for the religious instruction of the Negro population."
7. The Moravians, Methodists, Baptists, and Presbyterians.* The
Moravians or United Brethren were the first who formally attempted
the establishment of missions exclusively to the Negroes.
A succinct account of their several efforts, down to the year 1790, is
given in the report of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel
among the Heathen, at Salem, N. C., October 5th, 1887, by Rev. J. Ren-
atus Schmidt, and is as follows:
"A hundred years have now elapsed since the Renewed Church of the Brethren
first attempted to communicate the gospel to the many thousand Negroes of our
land. In 1737 Count Zinzendorf paid a visit to London and formed an acquaint¬
ance with General Oglethorpe and the trustees of Georgia, with whom he con¬
ferred on the subject of the mission to the Indians, which the brethren had
already established in that colony (in 1735). Some of these gentlemen were asso¬
ciates under the will of Dr. Bray, who had left funds to be devoted to the conver¬
sion of the Negro slaves in South Carolina; and they solicited the Count to procure
them some missionaries for this purpose. On his objecting that the Church of
England might hesitate to recognize the ordination of the Brethren's missionaries,
they referred the question to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Potter, who gave
it as his opinion 'that the Brethren being members of an Episcopal Church, whose
doctrines contained nothing repugnant to the Thirty-nine Articles, ought not to
be denied free access to the heathen.' This declaration not only removed all hesi¬
tation from the minds of the trustees as to the present application, but opened the
way for the labors of the Brethren amongst the slave population of the West
Indies, a great and blessed work, which has, by the gracious help of God, gone on
increasing even to the present day.
"Various proprietors, however, avowing their determination not to suffer stran¬
gers to instruct their Negroes, as they had their own ministers, whom they paid
* This section is largely based on Jones. See §6.
16
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
for that purpose, our brethren ceased from their efforts. It appears from the let¬
ters of Brother Spangenburg, who spent the greater part of the year 1749 at Phila¬
delphia and preached the gospel to the Negroes in that city, that the labors of the
Brethren amongst them were not entirely fruitless. Thus he writes in 1751: 'On
my arrival in Philadelphia, I saw numbers of Negroes still buried in all their
native ignorance and darkness, and my soul was grieved for them. Soon after
some of them came to me, requesting instruction, at the same time acknowledging
their ignorance in the most affecting manner. They begged that a weekly sermon
might be delivered expressly for their benefit. I complied with their request and
confined myself to the most essential truths of scripture. Upwards of seventy
Negroes attended on these occasions, several of whom were powerfully awakened,
applied for further instruction, and expressed a desire to be united to Christ and
his church by the sacrament of baptism, which was accordingly administered to
them.'"
At the request of Mr. Knox, the English Secretary of State, an at¬
tempt was made to evangelize the Negroes of Georgia. "In 1774 the
Brethren, Lewis Muller, of the Academy at Niesky, and George Wag¬
ner, were called to North America and in the year following, having
been joined by Brother Andrew Broesing, of North Carolina, they took
up their abode at Knoxborough, a plantation so called from its pro¬
prietor, the gentleman above mentioned. They were, however, almost
constant sufferers from the fevers which prevailed in those parts, and
Muller finished his course in October of the same year. He had
preached the gospel with acceptance to both whites and blacks, yet
without any abiding results. The two remaining Brethren being
called upon to bear arms on the breaking out of the war of independ¬
ence, Broesing repaired to Wachovia, in North Carolina, and Wagner
set out in 1779 for England."
In the great Northampton revival, under the preaching of Dr. Ed¬
wards in 1735-6, when for the space of five or six weeks together the
conversions averaged at least "four a day," Dr. Edwards remarks:
"There are several Negroes who, from what was seen in them then and
what is discernible in them since, appear to have been truly born
again in the late remarkable season."
Direct efforts for the religious instruction of Negroes, continued
through a series of years, were made by Presbyterians in Virginia.
They commenced with the Rev. Samuel Davies, afterwards president
of Nassau Hall, and the Rev. John Todd, of Hanover Presbytery.
In a letter addressed to a friend and member of the "Society in
London for promoting Christian knowledge among the poor" in the
year 1755, he thus expresses himself: "The poor neglected Negroes,
who are so far from having money to purchase books, that they them¬
selves are the property of others, who were originally African sav¬
ages, and never heard of the name of Jesus or his gospel until they
arrived at the land of their slavery in America, whom their masters
generally neglect, and whose souls none care for, as though immor¬
tality were not a privilege common to them, as with their masters;
THE NEGRO CHURCH
17
these poor, unhappy Africans are objects of my compassion, and I
think the most proper objects of the society's charity. The inhabi¬
tants of Virginia are computed to be about 300,000 men, the one-half
of which number are supposed to be Negroes. The number of those
who attend my ministry at particular times is uncertain, but gener¬
ally about 800, who give a stated attendance; and never have I been
so struck with the appearance of an assembly as when I have glanced
my eye to that part of the meeting-house where they usually sit,
adorned (for so it has appeared to me) with so many black countenances,
eagerly attentive to every word they hear and frequently bathed in
tears. A considerable number of them (about a hundred) have been
baptized, after a proper time for instruction, having given credible
evidence, not only of their acquaintance with the important doctrines
of the Christian religion, but also a deep sense of them in their
minds, attested by a life of strict piety and holiness. As they are
not sufficiently polished to dissemble with a good grace, they express
tjie sentiments of their souls so much in the language of simple na¬
ture and with such genuine indications of sincerity, that it is im¬
possible to suspect their professions, especially when attended with a
truly Christian life and exemplary conduct. There are multitudes of
them in different places, who are willingly and eagerly desirous to be
instructed and embrace every opportunity of acquainting themselves
with the doctrines of the gospel; and though they have generally very
little help to learn to read, yet to my agreeable surprise, many of
them by dint of application in their leisure hours, have made such
progress that they can intelligibly read a plain author, and especially
their Bibles; and pity it is that any of them should be without them.
"The Negroes, above all the human species that I ever knew, have
an ear for music and a kind of ecstatic delight in psalmody, and there
are no books they learn so soon or take so much pleasure in as those
used in that heavenly part of divine worship."
The year 1747 was marked, in the colony of Georgia, by the au¬
thorized introduction of slaves. Twenty-three representatives from
the different districts met in Savannah, and after appointing Major
Horton president, they entered into sundry resolutions, the substance
of which was "that the owners of slaves should educate the young
and use every possible means of making religious impressions upon
the minds of the aged, and that all acts of inhumanity should be
punished by the civil authority."
Methodism was introduced in New York in 1766, and the first mis¬
sionaries were sent out by Mr. Wesley from New York in 1769. One
of these says: "The number of blacks that attend the preaching
affects me much." The first regular conference was held in Phila¬
delphia, 1773. From this year to 1776 there was a great revival of re¬
ligion in Virginia under the preaching of the Methodists in connection
with Rev. Mr. Jarrattof the Episcopal Church, which spread through
18
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
fourteen counties in Virginia and two in North Carolina. One letter
states "the chapel was full of white and black;" another, "hundreds
of Negroes were among them, with tears streaming down their faces.
At Roanoke another remarks: "In general the white people were
within the chapel and the black people without."
At the eighth conference in Baltimore in 1780 the following question
appeared in the minutes: "Question 25. Ought not the assistant to
meet the colored people himself and appoint helpers in his absence,
proper white persons, and not suffer them to stay late and meet by them¬
selves? Answer. Yes." Under the preaching of Mr. Garretson in Mary¬
land "hundreds, both white and black, expressed their love for Jesus."
The first return of colored members distinct from white occurs in
the minutes of 1786: White 18,791, colored 1,890. "It will be perceived
from the above," says Dr. Bangs in his history of the Methodist Epis¬
copal Church, "that a considerable number of colored persons had
been received into the church, and were so returned in the minutes of
the conference. Hence it appears that at an early period of the Metho¬
dist ministry in this country it had turned its attention to this part of
the population."
In 1790 it was again asked: "What can be done to instruct poor
children, white and black, to read? Answer. Let us labor as the heart
and soul of one man to establish Sunday-schools in or near the place
of public worship. Let persons be appointed by the bishops, elders,
deacons, or preachers, to teach gratis all that will attend and have a
capacity to learn, from 6 o'clock in the morning till 10 ?nd from 2 p. m.
till 6, where it does not interfere with public worship. The council
shall compile a proper school-book to teach them learning and piety."
The experiment was made, but it proved unsuccessful and was discon¬
tinued. The number of colored members this year was 11,682.
The first Baptist church in this country was founded in Providence,
R. I., by Roger Williams in 1689. Nearly one hundred years after the
settlement of America "only seventeen Baptist churches had arisen in
it." The Baptist church in Charleston, S. C., was founded in 1690.
The denomination advanced slowly through the middle and Southern
States, and in 1790 it had churches in them all. Revivals of religion
were enjoyed, particularly one in Virginia, which commenced in 1785
and continued until 1791 or 1792. "Thousands were converted and bap¬
tized, besides many who joined the Methodists and Presbyterians. A
large number of Negroes were admitted to the Baptist Churches during
the seasons of revival, as well as on ordinary occasions. They were,
however, not gathered into churches distinct from the whites south of
Pennsylvania except in Georgia."
"In general the Negroes were followers of the Baptists in Virginia,
and after a while, as they permitted many colored men to preach, the
great majority of them went to hear preachers of their own color,
which was attended with many evils."
THE NEGRO CHURCH
19
"Towards the close of 1792 the first colored Baptist Church in the
city of Savannah began to build a place of worship. The corporation
of the city gave them a lot for the purpose. The origin of this church
—the parent of several others—is briefly as follows:
George Leile or Lisle, sometimes called George Sharp, was born in
Virginia about 1750. His master sometime before the American war
removed and settled in Burke county, Georgia. Mr. Sharp was a Bap¬
tist and a deacon in a Baptist church, of which Rev. Matthew Moore
was pastor. George was converted and baptized under Mr. Moore's
ministry. The church gave him liberty to preach."*
About nine months after George Leile left Georgia, Andrew, sur-
named Bryan, a man of good sense, great zeal, and some natural elo¬
cution, began to exhort his black brethren and friends. He and his
followers were reprimanded and forbidden to engage further in re¬
ligious exercises. He would, however, pray, sing, and encourage his
fellow-worshippers to seek the Lord. Their persecution was carried
to an inhuman extent. Their evening assemblies were broken up and
those found present were punished with stripes! Andrew Bryan and
Sampson, his brother, converted about a year after him, were twice
imprisoned, and they with about fifty others were whipped. When
publicly whipped, and bleeding under his wounds, Andrew declared
that he rejoiced not only to be whipped, but would freely suffer death
for the cause of Jesus Christ, and that while he had life and oppor¬
tunity he would continue to preach Christ. He was faithful to his
vow and, by patient continuance in well-doing, he put to silence and
shamed his adversaries, and influential advocates and patrons were
raised up for him. Liberty was given Andrew by the civil authority
to continue his religious meetings under certain regulations. His
master gave him the use of his barn at Brampton, three miles from
Savannah, where he preached for two years with little interruption.
The African church in Augusta, Ga., was gathered by the labors of
Jesse Peter, and was constituted in 1793 by Rev. Abraham Marshall
and David Tinsley. Jesse Peter was also called Jesse Golfln on ac¬
count of his master's name—living twelve miles below Augusta.
The number of Baptists in the United States this year was 73,471,
allowing one-fourth to be Negroes the denomination would embrace
between 18,000 and 19,000.
The returns of colored members in the Methodist denomination from
1791 to 1795, inclusive, were 12,884, 13,871, 16,227, 13,814, 12,179.
The Methodists reported in 1796, 11,280 colored members. The re¬
capitulation of the numbers for 1797 is given by states:
*See infra.
20
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
Massachusetts 8
Rhode Island 2
Connecticut 15
New York 238
New Jersey 127
Pennsylvania 198
Delaware 823
Maryland 5,106
Virginia 2,490
North Carolina 2,071
South Carolina 890
Georgia
Tennessee 42
Kentucky 57
Making a total of 12,215 Negroes; nearly one-fourth of the whole
number of members were colored. There were three only in Canada.
The year 1799 is memorable for the commencement of that extra¬
ordinary awakening which, taking its rise in Kentucky and spread¬
ing in various directions and with different degrees of intensity,
was denominated "the great Kentucky revival." It continued for
about four years, and its influence was felt over a large portion of
the Southern States. Presbyterians, Methodists, and Baptists par¬
ticipated in this work. In this revival originated camp-meetings,
which gave a new impulse to Methodism. From the best estimates the
number of Negroes received into the different communions during
this season must have been between four and five thousand.
In 1800 there were in connection with the Methodists 13,452 Negroes.
The bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church were authorized to
ordain African preachers in places where there were houses of worship
for their use, who might be chosen by a majority of the male mem¬
bers of the society to which they belonged and could procure a rec¬
ommendation from the preacher in charge and his colleagues on the
circuit to the office of local deacons. Richard Allen, of Philadelphia,
was the first colored man who received orders under this rule.
"The fact, however, is worthy of remembrance that, while the
Indians—some of whom received us as guests and sold us their land at
almost no compensation at all, and others were driven back to make us
room, and with whom we had frequent and bloody wars, and we
became, from time to time, mutual scourges—received some eminent
missionaries from the colonists, and had no inconsiderable interest
awakened for their conversion; the Africans who were brought over
and bought by us for servants, and who wore out their lives as such,
enriching thousands from Massachusetts to Georgia, and were members
of our households, never received from the colonists themselves a soli¬
tary missionary exclusively devoted to their good, nor was there ever a
single society established within the colonies, that we know of, with
the express design of promoting their religious instruction!"
8. The Sects and Slavery. The approach of the Revolution brought
heart-searching on many subjects, and not the least on slavery. The
agitation was noticeable in the legislation of the time, putting an end
to slavery in the North and to the slave-trade in all sta tes. Religious
THE NEGRO CHURCH
21
bodies particularly were moved. In 1657 George Fox, founder of the
Quakers, had impressed upon his followers in America the duty of
converting the slaves, and he himself preached to them in the West
Indies. The Mennonite Quakers protested against slavery in 1688, and
from that time until the Revolution the body slowly but steadily
advanced, step by step, to higher ground until they refused all fellow¬
ship to slaveholders. Radical Quakers,like Hepburn and Lay, attacked
religious sects and Lay called preachers "a sort of devils that preach
more to hell than they do to heaven, and so they will do forever as
long as they are suffered to reign in the worst and mother of all sins,
slave-keeping.''
In Virginia and North Carolina this caused much difficulty owing to
laws against manumission early in the nineteenth century, and the
result was wholesale migration of the Quakers.*
Judge Sewall, among the Massachusetts Congregationalists, had
declared, in 1700, that slavery and the slave-trade were wrong, but his
protest was unheeded. Later, in 1770 and after, strong Congregational
clergymen, like Samuel Hopkins and Ezra Stiles, attacked slavery,
but so democratic a church could take no united action. Although
Whitefleld came to defend the institution, John Wesley, founder of
the Methodists, called the slave-trade the "sum of all villanies," and
the Genei'al Conference in America, 1780, declared slavery "contrary
to the laws of God, man, and nature and hurtful to society." From
this high stand, however, the church quickly and rather ignominiously
retreated. By 1780 it only sought the destruction of slavery "by all
wise and prudent means," while preachers were allowed to hold their
slaves in slave states. In 1787 the General Conference urged preachers
to labor among slaves and receive worthy ones into full membership
and "to exercise the whole Methodist discipline among them."
Work was begun early among the slaves and they had so many mem¬
bers that their churches in the south were often called Negro churches.
The church yielded further ground to the pro-slavery sentiment in
1816, but in 1844 the censure of a bishop who married a slaveholder
rent the church in twain on the question.
The Baptists had Negro preachers for Negro members as early as
177B. They were under the supervision of whites and had no voice in
general church affairs. The eai'ly Baptists held few slaves, and they
were regarded as hostile to slavery in Georgia. The Philadelphia Asso¬
ciation approved of abolition as early as 1789, and a Virginia Associa¬
tion urged emancipation in the legislature about the same time. In
Kentucky and Ohio the Baptist Associations split on the question.
The Baptists early interested themselves in the matter of slave mar¬
riages and family worship, and especially took spiritual care of the
slaves of their own members. They took a stand against the slave-
* Cf. Week's Southern Quakers and Slavery ; Thomas: Attitude, etc.
22
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFEKENCE
trade in 1818 and 1835. After the division on the subject of missions
the Missionary Baptists began active proselyting among the slaves.
The Presbyterian Synod of 1787 recommended efforts looking toward
gradual emancipation, and in 1795 the question of excluding slave¬
holders was discussed, but it ended in an injunction of "brotherly
love" for them. In 1815, 1818, and 1885 the question was dismissed and
postponed, and finally in 1845 the question was dropped on the ground
that Christ and the Apostles did not condemn slavery. At the time of
the war the church finally divided.
9. Toussaint L'Ouverture and Nat Turner.
"The role which the great Negro Toussaint, called L'Ouverture, played in the
history of the United States has seldom been fully appreciated. Representing
the age of revolution in America, he rose to leadership through a bloody terror,
which contrived a Negro "problem" for the Western hemisphere, intensified and
defined the anti-slavery movement, became one of the causes, and probably the
prime one, which led Napoleon to sell Louisiana for a song; and, finally, through
the interworking of all these effects, rendered more certain the final prohibition
of the slave-trade by the United States in 1807." *
The effect of the revolution on the religious life of the Negro was
quickly felt. In 1800, South Carolina declared:
"It shall not be lawful for any number of slaves, free Negroes, mulattoes, or
mestizoes, even in company with white persons, to meet together and assemble
for the purpose of mental instruction or religious worship, either before the rising
of the sun or after the going down of the same. And all magistrates, sheriffs,
militia officers, etc., etc., are hereby vested with power, etc., for dispersing such
assemblies." t
On petition of the white churches the rigor of this law was slightly
abated in 1803 by a modification which forbade any person, before 9
o'clock in the evening, "to break into a place of meeting wherein shall
be assembled the members of any religious society in this State, pro¬
vided a majority of them shall be white persons, or otherwise to dis¬
turb their devotions unless such persons, etc., so entering said place [of
worship] shall first have obtained from some magistrate, etc., a war¬
rant, etc., in case a magistrate shall be then actually within a distance
of three miles from such place of meeting; otherwise the provisions,
etc., [of the Act of 1800] to remain in full force."i
So, too, in Virginia the Haytian revolt and the attempted insurrec¬
tion under Gabriel in 1800 led to the Act of 1804, which forbade all
evening meetings of slaves. This was modified in 1805 so as to allow a
slave, in company with a white person, to listen to a white minister in
the evening. A master was "allowed" to employ a religious teacher
for his slaves.§ Mississippi passed similar restrictions.
* DuBois' Suppression of the Slave-Trade, p. 70. J Stroud, 93-4 ; Goodell, 329.
t Goodell, 329. § Stroud, 94 ; Ballagh, 95.
THE NEGRO CHURCH
23
By 1822 the rigor of the South Carolina laws in regard to Negro
meetings had abated, especially in a city like Charleston, and one of
the results was the Vesey plot.
"The sundry religious classes or congregations, with Negro leaders or local
preachers, into which were formed the Negro members of the various churches of
Charleston, furnished Yesey with the first rudiments of an organization, and at
the same time with a singularly safe medium for conducting his underground
agitation. It was customary, at that time, for these Negro congregations to meet
for purposes of worship entirely free from the presence of whites. Such meetings
were afterwards forbidden to be held except in the presence of at least one repre¬
sentative of the dominant race. But during the three or four years prior to the
year 1822 they certainly offered Denmark Yesey regular, easy and safe opportuni¬
ties for preaching his gospel of liberty and hate. And we are left in no doubt
whatever in regard to the uses to which he put those gatherings of blacks.
"Like many of his race, he possessed the gift of gab, as the silver in the tongue
and the gold in the full or thick-lipped mouth are oftentimes contemptuously
characterized. And, like many of his race, he was a devoted student of the Bible,
to whose interpretation he brought, like many other Bible students not confined
to the Negro race, a good deal of imagination and not a little of superstition,
which, with some natures, is perhaps but another name for the desires of the
heart. Thus equipped, it is no wonder that Yesey, as he poured over the Old
Testament scriptures, found many points of similitude in the history of the Jews
and that of the slaves in the United States. They were both peculiar peoples.
They were both Jehovah's peculiar peoples, one in the past, the other in the pres¬
ent. And it seemed to him that as Jehovah bent his ear, and bared his arm once
in behalf of the one, so would he do the same for the other. It was all vividly
real to his thought, I believe, for to his mind thus had said the Lord.
"He ransacked the Bible for apposite and terrible texts whose commands in the
olden times, to the olden people, were no less imperative upon the new times.and
the new people. This new people was also commanded to arise and destroy their
enemies and the city in which they dwelt, ' both man and woman, young and old,
with the edge of the sword.' Believing superstitiously as he did in the stern and
Nemesis-like God of the Old Testament he looked confidently for a day of venge¬
ance and retribution for the blacks. He felt, I doubt not, something peculiarly
applicable to his enterprise and intensely personal to himself in the stern and ex¬
ultant prophecy of Zachariah, fierce and sanguinary words, which were constantly
in his mouth: 'Then shall the Lord go forth and fight against those nations as
when he fought in the day of battle.' According to Vesey's lurid exegesis 'those
nations' in the text meant beyond peradventure the cruel masters and Jehovah was
to go forth to fight against them for the poor slaves and on whichever side fought
that day the Almighty God on that side would assuredly rest victory and deliverance.
"It will not be denied that Yesey's plan contemplated the total annihilation of
the white population of Charleston. Nursing for many dark years the bitter
wrongs of himself and race had filled him without doubt with a mad spirit of re¬
venge and had given to him a decided predilection for shedding the blood of his op¬
pressors. But if he infended to kill them to satisfy a desire for vengeance he in¬
tended to do so also on broader ground. The conspirators, he argued, had no choice
in the matter, but were compelled to adopt a policy of extermination by the neces¬
sity of their position. The liberty of the blacks was in the balance of fate against
the lives of the whites. He could strike that balance in favor of the blacks only by
24
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
the total destruction of the whites. Therefore the whites, men, women, and chil¬
dren, were doomed to death."*
The plot was well-laid, but the conspirators were betrayed. Less
than ten years after this plot was discovered and Yesey and his asso¬
ciates hanged, there broke out the Nat Turner insurrection in Virginia.
Turner was himself a preacher.
" He was a Christian and a man. He was conscious that he was a Man and not
a ' thing;' therefore, driven by religious fanaticism, he undertook a difficult and
bloody task. Nathaniel Turner wTas born in Southampton county, Virginia, Octo¬
ber 2, 1800. His master was one Benjamin Turner, a very weal. hy and aristocratic
man. He owned many slaves, and was a cruel and exacting master. Young 'Nat'
was born of slave parents, and carried to his grave many of the superstitions and
traits of his father and mother. The former was a preacher, the latter a ' mother
in Israel.' Both were unlettered but, nevertheless, very pious people. The mother
began when Nat was quite young to teach him that he was born, like Moses, to be
the deliverer of his race. She would sing to him snatches of wild, rapturous songs
and repeat portions of prophecy she had learned from the preachers of those times.
Nat listened with reverence and awe, and believed everything his mother said. He
imbibed the deep religious character of his parents, and soon manifested a desire
to preach. He was solemnly set apart to ' the gospel ministry' by his father, the
church, and visiting preachers. He was quite low in stature, dark, and had the
genuine African features. His eyes were small, but sharp, and gleamed like fire
when he was talking about his 'mission' or preaching from some prophetic pas¬
sage of scripture. It is said that he never laughed. He was a dreamy sort of a
man, and avoided the crowd. Like Moses he lived in the solitudes of the mountains
and brooded over the condition of his people. There was something grand to him
in the rugged scenery that nature had surrounded him with. He believed that he
was a prophet, a leader raised up by God to burst the bolts of the prison-house and
set the oppressed free. The thunder, the hail, the storm-cloud, the air, the earth,
the stars, at which he would sit and gaze half the night all spake the language of
the God of the oppressed. He was seldom seen in a large company, and never
drank a drop of ardent spirits. Like John the Baptist, when he had delivered his
message, he would retire to the fastness of the mountain or seek the desert, where
he could meditate upon his great work." f
In the impression of the Richmond Enquirer of the 30th of August,
1831, the first editorial or leader is under the caption of "The Banditte."
The editor says:
"They remind one of a parcel of blood-thirsty wolves rushing down from the
Alps; or, rather like a former incursion of the Indians upon the white settlements.
Nothing is spared; neither age nor sex respected—the helplessness of women and
children pleads in vain for mercy. . . . The case of Nat Turner warns us. No
black man ought to be permitted to turn preacher through the country. The law
must be enforced—or the tragedy of Southampton appeals to us in vain." %
Mr. Gray, the man to whom Turner made his confession before dying,
said:
*Grimke: Right on the Scaffold (Put). American Negro Academy), pp. 11-12.
t Williams TI, pp. 85-86. J Quoted in Ibid, p. 90.
THE NEGRO CHURCH
25
"It has been said that he was ignorant and cowardly and that his object was to
murder and rob for the purpose of obtaining money to make his escape. It is no¬
torious that he was never known to have had a dollar in his life, to swear an oath or
drink a drop of spirits. As to his ignorance, he certainly never had the advantages
of education, but he can read and write, and for natural intelligence and quick¬
ness of apprehension is surpassed by few men I have ever seen. As to his being a
coward, his reason as given for not resisting Mr. Phipps, shows the decision of his
character. When he saw Mr. Phipps present his gun, he said he knew it was im¬
possible for him to escape as the woods were full of men. He, therefore, thought
it was better for him to surrender and trust to fortune for his escape.
"He is a complete fanatic or plays his part most admirably. On other subjects
he possesses an uncommon share of intelligence, with a mind capable of attaining
anything, but warped and perverted by the influence of early impressions. He is
below the ordinary stature, though strong and active, having the true Negro face,
every feature of which is strongly marked. I shall not attempt to describe the
effect of his narrative, as told and commented on by himself, in the condemned
hole of the prison; the calm, deliberate composure with which he spoke of his
late deeds and intentions; the expression of his fiend-like face when excited by
enthusiasm, still bearing the stains of the blood of the helpless innocence about
him, clothed with rags and covered with chains, yet daring to raise his manacled
hand to heaven, with a spirit soaring above the attributes of man. I looked on him
and the blood curdled in my veins." *
The Turner insurrection is so connected with the economic revolution
which enthroned cotton that it marks an epoch in the history of the
slave. A wave of legislation passed over the South prohibiting the
slaves from learning to read and write, forbidding Negroes to preach,
and interfering with Negro religious meetings. Virginia declared, in
1831, that neither slaves or free Negroes might preach, nor could they
attend religious service at night without permission. In North Carolina
slaves and free Negroes were forbidden to preach, exhort or teach "in
any prayer-meeting or other association for worship where slaves of
different families are collected together" on penalty of not more than
thirty-nine lashes. Maryland and Georgia had similar laws. The Mis¬
sissippi law of 1831 said: It is "unlawful for any slave, free Negro, or
mulatto to preach the gospel" upon pain of receiving thirty-nine lashes
upon the naked back of the presumptuous preacher. If a Negro received
written permission from his master he might preach to the Negroes in
his immediate neighborhood, providing six respectable white men,
owners of slaves, were present.! In Alabama the law of 1832 prohibited
the assembling of more than five male slaves at any place off the plan¬
tation to which they belonged, but nothing in the act was to be consid¬
ered as forbidding attendance at places of public worship held by white
persons. No slave or free person of color was permitted to "preach, ex¬
hort, or harrangue any slave or slaves, or free persons of color, except
in the presence of five respectable slaveholders or unless the person
* Williams II, pp. 91-92.
t Williams II, 163.
26
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
preaching was licensed by some regular body of professing Christians
in the neighborhood, to whose society or church the Negroes addressed
properly belonged."
In the District of Columbia the free Negroes began to leave white
churches in 1831 and to assemble in their own.
10. Third Period of Missionary Enterprise. The efforts to convert Ne¬
groes in America fall in three main periods. The first period was early in
the eighteenth century after it was decided that baptism did not free
slaves. Results at this time were meagre, and the effort spasmodic. A
second period came about the time of the Revolution, and had larger re¬
sults. C. C. Jones says of the conditions, 1790-1820, that:
"It is not too much to say that the religious and physical condition of the Ne¬
groes were both improved during this period. Their increase was natural and
regular, ranging every ten years, between 34 and 36 per cent. As the old stock
from Africa died out of the country the grosser customs, ignorance and paganism
of Africa, died with them. Their descendants, the country-born, were better look¬
ing, more intelligent, more civilized, more susceptible of religious impressions.
"On the whole, however, but a minority of the Negroes, and that a small one,
attended regularly the house of God, and taking them as a class, their religious
instruction was extensively and most seriously neglected."
The third period followed after the depression of the thirties. This
depression was severe, and lasted nearly twenty years.
The Presbyterian Synod of South Carolina and Georgia, in 1833, pub¬
lished a statement in which they said of the slaves:
" There are over two millions of human beings in the condition of heathen and
some of them in a worse condition. They may justly be considered the heathen
of this country, and will bear a comparison with heathen in any country in the
world. The Negroes are destitute of the gospel, and ever will be under the present
state of things. In the vast field extending from an entire state beyond the Po¬
tomac, [i. e., Maryland], to the Sabine river [at the time our southwestern bound¬
ary] and from the Atlantic to the Ohio, there are, to the best of our knowledge,
not twelve men exclusively devoted to the religious instruction of the Negroes. In
the present state of feeling in the South, a ministry of their own color could
neither be obtained nor tolerated. But do not the Negroes have access to the gospel
through the stated ministry of the whites? We answer, no. The Negroes have no
regular and efficient ministry: as a matter of course, no churches; neither is there
sufficient room in the white churches for their accommodation. We know of but
five churches in the slaveholding states, built expressly for their use. These are all
in the state of Georgia. We may now inquire whether they enjoy the privileges of
the gospel in their own houses, and on our plantations? Again we return a nega¬
tive answer. They have no Bibles to read by their own firesides. They have no
family altars; and when in affliction, sickness or death, they have no minister to
address to them the consolations of the gospel, nor to bury them with appropriate
services." *
The Presbyterian Synod of Kentucky, in 1834, said:
* Goodell, pp. 333-5.
THE NEGRO CHURCH
27
" Slavery deprives its subjects, in a great measure, of the privileges of the gospel.
The law, as it is here, does not prevent free access to the scriptures; but ignorance,
the natural result of their condition, does. The Bible is before them. But it is to
them a sealed book. Very few of them enjoy the advantages of a regular gospel
ministry." *
The Synod of South Carolina and Georgia returned to the subject, in
1834, and declared:
"The gospel, as things now are, can never be preached to the two classes (whites
and blacks) successfully in conjunction. The galleries or back seats on the lower
floor of white churches are generally appropriated to the Negroes, when it can be
done without inconvenience to the whites. When it cannot be done conveniently,
the Negroes must catch the gospel as it escapes through the doors and windows.
If the master is pious, the house servants alone attend family worship, and fre¬
quently few or none of them,while the field hands have no attention at all. So as far
as masters are engaged in the work [of religious instruction of slaves], an almost
unbroken silence reigns on this vast field."*
To this the Rev. C. C. Jones, of Georgia, adds:
"We cannot cry out against the Papists for withholding the scriptures from the
common people, and the keeping them in ignorance of the way of life, for we with¬
hold the Bible from our servants, and keep them in ignorance of it, while we will
not use the means to have it read and explained to them." *
In 1838 the Methodist Conference of South Carolina appointed a mis¬
sionary to labor among the colored people, but the enterprise was soon
suppressed by the principal citizens. The Greenville (S. C.) Mountaineer
of November 2, 1838, contained the particulars: A committee was ap¬
pointed, who addressed a note to the missionary, requesting him to
desist. This was backed up by James S. Pope and 352 others. The
document argues at length the incompatibility of slavery with the
"mental improvement and religious instruction" of slaves. "Verbal
instruction," say they, "will increase the desire of the black population
to learn. We know of upwards of a dozen Negroes in the neighborhood
of Cambridge who can now read, some of whom are members of your
societies at Mount Lebanon and New Salem. Of course, when they see
themselves encouraged, they will supply themselves with Bibles, hymn
books, and catechisms! Open the missionary sluice, and the current
will swell in its gradual onward advance. We thus expect that a pro¬
gressive system of improvement will be introduced, or will follow, from
the nature and force of circumstances, and, if not checked (though they
may be shrouded in sophistry and disguise), will ultimately revolution¬
ize our civil institutions. We consider the common adage that 'knowl¬
edge is power,' and as the colored man is enlightened, his condition will
be rendered more unhappy and intolerable. Intelligence and slavery
have no affinity with each other." The document refers to the laws of
the state, and hopes that " South Carolina is yet true to her vital inter¬
ests," etc., etc.f
* Jones, 167-8; Goodell, p. 335-6.
t Goodell, p. 336-7.
28
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
Bishop Capers testifies about this time that there was the most urgen
need for preaching among Negroes. Of the Negroes around Wilming¬
ton, N. C., he says: "A numerous population of this class in that town
and vicinity were as destitute of any public instruction (or, probably,
instruction of any kind as to spiritual things) as if they had not been
believed to be men at all, and their morals were as depraved as, with
such a destitution of the gospel among them, might have been expected."
To this state of things the masters were indifferent; for, adds the bish¬
op, "it seems not to have been considered that such a state of things
might furnish motives sufficient to induce pure-minded men to engage,
at great inconvenience or even personal hazard, in the work of improv¬
ing them." Such work, on the other hand, seems to have been regarded
as unnecessary, if not unreasonable. Conscience was not believed to
be concerned.
As the result of such appeals a reaction set in about 1835, and the
Methodists and Baptists especially were active among the slaves. A
minister in Mississippi testified that he had charge of the Negroes of
five plantations and three hundred slaves; another in Georgia visited
eighteen plantations every two weeks. "The owners have built three
good churches at their own expense, all framed; 290 members have
been added, and about 400 children are instructed." Another travel¬
ing minister declared, in 1841, that in many places, like Baltimore, Al¬
exandria, and Charleston, the Negroes had large, spacious churches,
and he thinks there were 500,000 Negro church members at the time,
which is probably an exaggeration.
Charles C. Jones writes, in 1842, that:
"The Negro race has existed in our country for two hundred and twenty-two
years, in which time the gospel has been brought within the reach of, and been
communicated to, multitudes.
"While there have been but few societies, and they limited in extent and influ¬
ence, formed for the special object of promoting the moral and religious instruc¬
tion of the Negroes, and while there have been comparatively but few mission¬
aries exclusively devoted to them, yet they have not been altogether overlooked
by their owners, nor neglected by the regular ministers of the various leading
denominations of Christians, as the facts adduced in this sketch testify.
"Yet it is a remarkable fact in the history of the Negroes in our country that
their regular, systematic religious instruction has never received in the churches
at any time that general attention and effort which it demanded, and the people
have consequently been left, both in the free and in the slave states, in great
numbers, in moral darkness, and destitution of the means of grace."
"In 1848 an enterprise was begun for the more thorough-going evangelization
of the colored people in Charleston, S. C., under the auspices of the Rev. Dr. J. B.
Adger and the session of the Second Presbyterian church. In 1859 a church
building costing $25,000, contributed by the citizens of Charleston,, was dedicated.
From the first the great building was filled, the blacks occupying the main floor,
and the whites the galleries, which seated two hundred and fifty persons. The
Rev. Dr. J. L. Girardeau, one of the greatest preachers in the South, was for years
THE NEGRO CHURCH
29
the pastor of this church. The close of the war found it with exactly five hundred
colored members, and nearly one hundred white." *
There were thirteen colored churches in Baltimore in 1847, supported
largely, but not altogether, by free Negroes. In 1854 one-fourth of the
slaves of South Carolina were said to be Methodists; one-third of the
Presbyterians of that state were black, and one-half of the Baptists of
Virginia. In 1859 there were 468,000 Negro church members reported in
the South, of whom 215,000 were Methodists and 175,000 Baptists.t
Even at this time many restrictions on Negro religion remained. In
Maryland camp-meetings were forbidden, and all meetings save at
regular churches and with the consent of white preachers. There were
also many local laws restricting worship. In other states the laws of
the thirties remained in force or were strengthened. Moreover, even
the church organizations working among Negroes were careful in their
methods. The North Carolina Baptist Convention adopted a report
concerning the religious instruction of the colored people, with a series
of resolutions, concluding as follows:
"Resolved, That by religious instructions be understood verbal com¬
munications on religious subjects?" i
Moreover,, the masters clung to the idea that the chief use of religion
among slaves was to make them "obey their masters." When it was
charged that slaves were not allowed to read the Bible, one naive
answer was that it was read to them, especially "those very passages
which inculcate the relative duties of masters and servants."
An intelligent Negro, Lundsford Lane, thus describes the religious
instruction of slaves :
" I was permitted to attend church, and this I esteem a great blessing. It was
there I received much instruction, which I trust was a great benefit to me. I
trusted, too, that I had experienced the renewing influences of divine grace. I
looked upon myself as a great sinner before God, and upon the doctrine of the
great atonement, through the suffering and death of the Savior, as a source of
continual joy to my heart. After obtaining from my mistress a written permit, a
thing always required in such cases, I had been baptized and received into fellow¬
ship with the Baptist denomination. Thus in religious matters I had been in¬
dulged in the exercise of my own conscience; this was a favor not always granted
to slaves. There was one hard doctrine to which we as slaves were compelled to
listen, which I found difficult to receive. We were often told by the ministers
how much we owed to God for bringing us over from the benighted shores of
Africa and permitting us to listen to the sound of the gospel. In ignorance of any
special revelation that God had made to master, or to his ancestors, that my ances¬
tors should be stolen and enslaved on the soil of America to accomplish their sal¬
vation, I was slow to believe all my teachers enjoined on this subject. How sur¬
prising, then, this high moral end being accomplished, that no proclamation of
emancipation had before this been made! Many of us were as highly civilized as
« Campbell: Some Aspects, etc.; and Jones,
t Cf. Ingle Side Lights, pp. 273-74.
t Goodell, p. 336.
30
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
some of our masters, and as to piety in many instances their superiors. I was
rather disposed to believe that God had originally granted me temporal freedom,
which wicked men had taken from me—which now I had been compelled to pur¬
chase at great cost. There was one kind-hearted clergyman whom I used often to
hear; he was very popular among the colored people. But after he had preached
a sermon to us in which he urged from the Bible that it was the will of heaven
from all eternity that we should be slaves, and our masters be our owners, many
of us left him, considering, like the doubting disciple of old, 'This is a hard
saying; who can hear it?'" *
So, too, Dr. Caruthers says although many of the slaves were pious
they owed for this "no thanks to slavery or the slave laws." Even after
the war the reconstruction legislation of states like Mississippi sought
especially to restrain Negro preachers and imposed, in 1865, upon
Negroes exercising the functions of a minister without a license from a
regularly organized church a fine of $10-$100, and liability to imprison¬
ment not more than thirty days.f
11. The Earlier Churches and Preachers, (by Mr. John W. Cromwell).
The original colored churches in different sections of the country
came about in one of the following ways:
1. They were in some cases the result of special missionary effort on
the part of the whites.
2. They were brought about by direct discrimination against the
blacks made by the whites during divine worship.
3. They were the natural sequence, when, on account of increase in
members, it became necessary for congregations to divide, whereupon
the blacks were evolved as distinct churches, but still under the over¬
sight, if not the exclusive control, of the whites.
4. They were, in not a few cases, the preference of colored communi¬
cants themselves, in order to get as much as possible the equal privileges
and advantages of government denied them under the existing system.
The establishment of these churches took place about the same time in
sections more distant from each other then than now, for it was before
the time of the railroad, the use of the steamboat or the telegraph; so
that their coming into existence at the same time must be attributed to
a correspondence of general causes.
The first regular church organization of which I know was a Bap¬
tist Church at Williamsburg, Va., in the year 1776. Following it were
three Baptist Churches in the year 1778, one in Augusta and two in
Savannah, Ga.; the Episcopal Church, St. Thomas, in Philadelphia,
in 1791; Bethel Church, Philadelphia, in 1794; Zion Methodist Church,
New York city, in 1796; Joy Street Baptist Church, Boston, in 1807;
Abyssinian Baptist Church, New York, in 1808; First Baptist, St.
Louis, 1830.
* Bassett: State, pp. 51-52.
f Garner: Reconstruction, p. 115.
THE NEGRO CHURCH
31
So far as the establishment is concerned of those colored Methodist
Churches which evolved the A. M. E. and the A. M. E. Zion denomi¬
nations, persecution by the whites was the moving cause. They were
compelled to protect themselves against the yoke sought to be imposed
on them, by worshipping among themselves. The one movement in
Philadelphia, the other in New York, moved in parallel, often in
rival lines. New York and Philadelphia were soon in free states and
their methods were those of free men, in name at least, while the
establishment of colored Methodist Churches in the South, as in
Maryland, under the direction of the whites, illustrated one of the
instances of special missionary effort.
The colored Baptist Church in the South came mostly into existence
mainly through the third inciting cause mentioned.
The Presbyterian Church, as found among the colored people, came
about through the operation of two causes: the desire of the colored
people to be by themselves and that of the whites to strengthen their
denomination among this class.
The first colored Episcopal Churches, both in New York and Phila¬
delphia, resulted directly from causes similar to those which gave rise to
the Methodist Churches in the same localities.
Of the men mainly instrumental by reason of their position as pio¬
neers in organizing these first churches in the different colored denom¬
inations a word is needed.
First in order came Richard Allen. He was one of the leaders in
the free African Society. From the members of this body came the
leaders, almost the organization itself, both of the Bethel Methodist
and the St. Thomas Episcopal Churches in the city of Philadelphia.
Richard Allen was born February 12, 1760, old style, a slave in Phila¬
delphia. At an early age he gave evidence of a high order of talent
for leadership. He was converted while quite a lad and licensed to
preach in 1782. In 1797 he was ordained a deacon by Bishop Francis
Asbury, who had been entrusted by John Wesley with the superin¬
tendence of the work in America. April 11, 1816, at the general con¬
ference of the African Methodist Churches, held in the city of Phila¬
delphia, he was elected their first bishop. Under his administration
the work was vigorously prosecuted in all directions. He died in 1831,
universally lamented.
He possessed talents as an organizer of the highest order. He was
a born leader and an almost infallible judge of human nature. He was
actively identified with every forward movement among the colored
people, irrespective of denomination, and died, leaving a greater influ¬
ence upon the colored people of the North than any other man of his
times. He was one of the promoters, as well as one of the chief actors,
in the first national convention of colored men in the United States
ever held, which was in Philadelphia in the year 1830.
32
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
Absalom Jones, who certainly comes next in point of time, was born a
slave in Sussex, Del., November 6, 1746. At the age of sixteen he was
taken to Philadelphia. He was married in 1770, purchased his wife, and
afterward succeeded in obtaining his own liberty. Like his co-laborer,
Richard Allen, with whom he was associated in the African Society,
he was quite thrifty and became the owner of several pieces of real
estate. His education was quite limited, so much so that a dispensa¬
tion was necessary to admit of his ordination, to which a condition
was annexed that this church (St. Thomas) should not have the
power of sharing in the government of the Episcopal Church in the
diocese of Pennsylvania. Rev. Wm. Douglass, subsequently a rector
of this church, in his "Annals of St. Thomas Episcopal Church," says
of Absalom Jones, that he was impressive in his style of preaching,
though his forte was not in the pulpit. It was his mild and easy man¬
ners, his habits as a pastor, his public spirit, that strengthened him in
public estimation. He says that "he was of medium height, dark
complexion, with stout frame, bland and open countenance, yet indi¬
cative of firmness. Whenever he appeared in public he donned the
costume of the profession, black dress coat, breeches and vest of the
same color, with top-boots or shoes with buckles and black stockings."
After a ministry of twenty-two years, he died February 13, 1818, aged
71 years.
Rev. John Gloucester, the first colored minister to act as pastor of the
first colored Presbyterian Church, was a man thoroughly consecrated to
his cause. He possessed a fair English education, which he received
from private sources. He was a pioneer of Presbyterian ministers;
four of his own sons, Jeremiah, John, Stephen, and James, became
Presbyterian ministers, and from the Sunday-school of his church three
other well known ministers went forth—Rev. Amos to Africa, Rev. H.
M. Wilson to New York, and Rev. Jonathan C. Gibbs, who died in
Florida after having been Secretary of State and State Superintendent
of Schools.
Mr. Gloucester, like Allen and Jones, was born a slave, in Kentucky,
about the year 1776. Such was his intelligence that he was purchased
by Rev. Gideon Blackburn, one of the leaders of the Presbyterian de¬
nomination in Kentucky. The records show that when Rev. Glouces¬
ter was ordained, Dr. Blackburn was the moderator of the presbytery.
On the appointment of Rev. Gloucester to the first African Presbyterian
church his master liberated him. One of the attractions of Rev.
Gloucester was his rich musical voice that was pronounced as some¬
thing phenomenal. In prayer his power was manifest.
His character was so simple and Christian that he won many friends
of both races. He was not only preacher, but pastor and adviser of his
people in their temporal matters. He traveled extensively North and
South and in nearly every city, raising the money with which he lib-
THE NEGRO CHURCH
33
erated his wife and children. He even crossed the ocean, where he
met with great success.
After fifteen years of service in the church, during which time it rap¬
idly increased in members, from 22 to 300, he died May 2, 1822, a victim
of consumption, in the forty-sixth year of his age.
Now it is not to be inferred that these were the only men deserving
of special notice as pioneers. By no means. We allude to them because
of their relation to the historical churches. There were Harry Hosier,
who travelled with Bishop Asbury, and who often filled appointments
for him; Rev. Daniel Coker of Baltimore, and Rev. Peter Spencer of
Delaware, who organized the Protestant branch of colored Methodism.
Circumstances were somewhat similar in other parts of the country.
With the increase of the colored population and its distribution to
other centers, other religious societies sprang up, so that wherever you
find any number of these people in the earlier decades of the republic
you find a church, often churches, out of all proportion to the popula¬
tion.
In the West, it may be stated, that colored churches were not the re¬
sult of secessions or irregular wholesale withdrawals from the white
churches as in the East. They sprang up directly in the path of the
westward migration of colored people from the South and the East.
In the South the whites were in complete and absolute control, in
church as in state. Colored people attended and held membership in
the same church as the whites, though they did not possess the same
rights or privileges. They either had special services at stated times
or they sat in the galleries. There may have been deep protests against
such un-Christian treatment, but we may rest assured that these were
by no means loud, however deep. It was when this membership in¬
creased to very large numbers that separate churches for colored
people, rather than of the colored people, were established. In the
South, as in the North, this membership was principally in the Bap¬
tist and Methodist churches, and to these denominations did these
separate colored churches belong, with exceptions so rare that they
may be named as to cities or districts where it was otherwise.
Outside of the few ministers of the A. M. E. and the A. M. E. Zion
churches in the border states, it is doubtful if there were a score of col¬
ored pastors in full control of colored churches in the South before the
war. Nevertheless, there were a few colored ministers so very con¬
spicuous by their work as pioneers as to deserve special notice here. It
is possible to refer briefly only to a few.
Taking them in the order of time there was the Rev. George Lisle, a
native of Virginia, the slave or body servant of a British officer.
Throughout that struggle he preached in different parts of the country.
As one of the results of his labors we find one of the very first colored
churches of any denomination in the country organized, especially that
34
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
in 1788 at Savannah, Ga., by Rev. Andrew Bryan, whom Lisle had bap¬
tized. Compelled to leave the United States at the close of the war, Lisle
went to Jamaica, where he organized a church with four members in
1783. By 1790 he had baptized more than 400 persons on that island.
In 1793 he built there the very first non-Episcopal religious chapel,
to which there were belonging, in 1841, 3,700 members. That white
Baptist missionaries subsequently went to the West Indies is to be
attributed to Rev. Lisle's work, for they were brought there as a direct
result of his correspondence with ecclesiastical authorities in Great
Britain.
Next we have Lott Carey, also a native of Virginia, born a slave in
Charles City county, about 1780. His father was a Baptist. In 1804
Lott removed to Richmond, where he worked in a tobacco factory and
from all accounts was very profligate and wicked. In 1807, being con¬
verted, he joined the First Baptist Church, learned to read, made
rapid advancement as a scholar, and was shortly afterwards licensed to
preach.
After purchasing his family, in 1813, he organized, in 1815, the Afri¬
can Missionary Society, the first missionary society in the country,
and within five years raised $700 for African missions.
That Lott Carey was evidently a man of superior intellect and force
of character is to be evidenced from the fact that his reading took a
wide range—from political economy, in Adam Smith's Wealth of Na¬
tions, to the voyage of Captain Cook. That he was a worker as well as
a preacher is true, for when he decided to go to Africa his employ¬
ers offered to raise his salary from $800 to $1,000 a year. Remem¬
ber, that this was over eighty years ago. Carey was not seduced by
such a flattering offer, for he was determined. His last sermon in
the old First Church in Richmond must have been exceedingly pow¬
erful, for it was compared by an eye-witness, a resident of another
state, to the burning, eloquent appeals of George Whitefield. Fancy
him as he stands there in that historic building ringing the changes
on the word "freely," depicting the willingness with which he was
ready to give up his life for service in Africa.
He, as you may already know, was the leader of the pioneer colony
to Liberia, where he arrived even before the agent of the Colonization
Society. In his new home his abilities were recognized, for he was
made vice governor and became governor, in fact, while Governor
Ashmun was absent from the colony in this country. Carey did not
allow his position to betray the cause of his people, for he did not
hesitate to expose the duplicity of the Colonization Society and even
to defy their authority, it would seem, in the interests of the people.
While casting cartridges to defend the colonists against the natives
in 1828, the accidental upsetting of a candle caused an explosion that
resulted in his death.
THE NEGRO CHURCH
35
Carey is described as a typical Negro, six feet in height, of massive
and erect frame, with the sinews of a Titan. He had a square face,
keen eyes, and a grave countenance. His movements were measured;
in short, he had all the bearings and dignity of a prince of the blood.
12. Some Other Ante=BelIum Preachers. Six noted Negro preachers
have been mentioned: Nat Turner, the revolutionist; Richard Allen, the
founder of the African Methodists; Absalom Jones, the first Negro
Episcopal rector; Harry Hosier, the companion of Bishop Asbury;
George Lisle, the West Indian missionary, and Lott Carey, the African
missionary. To these may be added the names of Lemuel Haynes,
John Chavis, Henry Evans, James Varick, Jack of Virginia, Ralph
Freeman, and Lunsiord Lane, forming thirteen remarkable characters.
"Lemuel Haynes was born in Hartford, Conn., July 18, 1753. His
father was an African, his mother a white woman. He received the
honorary degree of A. M. from Middlebury College in 1804. After
completing a theological course he preached in various places and
settled in West Rutland, Vt., in 1788, where he remained for thirty
years, and became one of the most popular preachers in the state. He
was characterized by subtle intellect, keen wit, and eager thirst for
knowledge. His noted sermon from Genesis 3:4 was published and
passed through nine or ten editions. His controversy with Hosea
Ballou became of world-wide interest. The life of Lemuel Haynes
was written by James E. Cooley, New York, 1848."* John Chavis was
a full-blooded Negro, born in Granville county, N. C., near Oxford, in
1763. He was born free and was sent to Princeton, and studied pri¬
vately under Dr. Witherspoon, where he did well. He went to Vir¬
ginia to preach to Negroes. In 1802, in the county court, his freedom
and character were certified to and it was declared that he had passed
"through a regular course of academic studies" at what is now Wash¬
ington and Lee University. In 1805 he returned to North Carolina,
where he in 1809 was made a licentate in the Presbyterian Church and
preached. His English was remarkably pure, his manner impressive,
his explanations clear and concise. For a long time he taught school
and had the best whites as pupils—a United States senator, the sons
of a chief justice of North Carolina, a governor of the state and many
others. Some of his pupils boarded in his family, and his school
was regarded as the best in the State. "All accounts agree that
John Chavis was a gentleman," and he was received socially among
the best whites and asked to table. In 1830 he was stopped from
preaching by the law. Afterward he taught a school for free Negroes
in Raleigh. +
* Report U. S. Bureau of Edacation, 1900-1, p. 857.
t Bassett, State, North Carolina, pp. 73-6. Cf. also Ballagh : Slavery in Virginia.
36
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
Henry Evans was a full-blooded Virginia free Negro, and was the
pioneer of Methodism in Fayetteville, N. C. He found the Negroes
there, about 1800, without religious instruction. He began preaching
and the town council ordered him away; he continued and whites
came to hear him. Finally the white auditors outnumbered the black,
and sheds were erected for Negroes at the side of the church. The
gathering became a regular Methodist Church, with a white and Negro
membership, but Evans continued to preach. He exhibited L'rare self-
control before the most wretched of castes! Henry Evans did much
good, but he would have done more good had his spirit been untram¬
melled by this sense of inferiority."*
His dying words uttered us he stood, aged and bent beside his pul¬
pit, are of singular pathos:
"I have come to say my last word to you. It is this: None but Christ. Three
times I have had my life in jeopardy for preaching the gospel to you. Three
time I have broken ice on the edge of the water and swam across the Cape Fear
to preach the gospel to you; and, if in my last hour I could trust to that, or any¬
thing but Christ crucified, for my salvation, all should be lost and my soul per¬
ish forever." t
Early in the nineteenth century Ralph Freeman was a slave in
Anson county, N. C. He was a full-blooded Negro, and was ordained
and became an able Baptist preacher. He baptized and administered
communion, and was greatly respected. When the Baptists split on
the question of missions he sided with the anti-mission side. Finally
the law forbade him to preach.i
Lunsford Lane was a Negro who bought his freedom in Raleigh, N.
C., by the manufacture of smoking tobacco. He later became a min¬
ister and was intelligent, and had the confidence of many of the best
peopled
James Yarick was a free Negro of New York, and is memorable as
the first bishop of the Zion Methodists.
The story of Jack of Virginia is best told in the words of a Southern
writer:
"Probably the most interesting case in the whole South is that of an African
preacher of Nottoway county, popularly known as 'Uncle Jack,' whose services
to white and black were so valuable that a distinguished minister of the South¬
ern Presbyterian Church felt called upon to memorialize his work in a biography.
"Kidnapped from his idolatrous parents in Africa, he was brought over in one
of the last cargoes of slaves admitted to Virginia and sold to a remote and ob¬
scure planter in Nottoway county, a region at that time in the backwoods and
destitute particularly as to religious life and instruction. He was converted under
the occasional preaching of Rev. Dr. John Blair Smith, president of Hampden-
Sidney College, and of Dr. Wm. Hill and Dr. Archibald Alexander of Princeton,
then young theologues, and by hearing the scriptures read. Taught by his mas-
* Bassett, State, North Carolina, pp. 58-9. t Ibid., loc. clt.
J Ibid., p. 64. § Ibid., p. 50. Cf. p. 29.
THE NEGRO CHURCH
37
ter's children to read, he became so full of the spirit and knowledge of the Bible
that he was recognized among the whites as a powerful expounder of Christian
doctrine, was licensed to preach by the Baptist Church, and preached from plan¬
tation to plantation within a radius of thirty miles, as he was invited by over¬
seers or masters. His freedom was purchased by a subscription of whites, and he
was given a home and a tract of land for his support. He organized a large and
orderly Negro church, and exercised such a wonderful controlling influence over
the private morals of his flock that masters, instead of punishing their slaves,
often referred them to the discipline of their pastor, which they dreaded far
more.
"He stopped a heresy among the Negro Christians of Southern Virginia, de¬
feating in open argument a famous fanatical Negro preacher named Campbell,
who advocated noise and " the spirit" against the Bible, winning over Campbell's
adherents in a body. For over forty years, and until he was nearly a hundred
years of age, he labored successfully in public and private among black and
whites, voluntarily giving up his preaching in obedience to the law of 1832, the
result of 'Old Nat's war.'
"The most refined and aristocratic people paid tribute to him, and he was in¬
strumental in the conversion of many whites. Says his biographer, Rev. Dr. Wm,
S. White: ' He was invited into their houses, sat with their families, took part
in their social worship, sometimes leading the prayer at the family altar. Many
of the most intelligent people attended upon his ministry and listened to his ser¬
mons with great delight. Indeed, previous to the year 1825, he was considered by
the best judges to be the best preacher in that county. His opinions were re¬
spected, his advice followed, and. yet he never betrayed the least symptoms of ar¬
rogance or self-conceit. His dwelling was a rude log cabin, his apparel of the
plainest and coarsest materials.' This was because he wished to be fully identified
with his class. He refused gifts of better clothing, saying, 'These clothes are a
great deal better than are generally worn by people of my color, and besides if I
wear them I find I shall be obliged to think about them even at meeting.' " *
13. The Negro Church in 1890. (From the Eleventh United States
Census). There were in the United States in 1890, 28,462 Negro
churches. Outside of these there were numbers of Negroes who are
members of white churches, but they are not distinguished from
others:
* Ballagh, pp. 110-112. Cf. White: The African Preacher.
38
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
SUMMARY OP COLORED ORGANIZATIONS
DENOMINATIONS.
Organizations.
Church Edifices.
Approximate
Seating
Capacity.
Halls, etc.
Seatiing
Capacity.
Value of Church
Property.
Communicants
or Members.
Total
23,462
23,770
6,800,035
1,358
114,644
$26,626,448
2,673,977
Denominations
18,835
4,627
19,631
4,139
5,791,384
1,008,651
940
78,719
35,925
20,389,714
2,303,151
Organizations in other denomina¬
tions
418
6,236,734
370,826
DENOMINATIONS.
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Regular Baptists
Union American Methodist Epis¬
copal
African Methodist Episcopal
African Union Methodist Protest¬
ant
African Methodist Episcopal Zion.
Congregational Methodist
Colored Methodist Episcopal
Zion Union Apostolic
Evangelist Missionary
Cumberland Presbyterian
Regular Baptists (North)
Regular Baptists (South)
Freewill Baptists
Primitive Baptists
Old Two-Seed in the Spirit Predes-
tinarian Baptists
Roman Catholic
Christians (Christian Connection).
Congregationalists
Disciples of Christ
Lutheran Synodical Conference...
Lutheran United Synod in the
South
Methodist Episcopal
Methodist Protestant
Independent 'Methodists
Presbyterian (Northern)
Presbyterian (Southern)
Reformed Presbyterian (Synod)...
Protestant Episcopal
Reformed Episcopal
12,533
42
2,481
40
1,701
1,759
32
11
224
406
7
5
31
63
85
277
5
5
2,984
54
2
233
11,987
35
4,124
27
1,587
1,653
27
3
183
324
5
3
291
27
54
69
183
5
3
2,800
50
2
200
3,440,970
11,500
1,160,838
7,161
565,577
585
541,464
10,100
1,050
52,139
92,660
1,900
800
1,025
8,370
16,495
19,360
41,590
1,050
550
635,252
11,545
725
56,280
6,190
300
11,885
5,975
663
7
31
13
114
2
165
4
21
45,570
250
2,200
15,520
450
6,526
100
2,650
3,570
7,245
80
200
1,700
825
60
800
1,925
5,850
250
12,925
200
3,100
565
100
100
$ 9,038,549
187,600
6,468,280
54,440
2,714,128
525
1,713,366
15,000
2,000
195,826
1,087,518
3,875
13,300
135,427
237,400
23,500
246,125
176,795
13,400
1,750
3,630,093
35,445
4,675
391,650
22,200
1,500
192,750
18,401
2,279
452,725
3,415
349,788
319
129,383
2,346
951
12,956
35,221
651
271
18,162
14,517
4,989
6,908
18,578
211
94
246,249
3,183
222
14,961
1,568
76
2,977
1,723
THE NEGRO CHURCH
Organizations by States
39
STATES.
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og
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The United States.
Alabama..
Arizona
Arkansas..
California.
Colorado..
Connecticut... i
Delaware
District of Columbia.
Florida
Georgia
Illinois
Indiana
Indian Territory..
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts.
Michigan...
Minnesota..
Mississippi .
Missouri
Montana...
Nebraska
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania.
Rhode Island.
South Carolina.
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Virginia
Washington...
West "Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
23,462
2,395
2
1,375
29
10
23
82
77
657
2,878
192
121
27
45
149
816
1,340
1
463
34
549
3
4
136
3
110
2,191
250
4
3
228
16
1,731
1,328
2,323
27
23,770
6,800,035
3,425
2
1,432
23
20
91
65
729
3,134
207
126
31
43
136
734
1,343
473
47
9
2,354
515
2
4
140
3
94
2,205
214
2
234
11
1,959
1,350
2,126
717,989
450
378,056
5,879
2,900
6,000
21,310
38,325
172,412
953,873
53,744
39,725
4,530
10,795
32,699
212,795
323,311
122,379
12,050
12,520
3,700
614,681
133,809
350
1,350
40,076
550
39,340
66,515
300
77,865
4,800
599,544
399,568
551,965
449,972
400
24,045
550
825
1,358
114,644
$ 26,626,448
113
"94
3
7
14
47
102
10
8,925
6,835
2,000
350
570
1,400
3,8""
7,035
2,075
825
250
1,675
2,525
150
1,840
1,750
7,120
4,700
100
1,448
2,113
4,845
1,750
270
71
244
1
52
3,025
1,218
5,6
4,740
19,810
50
4,139
3,415
200
200
1,880,656
8,000
962,149
65,300
73,800
116,950
187,825
1,182,650
506,970
2,171,267
566,835
347,950
5,593
121,990
270,145
1,143,380
1,228,617
1,118,040
285,700
107,035
62,500
1,434,102
919,427
14,000
62,000
405,490
3,300
1,023,750
1,592,596
576,425
20,660
1,156,408
148,100
1,770,504
1,690,946
1,455,507
' 1,735,873
4,000
154,768
40,400
5,500
40
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
We may now consider these organizations by denominations:
Regular Baptists (Colored)
The colored Baptists of the South constitute the most numerous
body of Regular Baptists. Not all colored Baptists are embraced in
this division; only those who have separate churches, associations, and
state conventions. There are many colored Baptists in Northern
States, who are mostly counted as members of churches, belonging to
white associations. None of them are included in the following tables.
The first state convention of colored Baptists was organized in North
Carolina in 1866, the second in Alabama, and the third in Virginia in
1867, the fourth in Arkansas in 1868, and the fifth in Kentucky in 1869.
There are colored conventions in fifteen states and the District of Co¬
lumbia.
In addition to these organizations the colored Baptists of the United
States have others more general in character: The American National
Convention, the purpose of which is "to consider the moral, intellec¬
tual, and religious growth of the denomination,to deliberate upon
questions of general concern, and to devise methods to bring the
churches and members of the race closer together; the Consolidated
American Missionary Convention, the General Association of the Wes¬
tern States and Territories, the Foreign Mission Convention of the
United States, and the New England Missionary Convention. All ex¬
cept one are missionary in their purpose.
The Regular Baptists (colored) are represented in fifteen states, all
in the South, or on the border, and the District of Columbia. In Vir¬
ginia and Georgia they are very numerous, having in the latter
200,516, and in the former 199,871 communicants. In Alabama they have
142,437, in North Carolina 134,445, in Mississippi 136,647, in South Caro¬
lina 125,572, and in Texas 111,138 members. The aggregate is 1,348,989
members, who are embraced in 12,533 organizations, with 11,987
church edifices, and church property valued at $9,038,549. There are
414 associations, of which 66 are in Alabama, 63 in Georgia, 49 in Mis¬
sissippi, and 39 in North Carolina.
THE NEGRO CHURCH
Regular Baptists (Colored)
SUMMARY BY STATES AND TERRITORIES
41
States and Territories.
si I
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ft® «
ft o
<!
St
"S §
® S1
m «
2^
2®
® S
03
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The United States
Alabama
Arkansas
District of Columbia.
Florida
Georgia
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maryland
Mississippi
Missouri
North. Carolina
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
Virginia
West Virginia
12,533
1,374
923
43
329
1,818
378
1,385
234
1,173
860
569
1,464
1,001
79
11,8
3,440,970
1,341
870
33
295
1,1
359
861
34
1,333
212
1,164
836
534
1,288
977
50
376,839
243,395
18,600
61,588
544,540
109,030
191,041
12,389
371,115
60,015
362,946
275,529
159,140
282,590
358,032
14,175
663
26
14
37
41
180
32
29
45,570
1 9,038,549
3,365
3,310
1,150
2,270
3,460
2,025
1,480
3,695
1,225
750
3,685
1,860
12,000
1,955
3,340
795,384
585,947
383,150
137,578
1,045,310
406,949
609,890
150,475
682,541
400,518
705,512
699,961
519,923
664,286
1,192,035
50,090
African Methodist Episcopal
This branch of American Methodism was organized in Baltimore
in 1816 by a number of colored members of the Methodist Episcopal
Church. They withdrew from the parent body in order that they
might have larger privileges and more freedom of action among them¬
selves than they believed they could secure in continued association
with their white brethren. The Rev. Richard Allen was elected the
first bishop of the new church by the same convention that organized
it. In the year 1787 Mr. Allen had been made the leader of a class of
forty persons of his own color. A few years later he purchased a lot at
the corner of Sixth and Lombard streets, Philadelphia, where the first
church erected in this country for colored Methodists was occupied in
1794. This site is now covered by an edifice, dedicated in 1890, valued
at $50,000.
42
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
In doctrine, government, and usage, the church does not essentially
differ from the body from which it sprang. It has an itinerant and a
local or non-itinerant ministry, and its territory is divided into annual
conferences. It has a general conference, meeting once every four
years; bishops or itinerant general superintendents, elected for life,
who visit the annual conferences in the episcopal districts to which
they are assigned, and presiding elders, who exercise sub-episcopal
oversight in the districts into which the annual conferences are divided;
and it has the probationary system for new members, with exhorters,
class leaders, stewards, stewardesses, etc.
The church in its first half century grew slowly, chiefly in the North¬
ern States, until the close of the war. At the end of the first decade of
its existence it had two conferences and about 8,000 members. In 1856
it had seven conferences and about 20,000 members; in 1866, ten con¬
ferences and 75,000 members. Bishop B. W. Arnett, the ardent and
industrious statistician of the church, in noting a decrease of 343 mem¬
bers in the decade ending in 1836, in the Baltimore conference, explains
that it was due to the numerous sales of members as slaves. Accord¬
ing to elaborate figures furnished by him the increase in the value of
church property owned by the denomination was not less than $400,-
000 in the decade closing in 1866, or nearly fifty per cent. In the suc¬
ceeding ten years the increase was from $825,000 to $3,064,000, not in¬
cluding parsonages, which seem to have been embraced in the total for
1866. According to the returns for 1890, given herewith, the valuation
is $6,468,280, indicating an increase of $3,404,280 in the last fourteen
years, or 111.11 per cent.
The church is widely distributed, having congregations in forty-one
states and territories. The states in which it is not represented are the
two Dakotas, Idaho, Maine, Nevada, New Hampshire, and Vermont,
the territories being Alaska, Oklahoma, and Arizona. Its members are
most numerous in South Carolina, where there are 88,172. Georgia
comes second, with 73,248; Alabama third, with 30,781; Arkansas fourth,
with 27,956; Mississippi fifth, with 25,439. Tennessee has 23,718, Texas
23,392, and Florida 22,463. In no other state does the number reach
17,000. The eight Southern States above given report 315,169 members,
or considerably more than two-thirds of the entire membership of the
church. It will be observed that of the 2,481 organizations only thirty-
one worship in halls, school-houses, etc. All the rest, 2,450, own the
edifices in which their meetings are held.
THE NEGRO CHURCH
African Methodist Episcopal
SUMMARY BY STATES AND TERRITORIES
43
States and Tbeei-
tobies.
The United States
Alabama
Arkansas
California...
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida
Georgia
Illinois
Indiana
Indian Territory
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri ...
Montana ..
Nebraska.
New Jersey. ...
New Mexico —
vNew York
North Carolina
Ohio
Oregon
Pennsylvania .
Rhode Island..
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Virginia..
Washington..
West Virginia.
Wisconsin
Wyoming
2,481
145
173
13
16
6
152
334
74
122
87
3
4
111
1
87
4
229
144
138
1
4,124
274
333
15
6
4
33
7
269
654
105
51
22
29
58
106
115
93
11
26
6
255
126
2
4
3
29
147
113
112
3
491
236
208
102
a as
P. °
1,160,838
77,600
77,585
2,929
2,300
1,275
7,025
5,500
63,445
184,592
23,799
16,450
1,680
7,115
14
39^100
36,150
29,881
5,950
7,155
2,350
59,833
27,870
350
1,350
19,510
550
12,900
42,350
40,965
39,900
2,050
125,945
61,:
82,850
' 34,375
400
1,050
400
200
2,200
200
250
75
50
100
300
50
600
50
200
o
u
^ ft
$ 6,468,280
$ 242,765
233,425
24,300
63,500
16,000
39,500
117,500
168,473
601,287
310,985
2,618
87,365
153,530
181,201
193,115
266,370
119,200
72,185
30,000
226,242
281,289
14,000
62 000
159,850
3,300
231,500
112,9""
318,250
605,000
95,000
356,362
461,305
233,340
' 187,245
4,000
11,000
40,000
4,000
44
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
African Union Methodist Protestant
This body, which has a few congregations divided among eight states,
came into existence at about the same time the African Methodist
Episcopal Church was organized (1816), differing from the latter
chiefly in objection to the itinerancy, to a paid ministry, and to the
episcopacy.
SUMMARY BY STATES
STATES.
Organizations.
Church Edifices.
Approximate
Seating
Capacity.
Halls, etc.
Seating
Capacity.
1
Value of Church
Property.
Communicants
| or Members.
The United States
Delaware
40
27
7,161
13
1,883
$ 54,440
3,415
6
1
8
8
8
8
1
5
4
1,250
2
1
1
2
3
270
150
240
108
568
$ 9,600
368
45
1,546
281
60
852
49
214
Maryland
New Jersey
7
6
2,255
836
5,600
5,940
8
2,140
32,100
1
3
148
399
Virginia
2
680
1,200
Congregational Methodist (Colored)
Dissatisfaction with certain features of the system of polity led a
number of ministers and members of the Methodist Episcopal Church,
South, to withdraw and organize a body in which laymen should have
an equal voice in church government, and local preachers should
become pastors.
This body consists of congregations of colored members organized
into conferences by presidents of the Congregational Methodist
Church, to which it corresponds in all particulars of doctrine, polity,
usage. The only difference between the churches of the two bodies
is, that they are composed of white and colored persons, respectively.
SUMMARY BY STATES
STATES.
| Organizations.
i
Church Edifices.
Approximate
Seating
Capacity.
©
o
oT
"3
M
Seating
Capacity.
Value of Church
Property.
Communicants
or Members.
9
5
585
4
450
$ 525
319
7
5
585
250
200
525
215
104
2
2
THE NEGRO CHURCH
45
African Methodist Episcopal Zion
A congregation of colored people, organized in New York city, in
1796, was the nucleus of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church.
This congregation originated in a desire of colored members of the
Methodist Episcopal Church to hold separate meetings in which they
"might have an opportunity to exercise their spiritual gifts among
themselves, and thereby be more useful to one another." They built a
church, which was dedicated in 1800, the full name of the denomina¬
tion subsequently organized being given to it.
The church entered into an agreement in 1801 by which it was to
receive certain pastoral supervision from the Methodist Episcopal
Church. It had preachers of its own, who supplied its pulpit in part.
In 1820 this arrangement terminated, and in the same year a union of
colored churches in New York, New Haven, Long Island, and Philadel¬
phia was formed, and rules of government adopted. Thus was the
African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church formally organized.
The first annual conference was held in 1821. It was attended by
nineteen preachers, representing six churches and 1,426 members.
Next year James Varick was chosen superintendent of the denomina¬
tion, which was extended over the states of the North chiefly, until the
close of the civil war, when it entered the South to organize many
churches.
•In its polity lay representation has long been a prominent feature.
Laymen are in its annual conferences as well as in its general confer¬
ence, and there is no bar to the ordination of women. Until 1880 its
superintendents or bishops were elected for a term of four years. In
that year the term of the office was made for life or during good beha¬
vior. Its system is almost identical with that of the Methodist Epis¬
copal Church, except the presence of laymen in the annual conference,
the election of presiding elders on the nomination of the presiding
bishop, instead of their appointment by the bishop alone, and other
small divergences. Its general conference meets quadrennially. Its
territory is divided into seven episcopal districts, to each of which a
bishop is assigned by the general conference.
The church is represented in twenty-eight states and the District of
Columbia. It is strongest in North Carolina, where it has 111,949 com¬
municants. Alabama comes next, with 79,231 communicants; South
Carolina third, with 45,880, and Florida fourth, with 14,791. There are
in all 1,704 organizations, 1,587 church edifices, church property valued
at $2,714,128, and 349,788 communicants.
46
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
African Methodist Episcopal Zion
SUMMARY BY STATES AND TERRITORIES
States and Tbbeitoeibs.
The United States.
Alabama
Arkansas
California...
Connecticut.
Delaware—
District of Columbia.
Florida
Georgia
Illinois
Indiana
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Mississippi
Missouri
New Jersey
New York
North Carolina.
Ohio
Oregon
Pennsylvania...
Rhode Island...
South Carolina.
Tennessee.
Texas
Virginia...
Wisconsin
1,704 1,587
25
47
541
2
62
3
130
a>
1*5
P.0Q ®
P. ©
565,577
315
23
6
10
1
50
6
24
47
527
5
2
55
1
128
52
118,!
8,800
2,600
2,900
115
3,400
23,589
19,775
2,000
2,400
13,075
5,200
2,375
2,050
650
22,350
3,900
7,400
17,000
171,430
1,160
300
17,625
400
66,770
21,093
11,500
16,770
150
114
17
6
7
2
1
bD>?
® &
Wg
15,520
$2,714,128
14
2,500
750
1,950
150
200
200
250
350
400
75
500
2,375
"i50
1,300
275
870
250
250
1,775
950
THE NEGRO CHURCH 47
Colored Methodist Episcopal
The Colored Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in 1870 of
colored members and ministers of the Methodist Episcopal Church,
South.
Before the late civil war the Methodist Episcopal Church, South,
did a large evangelistic work among the Negroes. Bishop McTyeire,
of that body, in his "History of Methodism," says:
"As a general rule Negro slaves received the gospel by Methodism
from the same preachers and in the same churches with their masters,
the galleries or a portion of the body of the house being assigned to
them. If a separate building was provided, the Negro congregation
was an appendage to the white, the pastor usually preaching once on
Sunday for them, holding separate official meetings with their leaders,
exhorters, and preachers, and administering discipline, and making
return of members for the annual minutes." For the Negroes on plan¬
tations, who were not privileged to attend organized churches, special
missions were begun as early as 1829. In 1845, the year which marks
the beginning of the separate existence of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, South, there were in the Southern conferences of Methodism,
according to Bishop McTyeire, 124,000 members of the slave popula¬
tion, and in 1860 about 207,000.
In 1866, after the opening of the South to Northern churches had
given the Negro members opportunity to join the African Methodist
Episcopal, the African Methodist Episcopal Zion, and other Methodist
bodies, it was found that of the 207,742 colored members which the church,
South, had in 1860 only 78,742 remained. The general conference of
1866 authorized these colored members, with their preachers, to be
organized into separate congregations and annual conferences, and the
general conference of 1870 appointed two bishops to organize the col¬
ored conferences into a separate and independent church. This was
done in December, 1870, the new body taking the name "Colored
Methodist Episcopal Church." Its rules limited the privilege of mem¬
bership to Negroes. The Colored Methodist Episcopal Church has
the same articles of religion, the same form of government, and the
same discipline as its parent body. Its bishops are elected for life.
One of them, Bishop L. H. Holsey, says that for some years the body
encountered strong opposition from colored people because of its rela¬
tion to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, but that this prejudice
has now almost entirely disappeared.
48
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
Colored Methodist Episcopal
SUMMARY BY STATES AND TERRITORIES
States and Territories.
The United States.,
Alabama
Arkansas
Delaware
District of Columbia.
Florida
Georgia
Illinois
Indian Territory.
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana...
Maryland...
Mississippi..
Missouri
New Jersey.
North Carolina.
Pennsylvania...
South Carolina.
Tennessee
Texas
Virginia
1,759
222
116
138
293
35
222
18
1,653
I
1*1
° 5 ft
ftOQ,S
ft °
541,464
220
104
3
4
26
256
2
131
2
292
31
3
216
16
69,200
31,059
430
3.500
7,000
100,495
800
2,850
3,625
16,000
43,220
205
72,150
5,554
625
7,725
310
15,045
67,900
88,330
4,850
12
b£)>?
6,526
1,200
100
100
1,236
1,075
1,225
100
100
140
1,050
100
<x> u
$1,713,366
264,625
60,277
1,125
123,800
14,709
167,145
1,250
2,975
14,400
140,330
134,135
475
230,490
22,140
7,500
23,120
1,400
65,325
258,120
147,075
33,150
30
a a
3 S
at
129,383
18,940
5,888
187
939
1,461
22,840
56
291
713
8,075
44
0,107
2,786
247
3,468
18,968
14,895
1,351
Cumberland Presbyterian (Colored)
This body was organized in May, 1869, at Murfreesboro, Tenn., under
the direction of the General Assembly of the Cumberland Presbyte¬
rian Church. It was constituted of colored ministers and members
who had been connected with that church. Its first synod, the Ten¬
nessee, was organized in 1871, and its general assembly in 1874. It has
the same doctrinal symbol as the parent body and the same system of
government and discipline, differing only in race. It has twenty-three
presbyteries, and is represented in nine states and one territory. It has
224 organizations, 183 church edifices, 12,956 communicants, and church
property valued at $195,826.
THE NEGRO CHURCH
Cumberland Presbyterian (Colored)
SUMMARY BY STATES AND TERRITORIES
49
States and Territories.
The United States
Alabama
Arkansas
Illinois
Kansas
Kentucky
Mississippi
Missouri
Oklahoma
Tennessee
Texas
224
183
38
1-h o
C3
o « a
® A
ftOQn
p. u
<
52,139
9,574
1,300
650
7,730
950
24,125
6,160
•5*3
© i?
2 >>
-G 4-)
Ofe
3,570
475
300
75
150
$195,826
! 26,200
"5,375
15,000
31,645
50
270
825
1,425
1,825
17,900
' 88,660
9,221
14. Local Studies, 1902-3. To realize the present condition of
churches and the changes in the last thirteen years, the Conference of
1903 arranged for a number of local studies of churches: one in a
black belt county of Georgia, another in a county of southern Ohio, a
third in the city of Chicago and the state of Illinois, a fourth in
Virginia, and a fifth in Atlanta, Ga. To these studies were added the
results of previous investigations in DeLand, Fla., Farmville, Va., and
Philadelphia, Pa. The study in Thomas county, Ga., was made by a
colored Congregational minister, the Rev. W. H. Holloway, a graduate
of Talladega College. The study in Greene county, Ohio, was made by
the Rev. R. R. Wright, Jr., who later made a more comprehensive
study for the-United States Bureau of Labor. Mr. Monroe N. Work, of
the University of Chicago, studied Illinois, and the investigations in
Atlanta were made by senior students in Atlanta University. Dr.
Annie M. MacLean kindly furnished the study of Deland, Fla. The
students of Virginia Union University, under the direction of Professor
B. F. Williams, made the investigations in Virginia.
To realize just the change in moral conditions it is instructive to
preface these studies with several verbatim paragraphs taken from the
work of an apologist for slavery, but one who strove manfully for the
uplift of the slaves.* The period referred to is generally the decade,
1830-1840:
*C. C. Jones: Religious Instruction of Negroes, pp. 89-176, passim.
50
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
"Persons live and die in the midst of Negroes and know comparatively little of
their real character. They have not the immediate management of them. They
have to do with them in the ordinary discharge of their duty as servants, further
than this they institute no inquiries; they give themselves no trouble. The Ne¬
groes are a distinct class in the community, and keep themselves very much to
themselves. They are one thing before the whites and another before their own
color. Deception before the former is characteristic of them, whether bond or
free, throughout the whole United States. It is habit, a long established custom,
which descends from generation to generation. There is an upper and an under
current. Some are contented with the appearance on the surface; others dive
beneath. Hence the diversity of impressions and representations of the moral
and religious condition of the Negroes. Hence the disposition of some to deny
the darker pictures of their more searching and knowing friends
"Their general mode of living is coarse and vulgar. Many Negro houses are
small, low to the ground, blackened with smoke, often with dirt floors, and the
furniture of the plainest kind. On some estates the houses are framed, weather-
boarded, neatly whitewashed, and made sufficiently large and comfortable in
every respect
"It is a matter of thankfulness that the owners are few in number, indeed, who
forbid religious meetings on their plantations, held either by their servants them¬
selves, or by competent and approved white instructors or ministers. 'All men
have not faith.' I have never known servants forbidden to attend the worship
of God on the Sabbath day, except as a restraint temporarily laid, for some flag¬
rant misconduct
"Nor can the adult Negro acquaint himself with duty and the way of salvation
through the reading of the scriptures any more than the child. Of those that do
read, but few read well enough for the edification of the hearers. Not all the
colored preachers read
"Such, then, are the circumstances of the slave population, which have an un¬
favorable influence upon their moral and religious condition. Those circum¬
stances only have been referred to which prominently assist us in our inquiry.
In conclusion, it may be added that servants have neither intellectual nor moral
intercourse with their masters generally, sufficient to redeem them from the ad¬
verse influence of the circumstances alluded to; for the two classes are distinct
in their association, and it cannot well be otherwise. Nor have servants any re¬
deeming intercourse with any other persons. On the contrary, in certain situa¬
tions there is intercourse had with them, and many temptations laid before
them against which they have little or no defense, and the effect is deplorable."
"To know the extent of their ignorance, even where they have been accustomed
to the sound of the gospel in white churches, a man should make investigation
for himself. The result will frequently surprise and fill him with grief. They
scarcely feel shame for their ignorance on the subject of religion, although they
may have had abundant opportunity of becoming wiser. Ignorance, they seem to
feel, is their lot; and that feeling is intimately associated with another every
way congenial to the natural man, namely, a feeling of irresponsibility—ignorance
is a cloak and excuse for crime. Some white ministers and teachers, in their sim¬
plicity, beholding their attention to the preaching of the gospel, adapted to their
comprehension, and hearing the expressions of their thankfulness for the pains
taken for their instruction, come to the conclusion that they are an unsophistica¬
ted race; that they form one of the easiest and pleasantest fields of labor in the
world; and that they are a people 'made ready, prepared for the Lord,' nothing
THE NE(tRO CHURCH
51
more being necessary than to carry them the gospel and converts will be multi¬
plied as drops of morning dew; yea, a nation will be born in a day. Experiment
shortly dissipates these visions, and well is it if the sober reality does not frighten
the laborer away in disgust and disappointment
"But a brief view of the prevailing vices of the Negroes will best reveal their
moral and religious condition.
" Violations of the Marriage Contract. The divine institution of marriage depends
for its perpetuity, sacredness, and value, largely upon the protection given it by
the law of the land. Negro marriages are neither recognized nor protected by
law. The Negroes receive no instruction on the nature, sacredness, and perpetuity
of the institution; at any rate they are far from being duly impressed with these
things. They are not required to be married in any particular form, nor by any
particular persons. Their ceremonies are performed by their own watchmen or
teachers, by some white minister, or as it frequently happens, not at all; the con¬
sent of owners and of the parties immediately interested, and a public acknowl¬
edgement of each other, being deemed sufficient.
"There is no special disgrace nor punishment visited upon those who criminally
violate their marriage vows, except where they may be inflicted by owners, or if
the parties be members, by the church in the way of suspension and excommuni¬
cation.
"Families are, and may be, divided for improper conduct on the part of either
husband or wife, or by necessity, as in cases of the death of owners, division of
estates, debt, sale, or removals, for they are subject to all the changes and vicissi¬
tudes of property. Such divisions are, however, carefully guarded against and
prevented, as far as possible, by owners, on the score of interest, as well as of re¬
ligion and humanity. Hence, as may well be imagined, the marriage relation
loses much of the sacredness and perpetuity of its character. It is a contract of
convenience, profit, or pleasure, that may be entered into and dissolved at the
will of the parties, and that without heinous sin, or the injury of the property or
interests of any one. That which they possess in common is speedily divided,
and the support of the wife and children falls not upon the husband, but upon the
master. Protracted sickness, want of industrial habits, of congeniality of disposi¬
tion, or disparity of age, are sufficient grounds for a separation. While there are
creditable instances of conjugal fidelity for a long series of years and until death,
yet infidelity in the marriage relation and dissolution of marriage ties are not
uncommon.
"On account of the changes, interruptions and interferences in families, there
are quarrelings and fightings, and a considerable item in the management of
plantations is the settlement of family troubles. Some owners become disgusted
and worried out, and finally leave their people to do their own way; while others
cease from the strife ere it be meddled with, and give it as an opinion that the
less the interference on the part of the master the better. A few conscientious
masters persevere in attempts at reformation, and with some good degree of success.
Polygamy is practiced, both secretly and openly. In some sections, where the
people have been well instructed, it is scarcely known; in others, the crime has
diminished and is diminishing; it is to be hoped universally so. It is a crime
which, among all people and under all circumstances, carries, in its perpetration,
vast inconveniences and endless divisions and troubles, and they are felt by the
Negroes as well as by others, and operate as a great preventive. Polygamy is also
discountenanced and checked by the majority of owners, and by the churches of
all denominations.
52
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
" Uncleanness. This sin may be considered universal. The declaration will be
sufficient for those who have any acquaintance with this people in the slave-
holding states or in the free states; indeed, with the ignorant laboring classes of
people wherever they may be found. It is not my object to institute comparisons.
If it were, I could point to many tongues and people, in civilized governments,
upon the same level of depravity with the Negroes. The sin is not viewed by
them as by those of higher intelligence and virtue, so that they do not consider
character as lost by it, nor personal degradation as necessarily connected with it,
A view which, however it may spring from vitiated principle, preserves the guilty
from entire prostration."
•'Intimately connected with this view is the crime of
"jInfanticide. A crime restrained in good measure by the provision made for the
support of the child on the part of the owner, by the punishment in case of detec¬
tion, and by the moral degradation of the people that takes away the disgrace of
bastardy.
"Theft. They are proverbially thieves. They bear this character in Africa;
they have borne it in all countries whither they have been carried; it has been the
character of slaves in all ages, whatever their nation or color. They steal from
each other, from their masters, from anybody. Cows, sheep, hogs, poultry, cloth¬
ing; yea, nothii.g goes amiss to which they take a fancy; while corn, rice, cotton,
or the staple productions, whatever they may be, are standing temptations, pro¬
vided a market be at hand, and they can sell or barter them with impunity. Locks,
bolts, and bars secure articles desirable to them, from the dwelling of the master
to that of the servant, and the keys must always be carried.
"Falsehood. Their veracity is nominal. Duplicity is one of the most prominent
traits of their character, practiced between themselves, but more especially to¬
wards their masters and managers. Their frequent cases of feigned sickness are
vexatious. When criminal acts are under investigation, the sober, strenuous
falsehood, sometimes the direct and awful appeal to God, of the transgressor,
averts the suspicion, and by his own tact and collusion with others, perhaps
fixes the guilt upon some innocent person. The number, the variety, and ingenuity
of falsehoods that can be told by them in a few brief moments is astonishing.
Where opportunity is given they will practice imposition. Servants, however,
who will neither steal nor lie, may be found, and in no inconsiderable numbers.
Quarreling and Fighting. The Negroes are settled in some quarter of the plan¬
tation, in houses near each other, built in rows, forming a street. The custom is
to give each family a house of its own. The houses sometimes have a partition in
the middle and accommodate a family in each end. These are called double
houses. Living so near each other, and every day working together, causes of
differences must necessarily arise. Families grow jealous and envious of their
neighbors; some essay to be leading families; they overhear conversations and
domestic disagreements; become privy to improper conduct; they depredate upon
each other; a fruitful source of tumult is the pilfering and quarreling of chil¬
dren, which involve their parents. The women quarrel more than the men, and
fight oftener. Where no decisive measures are taken to suppress these practices,
plantations sometimes become intolerable, might is right; the strong oppress the
weak. Every master or manager has the evil under his own control.
"They come to open breaches, too, with their neighbors on adjoining planta¬
tions, or lots, if they live in towns. The Sabbath is considered a very suitable
day for the settlement of their difficulties. However, with truth it may be said,
there are fewer personal injuries, and manslaughters, and murders, among the
THE NEGRO CHURCH
53
Negroes in the South, than among the same amount of population in any part of
the United States; or perhaps, in the world.
"Insensibility of Heart. An ignorant and degraded people are not wont to exhibit
much of the milk of human kindness.
"Unless the Negroes are carefully watched and made accountable for power
lodged in their hands, it will be abused. Parents will beat their children, hus¬
bands their wives, master mechanics their apprentices, and drivers the people.
In sickness, parents will neglect their children, children their parents; and so
with the other social relations. They cannot be trusted as nurses. Hence they
must be made to attend upon the sick, and then watched lest they neglect them;
which ultimately brings the whole care of the sick upon the master or manager.
It is a saying of their own, 'that white people care more for them than their own
color,' and again, 'that black people have not the same feeling for each other that
white people have.' It is an indisputable fact that when Negroes become owners
of slaves they are generally cruel masters. They will overload, work down, bruise
and beat, and starve all working animals committed to their care, with careless
indifference
"The moral and religious condition of town and city Negroes, may be disposed
of in a few lines.
"They admit of division into four classes: family servants, or those who belong
to the families which they serve; hired servants, or those who are hired out by
their owners to wait in families, or to any other service; servants who hire their
own time, and work at various employments and pay their owners so much per
day or month; and watermen, embracing fishermen, sailors and boatmen.
"Town and city Negroes are more intelligent and sprightly than country Negroes,
owing to a difference in circumstances, employments, and opportunities of im¬
provement. Their physical condition is somewhat improved; and they enjoy
greater access to religious privileges.
"On the other hand, they are exposed to greater temptations and vices; their
opportunities of attending upon places of pleasure and dissipation are increased;
they have stronger temptations to theft, and idleness, and drunkenness, and
lewdness; and the tendency to Sabbath breaking is equally great. Their moral
and religious condition is precisely that of plantation Negroes, modified ir some
respects by peculiarities of circumstances. They are more intelligent, but less
subordinate; better provided for in certain particulars, but not more healthy;
enjoy greater advantages for religious improvement, but are thrown more directly
in the way of temptation; and, on the whole, in point of moral character, if there
be any pre-eminence it is in favor of the country Negroes; but it is a difficult
point to decide
"The Honorable Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, in an 'Address before the Agri¬
cultural Society of South Carolina,' (Charleston, 1829, second edition, pp. 10-12),
said:
'There needs no stronger illustration of the doctrine of human depravity than
the state of morals on plantations in general. Besides the mischievous tendency
of bad example in parents and elders, the little Negro is often taught by these
natural instructors, that he may commit any vice that he can conceal from his
superiors, and thus falsehood and deception are among the earliest lessons they
imbibe. Their advance in years is but a progression to the higher grades of
iniquity. The violation of the seventh commandment is viewed in a more venial
light than in fashionable European circles. Their depredations of rice have been
estimated to amount to twenty-five per cent, on the gross average of crops, and
54
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
this calculation was made after fifty years experience, by one whose liberal pro¬
vision for their wants left no excuse for their ingratitude.'
"The Honorable Whitemarsh B. Seabrook, in an 'Essay on the Management of
Slaves,' Charleston, (1836, pp. 7,8, 12, etc.), says: 'As human beings, however
slaves are liable to all the infirmities of our nature. Ignorant and fanatical, none
are more easily excited. Incendiaries might readily embitter their enjoyments
and render them a curse to themselves and the community. The prominent of¬
fences of the slave are to be traced in most instances to the use of intoxicating
liquors. This is one of the main sources of every insurrectionary movement
which has occurred in the United States, and we are, therefore, bound by interest, as
well as the common feeling of humanity, to arrest the contagious disease of our
colored population. What have become of the millions of freemen who once in¬
habited our widely-spread country? Ask the untiring votaries of Bacchus. Can
there be a doubt, but that the authority of the master alone prevents his slaves
from experiencing the fate of the aborigines of America? At one time polygamy
was a common crime; it is now of rare occurrence. Between slaves on the same
plantation there is a deep sympathy of feeling which binds them so closely to¬
gether that a crime committed by one of their number is seldom discovered
through their instrumentality. This is an obstacle to the establishment of an
efficient police, which the domestic legislator can with difficulty surmount.'
"The executive committee of the Kentucky Union for the moral and religious
improvement of the colored race, in their 'Circular to the ministers of Kentucky,'
1834, say: 'We desire not to represent their condition worse than it is. Doubtless
the light that shines around them, more or less illuminates their minds and mor¬
alizes their characters. We hope and believe that some of them, though poor in
this world's goods, will be found rich in spiritual possessions in the day when the
King of Zion shall make up his jewels. We know that many of them are included
in the visible church, and frequently exhibit great zeal; but it is to be feared that
it is often 'a zeal without knowledge,' and of the majority it must be confessed
that 'the light shineth in darkness and the darkness comprehendeth it not.' After
making all reasonable allowances, our colored population can be considered, at
the most, but semi-heathen.'
"C. W. Gooch, Esq., Henrico county, Virginia, in a Prize Essay on Agriculture
in Virginia, said:
" 'The slave feels no inducement to execute his work with effect. He has a par¬
ticular art of slighting it and seeming to be busy, when in fact he is doing little or
nothing. Nor can he be made to take proper care of stock, tools, or anything
else. He will rarely take care of his clothes or his own health, much less of his
companion's when sick and requiring his aid and kindness. There is perhaps not
in nature a more heedless, thoughtless human being than a Virginia field Negro.
With no care upon his mind, with warm clothing and plenty of food under a good
master, is far the happier man of the two. His maxim is 'come day, go day, God
send Sunday!' His abhorrence of the poor white man is very great. He may
sometimes feel a reflected respect for him, in consequence of the confidence and
esteem of his master and others. But this trait is remarkable in the white, as in
the black man. All despise poverty and seem to worship wealth. To the losses
which arise from the dispositions of our slaves, must be added those which are
occasioned by their habits. There seems to be an almost entire absence of moral
principle among the mass of our colored population. But details upon this subject
would be here misplaced. To steal and not to be detected is a merit among them,
as it was with certain people in ancient times, and is at this day, with some unen-
THE NEGRO CHURCH
55
lightened portions of mankind. And the vice which they hold in the greatest
abhorrence is that of telling upon one another. There are many exceptions it is
true, but this description embraces more than the majority. The numerous free
Negroes and worthless, dissipated whites, who have no visible means of support,
and who are rarely seen at work, derive their chief subsistence from the slaves.
These thefts amount to a good deal in the course of the year, and operate like
leeches on the fair income of agriculture. They vary, however, in every county
and neighborhood in exact proportion as the market for the plunder varies. In
the vicinities of towns and villages they are most serious. Besides the actual loss
of property occasioned by them, they involve the riding of their horses at night,
the corruption of the habits and the injury of the health of the slaves; for whiskey
is the price generally received for them.'
"These extracts, selected at random, are sufficient. A multiplication of them
would be but a tiresome repetition. After all, the best testimony, is the observa¬
tion and experience of all persons who are intimately acquainted with them.
That the Negroes are in a degraded state is a fact, so far as my knowlege extends,
universally conceded. It makes no difference if it be shown, as it might be, that
they are less degraded than other portions of the human family, the fact remains
true in respeet to them, they are degraded, and it is with this fact which we have
to do
"All approaches to them [the slaves] from abroad are rigidly guarded against,
and no ministers are allowed to break to them the bread of life, except such as
have commended themselves to the affection and confidence of owners. I do not
condemn this course of self-preservation on the part of our citizens. I mention it
only to show more fully the point in hand: the entire dependence of the Negroes
upon ourselves for the gospel.
"While this step is taken another has already been taken, and that of a long
time; namely, Negro preachers are discouraged, if not suppressed, on the ground
of incompetency and liability to abuse their office and influence to the injury of
the morals of the people and the infringement of the laws and peace of the coun¬
try. I would not go all the lengths of many on this point, for from my own obser¬
vation, Negro preachers may be employed and confided in, and so regulated as
to do their own color great good, and community no harm ; nor do I see, if we take
the word of God for our guide, how we can consistently exclude an entire people
from access to the gospel ministry, as it may please Almighty God from time to
time, as he unquestionably does, to call some of them to it 'as Aaron was.' The
discouragement of this class of preachers, throws the body of the people still
more in their dependence upon ourselves, who indeed cannot secure ministers in
sufficient numbers to supply our own wants.
"Nor have the Negroes any church organizations different from or independent
of our own. Such independent organizations are, indeed, not on the whole advisa-
able. But the fact binds them to us with still stronger dependence. And, to add
more, we may, according to the power lodged in our hands, forbid religious meet¬
ings, and religious instruction on our plantations; we may forbid our servants
going to church at all, or only to such churches as we may select for them; we
may literally shut up the kingdom of heaven against men, and suffer not them that
are entering to go in?'
"The celebrated John Randolph, on a visit to a female friend, found her surround¬
ed with her seamstresses, making up a quantity of clothing. 'What work have you
in hand?' '0, sir, I am preparing this clothing to send to the poor Greeks.' On tak¬
ing leave at the steps of the mansion, he saw some of her servants in need of the very
56
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
clothing which their tender-hearted mistress was sending abroad. He exclaimed.
'Madam, madam, the Greeks are at your door!'
"We have colored ministers and exhorters, but their numbers are wholly inade¬
quate to the supply of the Negroes; and while their ministrations are infrequent
and conducted in great weakness, there are some of them whose moral character
is justly suspected and who may be considered blind leaders of the blind."
Finally, a word must be added on the church and slave marriages in
ante-bellum days. The sale of a slave away from his home and family
"was a virtual decree of divorce and so recognized, not only by usage,
but by the deliberate decree of the churches."
"The time will come when this statement will seem almost incredible. The
usage, considered as a barbarism for which no religious defence would be possi¬
ble, is bad enough. But to give it the sanction of religion, the religion of Jesus
Christ, and to invoke the divine blessing upon a marriage which was no marriage
at all, but simply a concubinage which the master's word might at any moment
invalidate, seems at first beyond all manner of excuse. Yet it was done, and that
not only by individual ministers of Christ, but by authority of ecclesiastical con¬
ventions. The resolutions to that effect went upon record in Methodist, Baptist,
Presbyterian churches, declaring that the separation of husband and wife under
slavery, by the removal of either party, was to be regarded as 'civil death,' sunder¬
ing the bonds, and leaving both parties free to make another marriage contract.
Slavery, by necessity of the case, abolished all family ties, of husband and wife, of
parents and children, of brothers and sisters, except so far as the convenience of
the master might be suited by their recognition. Legal sanction there was none.
But the sham service which the law scorned to recognize was rendered by the
ministers of the gospel of Christ. I have witnessed it, but could never bring my¬
self to take part in such pretence.
"And yet I feel compelled by truth to say Lhat, among all the alleviations of
slavery, there was none greater than this. While the nominal relation continued
at all, it mas made sacred to the slave husband and wife, and the affectionate
African nature was comforted and sustained by it. It was a strong motive to good
behavior, it promoted decency in social intercourse, it tended towards keeping the
slave-family together, and was some restraint upon masters—a great restraint upon
the better class of them—against arbitrary separation by sale; in short, it was one
of the fearful anomalies of a brutal and barbarous social system existing among a
civilized, Christian people.
"The question was fully discussed by the Savannah River Baptist Association of
Ministers in 1835; aud the decision was, ' that such separation, among persons
situated as slaves are, is civilly a separation by death, and that in the sight of God
it would be so viewed. To forbid second marriages in such case would be to ex¬
pose the parties to church censure for disobedience to their masters, and to the
spirit of that command which regulates marriage among Christians. The slaves
are not free agents, and a dissolution by death is not more entirely without their
consent and beyond their control than by such separation.'
"Truly the logic of slavery was the destruction of humanity."*
* Eliot: Story of Archer Alexander.
THE NEGRO CHURCH
57
15. A Black Belt County, Georgia, (by the Rev. W. H. Holloway).
Thomas county is situated in extreme southwest Georgia, within
twenty miles of the northern boundary line of Florida. According to
the census of 1900, the Negro population was 17,450. Among this popu¬
lation there are ninety-eight churches. These churches represent all
denominations, Baptist predominating, there being only two Congre¬
gational and one Episcopal church.' This number gives the actual
churches which we have been able to learn of. It will be a safe esti¬
mate to affirm that about twenty per cent, of this number may be
added, of which we failed to learn.
This will give a church for every 150 persons, and here it might be
said that, unlike much of our American population, the Negro is well-
churched. It is his only institution and forms the center of his public
life. He turns to it not only for his spiritual wants, but looks toward
it as the center of his civilization. Here he learns the price of cotton
or the date of the next circus; here is given the latest fashion plates
or the announcement for candidates for justice of the peace. In fact,
the white office seeker has long since learned that his campaign among
the Negroes must be begun in the Negro church, and by a Negro
preacher.
These ninety-eight institutions in Thomas county, like those of many
other counties, have interesting histories. About half this number
represent the churches whose beginning has been normal, the natural
outgrowth of expansion. The other half's history is checkered. Their
rise can almost invariably be traced to one or two methods. First,
there is the proverbial "split." A careful study of the roll of mem¬
bership in many of the churches will reveal the second method.
Some brother is called to preach. This call is so thunderous, and the
confidence that he can "make a better preach" than the present pastor
so obtrusive, till he soon finds that there is little welcome in the sacred
rostrum of the old church. He therefore takes his family and his
nearest relatives and moves away. Study the rolls, therefore, of many
of the churches and you will find that they are largely family churches,
and that the first preacher was some venerable patriarch. I think
one will be perfectly safe in concluding that two-thirds of the growth
in churches of the various denominations has been made in this way;
and that little has been accomplished by the church executives as the
result of direct effort at church extension.
It will be readily seen that churches having their origin in this way
merely duplicate the old institution; often it is not a creditable dupli¬
cate. I know of no rural church in Thomas county whose inception
had the careful nursing of an educated, cultured leader. Others have
labored and we have entered into their labors. The largest churches
and the biggest preachers in Thomas county do little home missionary
work and organize no new churches.
58
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFEKENCE
The result, therefore, must necessarily be a constant propagation of
the old regime. Standards of slavery time and directly after still pre¬
vail. It is impossible that it should be otherwise. Like begets like.
The supreme element in the old system was emotionalism, and, while
we hate to confess it, truth demands that we affirm it as the predom¬
inating element to-day. The church which does not have its shouting,
the church which does not measure the abilities of a preacher by
the "rousement" of his sermons, and indeed which does not tacitly
demand of its minister the shout-producing discourse, is an exception
to the rule. This is true of the towns as well as the country. Of course
we all understand that it has always occupied first place in the worship
of the Negro church; it is a heritage of the past. In the absence of
clearly defined doctrines, the great shout, accompanied with weird
cries and shrieks and contortions and followed by a multi-varied "ex¬
perience" which takes the candidate through the most heart-rending
scenes—this to-day in Thomas county is accepted by the majority of
the churches as unmistakable evidence of regeneration.
Now, the preachers who have had some advantages of study, who
have come into contact with the learning of the schools, and have in
their intelligence gotten above the ignorant preacher of the country,
know that the old order of things is wrong. Talk with them and
they all confess it. Confront them with the truth that it prevails in
their own churches, and their reply puts the question upon the basis of
supply and demand. They say: "My people have been used to it, my
predecessor was thought to be the embodiment of perfection, and this
was his standard; therefore, if I would succeed, if I would hold my
people, I must supply this demand; and if I would make the record of
my success more enduring than my predecessor I must supply this de¬
mand in greater quantities and more acceptable quality than he."
The spirit of rivalry also has much to do with the continuance of this
emotional feature. Two churches in the same community—one presid¬
ed over by an educated minister, with lofty ideals and correct stand¬
ards, and to whose better nature the old order is repulsive, and the
other presided over by a typical representative of the old school : the
educated minister will often preach unseen and waste his eloquence
on the desert air. He soon finds that not only is his church losing its
pristine prominence, not only is his own reputation as a representative
clergyman waning, but that there is soon a very perceptible diminution
in the loaves and fishes. It is a problem and it is forcing young
preachers who would otherwise do good work in the ministry into the
old ruts which, while their better natures condemn it, they have not
the power to resist. Any system which robs the man of his individu¬
ality and makes him less than a man, finds itself early bereft of its
power for the highest service. Another effect is, that it is driving out
of the work the young men of ability whom the work most needs. I
know one promising young man in my county who is driven to
THE NEGRO CHURCH
59
desperation and vows, for none other cause than this of which we have
been speaking, that he will leave the work at the next annual confer¬
ence. And, too, the young men in our schools turn their faces toward
other vocations.
Under this old system, which prevails in Thomas county, the ques¬
tion arises, is the moral condition of the people being raised?
Of the blanks which we had returned, while some said openly "No,"
the majority left the question in doubt.
We would conclude, however, that the moral standard of the Negroes
in Thomas county is being bettered ; but I seriously raise the question
whether the church is the great factor in this improvement. Speaking
especially now of the towns, whose condition has been studied more
carefully and at first hand, the conclusion is almost inevitable that
there are other factors equally potent, doubtless more so, than the
church.
This question of better morals must affect not so much the older gen¬
eration, who still occupy a large place in the church, as it does the
newer and younger people.
If this is true, then we find certain conditions in many of the churches
which give credence to the foregoing assertion.
I beg you to note that I am giving what is true of the majority of the
churches of Thomas county as insinuated in the answers to the ques¬
tions sent out, supplemented by my own knowledge upon the subject.
The first condition I would speak of is the relation of the church to
the popular amusements. The supreme end of the church is spiritual:
the bringing of the individual up to the higher ideals as exemplified
in the life and teachings of Christ. When, therefore, the institution
subordinates, even fora moment, this supreme end to a lower one, there
can but be a perceptible lessening of the moral force of the institution.
Now this is just what the church is doing. They vie with each other
so strongly, the rivalry in new inventions and performances is so in¬
tense, till it has lead them into the realm of the questionable.
To a great extent the church has so entered into this business that
the young people look to it more as a bureau whose object is to provide
amusement than they do toward it as a holy institution whose high
privilege it is to deal with eternal realities and interpret the weightier
matters of the law.
Inordinate rivalries among the denominations is another condition.
Rivalry is no mean motive and to its stimulating influence is traceable
much of the world's progress; but when the church, in its ambition to
excel, stoops to petty meannesses, then she need not complain if her
moral dynamic becomes a doubtful quantity. We shall not mention
examples here, for this is a condition which prevails in other churches
than the Negro's.
The prominent place in church circles taken by characters whose
lives in the community are a constant contradiction to the creed pre-
60
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
scribed to when they entered the church, is another condition which
lessens the moral force of the church.
True, as a race, we have had neither time nor training to establish
that caste which marks the higher development in the moral code, and
whose logical sequence is closer moral discrimination and segregation;
yet the church, whose very motto is separation from the world, should
have itself on record as being the most discriminating in this respect.
The fact is, however, that some of the churches are too lax in this
matter. It is true in Thomas county that some of the secret societies,
especially among women, are more vigilant as to their constituencies
than the church. I am personally acquainted with people who occupy
first place in all the affairs in the church whose applications to the so¬
cieties have been repeatedly turned down.
The fact that their monied connections and their popularity are
sufficient guarantees for the success of any church enterprise, seem
to make their fitness for church membership unquestioned. Their
lives may be black but no notice is paid to it.
Now what is the effect of all this? Nothing other than that the young
people, and the older people who do their own thinking, lose regard
for the moral standards of the church. The preacher may discourse
frequently on purity of life, but if he shuts his eyes to the impurity of
some of his own members, and seems to insist that they be placed at
the forefront of the church's activities, then his precepts become
sounding brass and tinkling cymbals; and his example, weightier by
far than his precepts, becomes a barrier to the highest usefulness of
his institution as a moulder of the community's morality.
Another condition which gives rise to our assertion that the church
is not exercising its highest moral influence, is seen in its lax business
methods. Let us give one example, which we dare assert is true of
nine-tenths of the churches in Thomas county and in the South: A
contract is made with every incoming minister. They promise him a
stipulated sum for his year's service and when the year ends, he goes
to conference with only about two-thirds of the pledge fulfilled. If
he is sent back to the same field, the second year finds the church
still deeper on the debit side of the ledger. If he is sent to another
field the debt is considered settled, a new contract is made with the
new preacher, and the same form is gone through.
As far as I have been able to learn fully 75 per cent, of the churches
in the county are in debt to their former preachers, and what is worse,
there seems never to arise a question as to the honesty of the relig¬
ious body.
Now, this may seem a too minute selection of ecclesiastical faults,
but when it is remembered that the simple virtues of honesty, truth¬
fulness, and business promptness are the qualities most needed by the
race, then that institution which represents the embodiment of all that
is perfect in its precepts loses its moral force by the laxity of its ex-
THE NEGRO CHURCH
61
ample, and this laxity which is characteristic of the body must find
counterpart in the individuals who compose the body.
We ventured the assertion that the church in this county is not too
potent a factor in the moral betterment of the race; and we went
further and raised the question as to whether there were not other
factors equally potent, perhaps more so than the church.
You will notice that I have not said that the church is doing noth¬
ing toward this betterment. Some of them are, and some of the de¬
nominations more than others; but what we are talking about is the
weight of the combined influence of all the churches; and we still
claim that its power is small, smaller to be sure than it should be,
when it has such exalted example of all that is good to draw from in
the enforcement of its teachings.
We have been able to learn of about 120 preachers in the county.
Of this number fully seventy-five are either ordained or licensed. The
most of their names appear in the minutes of the various denomina¬
tions. Now this number may be almost doubled if we search for all
those who call themselves preachers and fill the function of interpre¬
ters of the word of God. This number moulds as great a sentiment for
or against the church as those who hold license.
You will get some idea of the vast host who belong to this class
when I tell you that tbe records of the last conference of the South¬
west Georgia District of the African Methodist Episcopal Church show
that there were forty-three applicants for admission to the conference.
Note that this is only one of the four or five conferences of this church
in the state. Be it said to the lasting credit of the conference that it in
unmistakable terms put the stamp of condemnation upon the pre¬
sumption of about thirty-five of them and sent them back to their
homes disappointed men. And yet, while it sent them back home
unadmitted, it did not make them less determined to preach, for in
their several communities you will find them still exercising them¬
selves in the holy calling.
Now of this vast number, so far as I have been able to learn, only
four of them hold diplomas from any institution giving record of pre¬
vious fitness. Only about one per cent, of them can point to any con¬
siderable time spent in school.
The course of study prescribed in the African Methodist Episcopal
Church has helped some, but after all this, it can be truthfully said
that for real fitness, fitness in the truest sense of the word, there is
little to be found among the ministers of the county.
Putting this another way is to say, that the majority of the ministers
are unlearned or ignorant men, ignorant in the sense of fitness for
leadership; for, learned or unlearned, the Negro preacher is to-day the
leader of the race. If they are ignorant, then this ignorance manifests
itself in any number of ways:
62
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
1st. His home life as a general rule is on no higher level than that
of his neighbor. In most cases he married before he began to preach
and his wife is ignorant. Here, then, is no toning example for the
community which he serves. I beg you to note that the pulpit is not
the only place where the minister is to do powerful and eloquent
preaching.
2d. In morality he has much to learn. Morality as it affects: (1)
Temperance; (2) debt paying and business honesty; (3) sexual mor¬
ality,
I have presented a gloomy picture. I have one consolation, however,
that it is true, if it is black.
Your criticism will be that I have not brightened the picture a par¬
ticle. But your conclusion will be erroneous if you decide that there
is no brightness in it.
First. The greatest hope lies in the young people who go out to these
darkened places and sacrifice themselves for the betterment of the
people. Thomas county is dotted with these young people from the
schools.
Second. Young men are seeing the need and are responding to it by
entering the ministry.
Third. In every community there is a body of older men, men in¬
deed of the old school; but during the years their ideas of the func¬
tion of the church, the qualifications and requirements of the minister
have all undergone a very radical change. They are thoroughly dis¬
gusted with the old order of things and besides withdrawing their own
support they give their children no encouragement to support it.
Fourth. There is also a strong tendency in my county toward the
newer denominations. This tendency will have two results: These
newer denominations will continue to draw the young people and will
continue to push the crusade for religious education. Second, this
growth and popularity of the newer denominations will stimulate the
older ones to greater efforts and to more intelligent worship.
In these and other ways the race is gradually coming out of the
darkness into the light, and the next generation will see all of the de¬
nominations of the South exerting a stronger religious and moral infiu-
uence upon the Negro than they are to-day doing.
THE NEGKO CHURCH
Statistics of Three Churches, Thomas County
63
Membership
Active membership
Value of church
Expenses—
Salaries
On debt
Running expenses
Charity, etc
Missions
Support of connection
Other expenses
Total
C.M. E.
120
72
110
28
$800.00
$700.00
240.00
259.10
.00
.00
12.00
23.80
2.00
4.90
2.50
6.00
50.00
31.00
10.00
3.20
$316.50
$828.00
A.M.E.
Episcopal
149
22
$2,500.00
Negro Baptist Churches, Thomas County, Ga.
NAME.
Membership.
1901.
1902.
Value of Church Property.
1901.
Spring Hill
St. Mary
Evergreen
Ocklochnee
St. Paul
N. O. Grove
Centennial
Bethel
Paradise
Walnut Hill
New Hope
Aucilla
Centenary
A. B. C., Thomasville
Richland
Mt. Pilgrim
Friendship
Antioch
St. Luke
Beulah Road
Piney Grove
Silver Hill
Mt. Olive
Mt. Calvary
Magnolia
Shady Grove
Mt.Moriah.
Midway
Rebecca
County Line
Oaky Grove
Turner Grove
Jerusalem
17
28
125
161
240
35
329
51
109
202
150
500
38
43
150
83
10
13
65
87
80
113
16
77
50
50
120
25
28
80
157
250
30
325
54
112
38
169
159
500
37
48
140
75
15
14
70
$ 750
250
100
100
1,000
1,000
322
500
100
1,000
10,000
150
100
100
500
250
350
700
1,500
250
200
50
Total.
3,035
150
$17,465
64
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
Opinions of Intelligent Colored Laymen on Thomas County Churches
1. Condition of the churches.
"Well attended." "More centers for amusement than for worship." "Little
spiritual life." "Half are in debt." "Not what they should be." "Lack compe¬
tent leaders."
2. Influence of Churches.
"Influence good." "Influence bad." "Good, on the whole." "Ten per cent, of
the membership is honest, pure, and upright." "Influence is bad, but there are
some earnest folks."
3. Are the ministers good ?
"No." "Out of ten. three are sexually immoral, one drinks, three are careless in
money matters." "Weak in morals." "One is sexually impure and frequents dis¬
reputable places." "Lack intellect." "They fairly represent those whom they
lead." "Some of them are good men."
4. Charity work.
"Nine-tenths believe there is but one object of charity—the minister; give all
you've got to the minister and if any one is sick or in prison, give him one-half of
what is left."
5. The young people.
"The church amuses the young people, and they pay for the amusement."
"Young people join slowly." "Church support comes largely from non-members."
6. Are moral standards being raised?
"Cannot say; much laxity." "Standard never lower." "Raised by presence of
a score or more of graduates of city schools." "Being raised." "In six years I
note a change for the better." "Reaching high moral standards." "In some cases
standards are being raised, in others, not." "There are fewer separations of man
and wife, and fewer illegitimate children."
14. A Town in Florida. (By Annie Marion MacLean, A. M., Ph. D.)
The Negro is always an interesting subject for study in a Southern
town, and one feels amply repaid for any effort made to understand
his life. The town of Deland appealed to me as being an excellent
place to make a study of the Negro population, both on account of its
character and size. The town is largely Northern in population and
sentiment, and it is small so that city problems do not need to be
considered.
There are three regularly organized Negro churches in Deland. In
and around these the religious life of the colored inhabitants centers,
and we may study these in order of importance.
1. Missionary Baptist Church
This church, the largest and most flourishing in the community, is
located on the outskirts of the town, in the best Negro district. Its
founding dates back to 1883, when one of the prominent white citizens
gave a lot of land and erected a small house of worship. The mem¬
bership has constantly increased since that time, and in 1895 a new
THE NEGRO CHURCH
65
site was purchased and the present structure put up at a cost of about
$1,000. A parsonage was bought immediately adjoining the church at
a cost of $300, the necessary money for these improvements being
raised by the members themselves. The church building is kept in
good repair and is provided with a small organ, good, comfoi'table pews,
and has carpeted aisles and plain stained glass windows. The seating
capacity is 250, the membership 109—forty-six male and sixty-three fe¬
male. The average attendance is about one-quarter of the total member¬
ship, and contrary to the usual state of affairs in white churches, men are
always in the majority at the meetings. The minister's explanation of
this is that the women work very hard during the week, and when Sunday
comes they are too tired to leave their homes. He says that it is much
easier for the women to get steady employment than for the men. No
children are received into membership under the age of twelve years.
The Sunday-school is well attended, and there are two fully organized
missionary societies—one to aid home and the other to aid foreign
missions. The other societies are a Young People's Society of Christian
Endeavor and a Baptist Young People's Union, both of which meet in
the church weekly, with fair attendance. The minister is a man of
average intelligence, his early education having been obtained in the
public schools. He is elected by the congregation, and preaches three
Sundays in the month at morning and evening service. The fourth
Sunday he preaches in a small country church. His regular salary is
$300 a year, and from his country charge he receives $125. In addition
to this he has the use of the parsonage and its furnishings. When he
was called, two years ago, the church was $250 in debt. It now owes
but $50.
2. Bethel Church (African Methodist Episcopal)
This is the second largest church in the community, and is located
on the opposite side of the town from the one just described. It was
organized in 1882, and has now its second building. The church and
the parsonage immediately adjoining are valued at $800 and $400, re¬
spectively. The church has not always been self-supporting, having
from time to time received aid from the Extension Board of the
denomination. The building is kept in very good repair, and a large
belfry has been added during the past year. Inside is a very good small
organ, good, plain pews, and other necessary furniture. The seating ca¬
pacity is 235, the membership ninety-three, one-quarter of which is men;
and the average attendance is one-third the total membership. Chil¬
dren are baptized and received at any age, and later, upon confession
of faith, are confirmed.
Among flourishing church organizations may be mentioned the
Young People's Society of Christian Endeavor, a Christian Willing
Working Club, which corresponds to a missionary society, and a
Stewardesses' Board, composed of the most intelligent women in the
66
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
church. This last named society has charge of all charities, church
furnishings, and the like. The two former meet once a week, and are
well attended. There is a well organized Sunday-school. A prayer
service is held on Thursday of each week.
The pastor is a remarkable Negro in many respects. He is a little
past middle age; never attended school, and yet is by all odds the most
intelligent of his race in the community. He was born of slave parents,
and early in life was seized with a desire to learn. As a boy he had no
advantages. He educated himself, "after whistle time," to use his own
words. This is his first year in his present pastorate. He was for eight
consecutive years presiding elder of this, the eleventh, district, which
includes the entire state of Florida. He is a good conversationalist,
being well posted on the topics of the day. He spends his whole time
in the work of this one church and in looking after his business inter¬
ests. He pays taxes on $16,000 worth of property, and has an income
of $102 per month on rentals. The church pays him about $300 per year
salary, and gives him the use of the parsonage. He gave his son a
college education, and sent him through a medical course of four years.
The son is now a physician of large practice in St, Augustine. Under
the African Methodist Episcopal form of church government the min¬
isters are appointed to their charges at the annual conference.
There are two regular Sunday services—one in the morning and one
in the evening. The debt at present amounts to about $228, which the
pastor expects to pay in the near future at a "rally."
The church has a mission about two miles distant, at a Negro set¬
tlement called Yamassee. This mission has but eight members and
holds services once a month, at which time communion is given. The
preacher comes from a town about thirty miles distant, and is said to
be a man of but average ability. There are no activities within the
church, except the monthly services. The building is extremely rough
and is valued at $400.
3. St. Annis' Primitive Baptist (Primitive Orthodox Zion Baptist Church)
This church is the most interesting of the three, from the standpoint
of the student of sociology. It is the principal church of Yamassee,
the only other being the mission just mentioned. Yamassee is the
largest of the Negro settlements and lies about a mile and a half from
the center of the town, but within the town limits.
Facts concerning the origin and history of the church are hard to
obtain. Indeed neither the minister nor any of the members seem to
know just when or how it had its beginning. The building is valued at
$1,800 and it has never been painted, and is not kept in good repair.
The floors are uncarpeted, the interior is finished in wood, the windows
plain, and there is no musical instrument. The seating capacity is 300,
the membership fifty-six, twenty of whom are male. The average at¬
tendance is two-thirds of the membership, and the men and women are
THE NEGRO CHURCH
67
about evenly divided. No children under twelve years are admitted to
membership. There is an organized Sunday-school, which is fairly
attended, and also a weekly prayer meeting. This is led by some mem¬
ber of the church. There is a society called " The Young People's
Band," which corresponds to the " Young People's Society of Christian
Endeavor." It meets in the church once a week, but is poorly attended
and not strongly organized.
This church asserts, with much vigor, that it is the original Baptist
Church ; that the so-called "Missionary Baptist" (of the type described
above) is a false body, which withdrew from the mother church in
1832. It points with pride to the list of the great men who were "Primi¬
tive Baptists." Its members believe in the scriptures of the Old and
New Testaments, in predestination, in the fall of man, ill the covenant
of redemption, in justification, regeneration, in the resurrection and
general judgment, baptism, the Lord's supper, and foot-washing. This
last (foot-washing) is, of course, the main distinguishing characteristic.
The regular communion service is held on the second Sunday of each
month and after the sermon the members turn their benches so as to
form two large squares on each side of the pulpit, the men on one side
and the women on the other. They then wash each other's feet in
turn, the preacher taking the lead. This, they say, is merely carrying
out the example of Christ. The service generally ends with a kind of
a dance, which they call "Rocking Daniel." No information could be
gained as to the origin of this most peculiar custom. A leader stands
in the center of a circle, which the members form in front of the pul¬
pit. They begin with singing the lines:
"Rock Daniel, rock Daniel,
Rock Daniel till I die."
Gradually they move round in the circle, single file, then begin to
clap hands and fall into a regular step or motion, which is hard to de¬
scribe. Finally, when they have become worked up to a high state of
excitement, and almost exhausted, the leader gives a signal, and they
disperse. This ceremony reminds one quite strongly of an Indian war
dance, except that it is on a somewhat tamer plan.
The songs sung by the church are extremely interesting, as they
embody so many strange and original sentiments. These people seem
to believe thoroughly in a noisy religion. They frequently interrupt
the speaker with shouts of approval or disapproval and songs. The
prayers are long and earnest in the extreme. The churches spoken
of above are much more conventional in their services.
The minister preaches one Sunday in a month at a country church;
the remainder of the time he spends with his own congregation. He
was educated in the public schools of Jacksonville, Fla., and in Cook-
man College, and is a graduate of the Correspondence Bible College,
and of the Christian University, Canton, Mo., having taken the degree
68 EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
of M. A. L. (Master of Ancient Literature) at the last named institu¬
tion. Bethaney College of North Carolina conferred upon him the
honorary degree of D. D. In 1895 he delivered the annual address to
the literary societies of the Southern University of New Orleans, La.
He is the author of several pamphlets, and was the general secretary
of the Eleventh Annual Sunday-school and Ministers' Convention of
the Eastern and Southern District of his church in 1901. He is con¬
sidered to be a man of unusual ability and attainments by the residents
of his community.
Generally speaking, the ministers are men of good character and of
fair education. They are highly respected by their congregations and
others. They all agree that the Negro was given citizenship long
before he was ready for it; that his only salvation lies in education.
They try to impress upon their people the real extent and meaning of
the ignorance which is so prevalent among them, and also the fact that
they must look to the white inhabitants for encouragement and help.
There is very little sectarian animosity between the different denomi¬
nations; union meetings and efforts are common, and much good often
results from them. The church members play almost no part in the
politics of the community, although most of them are property holders.
There is comparatively little moral or religious training in the homes
or in the schools. Family worship is not observed. The churches sre
the center of social life and activity, but one finds the meetings of the
morning poorly attended, while those of the evening are full, and are
generally very lengthy.
Just how deep the every-day lives of the members are affected by
their religion it is difficult to say, but the pastors agree that it has a
decided tendency to keep them u in the straight path."
To sum up, the following brief table may be presented as an indica¬
tion of the present condition of the Negro churches in the town under
consideration:
CHURCH.
C2S
® Q,
02=3
Missionary Baptist
Bethel Church (African M. E.).
Primitive Baptist
1882
$1,900
1,200
1,800
250
255
800
106
THE NEGRO CHURCH
69
17. A Southern City.* There are in the city of Atlanta, Ga., the
following Negro churches:
DENOMINATION.
No. Churches.
Membership
Claimed.
Active
Membership.
Value of Prop¬
erty.
Income, 1902.
Baptist
Methodist
Other denominations
Total
29
21
4
10,363
5,015
883
5,274
2,571
578
$ 61,273
149,235
42,000
$ 23,259.30
23,101.75
5,451.79
54
16,261
8,423
$ 252,508
$51,812.84
The Negro population of Atlanta (1900) was 35,727. This means one
church to every 662 men, women, and children, or one to every 130 fami¬
lies. Half the total population is enrolled in the church, and probably
nearly two-thirds of the adult population. The active paying member¬
ship is much smaller.
There are 29 Baptist churches, with an active membership of over
5,000, and $60,000 worth of real estate. The $23,000 raised by them an¬
nually is expended as follows :
$ 10,811.00
4,629.70
4,493.40
2,751.60
573.60
46.4%
Running expenses, etc
Debt and interest
Charities and missions
Support of Connectional Boards...
19.9
19.3
11.9
2.5
$ 23,259.30
100.0%
The Baptist churches may be tabulated as follows:
* The data in this section were gathered by students in the senior and junior college classes
in Atlanta University in 1902-3.
70 EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
Baptist Churches
Serial
No.
Membership
Claimed.
Active
Members.
Value of
Buildings.
Income.
1
79
12
$ 125
$ 178.20
2
874
350
2,500
750.00
3
85
50
162.00
4
400
150
1,500
310.00
5
20
14
87.00
6
150
60
1,000
800
263.00
7
30
20
112.00
8
37
20
700
791.00
9
600
300
7,000
1,148.50
10
387
200
4,000
2,405.00
11
34
32
200
120.00
12
125
75
1,000
582.00
13
120
80
500
300.00
14
12
7
85
57.00
15
22
18
200
101.00
16
500
200
4,000
2,408.00
17
750
150
6,000
1,960.00
18
800
200
2,500
2,400.00
19
200
125
2,000
392.25
20
62
40
800
21
50
20
800
106.00
22
500
250
4,500
1,200.00
23
15
6
13
25.50
24
60
30
1,000
25
13
10
900
55.00
26
265
165
1,200
514.60
27
2,598
1,560
2,700
4,040.00
28
1,500
1,100
15,00
2,774.00
29
75
30
250
17.25
All.
10,363
5.274
$ 61,273
$23,259.30
The twenty-one Methodist churches are divided as follows:
Methodist Churches
DENOMINATIONS.
o
fc
Membership
Claimed.
Active
Members.
Real Estate.
Income.
African Methodist Episcopal
Methodist Episcopal
Colored Methodist Episcopal
Total
14
4
3
21
3,242
1,333
440
1,461
910
200
$ 90,200
48,500
10,535
$13,831.10
6,927.00
2,343.65
5,015
2,571
$ 149,235
$23,101.75
Annual expenditures of these churches are approximately as follows:
Salaries
$ 9,174.53
7,510.02
1,137.50
1,694.00
3,585.75
89 7%
Debt and interest
32 5
4 9
Support of connection
7.4
15 5
$ 23,101.80
100.0%
THE NEGRO CHURCH 71
The churches in detail are :
African Methodist Episcopal Churches
Serial
No.
Membership
Claimed.
Active
Members.
Real Estate.
Income.
37
340
110
$ 9,200
$ 1,420.00
38
30
20
200
125.00
39
40
32
150
120.00
40
20
6
1,200
600
233.00
41
35
20
307.00
42
400
600
50,000
4,864.86
43
100
70
2,000
585.00
44
506
200
20,000
5,274.00
45
370
135
3,500
3,058.67
46
16
8
500
47
90
50
250
740.02
48
110
100
300
587.55
49
135
85
2,000
135.00
50
50
25
300
140.00
All.
3,242
1,461
$ 90,200
$17,590.10
Methodist Episcopal Churches
Serial
No.
Membership
Claimed.
Active
Members.
Real Estate.
Income.
33
34
35
36
740
227
166
200
500
115
100
195
$ 40,000
1,000
2,500
5,000
$ 3,235.00
542.00
1,425.00
1,725.00
All.
1,333
910
$ 48,500
$ 6,927.00
Colored Methodist Episcopal
Serial
No.
Membership
Claimed.
Active
Members.
Real Estate.
Income.
30
31
32
100
75
265
50
25
125
$ 4,000
6,500
$ 1,543.05
20.65
780.00
All.
440
200
$ 10,535
$ 2,343.65
The remaining churches are four in number, one each of the Congre¬
gational, Episcopal, Christian, and Presbyterian denominations. Fig¬
ures for them are :
Serial
No.
Membership
Claimed.
Active
Members.
Real Estate.
Income.
51
52
53
54
485
180
68
400
80
$ 25,000
10,000
4,000
3,000
$ 2,225.00
1,494.00
1,296.79
436.00
150
30
All.
4,125
1,971
$ 42,000
$ 5,451.79
72 EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
The expenditures of three of these deserve to be given in detail :
61
52
S3
Salaries
Debt and interest
Charities
% 1,200
0
800
25
700
$ 244
495
75
$ 950.00
44.08
5.80
Other expenses
Total
180
296.91
$ 2,225
*$ 994
•*$1,296.79
Three extracts, from the reports of first-hand young investigators,
throw some general light on the general character of these churches:
From an old colored citizen of Atlanta, I learned of the marked advancement
he has witnessed in the erection of church edifices and in the character of wor¬
ship. Just after the war, when the colored people were in their bitter struggle
for the necessities of life, he says the race worshipped in box cars frequently, for
they could not always obtain houses. As conditions changed the churches were
moved to better quarters. The people generally supported the church very well
until finally the Negro began to pattern his churches after the white churches,
building structures which were far too costly for the Negro's financial status at
the time. It seemed very sad to this old man that the "worship of the good, old
time" was not what it used to be.
The character of the pastors of the seven Methodist churches in my district
seems, in every case, to be good. Such phrases as "you could not find any one to
say anything against his character," express the sentiments of the members of
these churches. The education of the pastors is fair, although there are excep¬
tions. Among the schools represented by the different pastors, are: Bennet Col¬
lege, Clark University, Turner Theological Seminary (Morris Brown Theological
Department), and Gammon Theological Seminary.
The education of the members seems to vary from fair to very poor. In the case
of my largest church (membership 740) a large number of the members were
graduates of Clark University, and nearly all have a fair education. However, in the
smaller churches, having from 16 to 277 members, the education of the congrega¬
tions was very meagre.
A great majority of the members of the smaller churches are common laborers
and are quite poor. The members of the larger churches are in moderate circum¬
stances, and although most of them are laborers, there is a fair per cent, of artis¬
ans and business men among them.
The total expenses for the respective churches for last year varied from $6 to $5,274.
The salaries paid by churches varied from $500 to $1,240, not considering a case
where there was no fixed salary and one where the church had no preacher last
year, the pulpit being supplied by "local" preachers.
Four of the seven churches are in debt. The debts ranged from $35 to $600, the
latter of which was incurred by the building of a new church.
* To this the general church adds $500 for salaries.
** Only partially raised by members themselves.
THE NEGRO CHURCH
73
Most of the churches have relief societies to look after the charity and relief
work. Some churches did no special relief work. One church, however, has a dea¬
coness, who devotes her time to such work. The money expended in such work
varied from nothing to $100 in the different churches. That spent for missions
varied from nothing to $200.
The government of all Baptist churches is extremely democratic. Each mem¬
ber has the power of taking part in any of the general meetings and of voting. The
financial and business matters of the church are attended to by the deacons'
board. The power of the pastor varies somewhat according to the different con¬
gregations, and the difference of esteem in which the pastor is held sometimes
governs his influence and sway over them.
All Baptists agree that each church is complete in itself and has the power,
therefore, to choose its own ministers and to make such rules as it deems to be most
in accordance with the advancement of its best interest and the purpose of its ex¬
istence. The time that a pastor is to serve is not fixed but varies according to
the wishes of the people. If the people like the pastor, he is kept as long as he
desires to remain, but if they do not, he is put out immediately.
The general condition of the ten Baptist churches in this part of the city shows
that on a whole their work is not progressing very fast. Over half of them are
very small, with very small memberships, and very ignorant and illiterate pastors.
And certainly where there are ignorant leaders of ignorant people not very much
progress or good influence can be expected to follow. The places of meeting are
not comfortable, being poorly lighted and unclean most of the time, and in some
cases the church was situated in an unhealthy place. These, however, represent
the worst half; and on the other hand, the larger churches are progressing very
fast and their influence is gradually but surely spreading far and wide, and
includes all grades of society. Many of the most influential and wealthy Negro
churches of the city are Baptist.
The pastors of the Congregational, Episcopal, and Presbyterian churches have
excellent characters, and are doing much towards lifting the moral standard and
religious life of the people. Not only are they earnest workers, but they are also
well equipped for their work. They are well educated, one being a graduate of
Fisk and Yale Universities, another is a graduate of St. Augustine College,
Raleigh, N. C., and took a post graduate course at Howard University, Washing¬
ton, D. C., and one is a graduate of Lincoln University, who completed both the
college and theological courses. They have excellent reputations, and are held in
high esteem by their Alma Maters. The Yale graduate is well known North and
South. The character of the members of these churches is good. They are quiet
and intelligent, and there is no emotionalism in the churches. Most of the mem¬
bers of these churches are at least high school graduates, and a large per cent, is
composed of business and professional men and women.
The best picture of Atlanta churches can be obtained by studying certain typi¬
cal congregations now existing in the city. The primitive Negro congregation as
it emerged from slavery was of two types: the large group, led by a masterful
personality; the small democratic group, led by one of their own number. This
latter group is of interest as approximating conditions in the early Christian
church. In the case of the Negro, however, the communicants were ignorant
people, with largely perverted, half-mystical ideals, and liable to become the vic¬
tims of mountebanks and rascals. A few such groups still survive, although they
are dying out rapidly. Here is an example:
74
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
No. 24. Primitive Baptist—Active members thirty.
The pastor can read and write, but is not well educated. His character is good,
but he will not do laborious work, which the members think he ought to do out¬
side his church work. Most of the members were slaves, and the church is about
twenty-eight years old. It has no influence except among its members and it
began where it now stands, and was organized by most of the present members.
No collection is taken except on communion day. The building is an old wooden
one of rough lumber, raised about five feet from the ground. I looked through
one of the cracks to get a view of the interior. Its seating capacity is about
seventy-five. The benches are of rough lumber. The lamps (four oil lamps) are
hanging from the shabby ceiling. I saw a large Bible upon an altar of dressed
lumber. One of the oldest members told me that he gave all the coal and oil
used this year. He said that the church had a meeting once a month, and every
three months communion and washing of feet. They believed in having no
music, save singing. They believed in the pastor's working for his living just as
the members did, and because the present pastor would not do this they were
going to let him go. I could not find the pastor nor could they tell me where he
or any of the other members lived.
This is an example of church communion among lowly ignorant and old peo¬
ple—a survival from the past. Such groups tend to change—to absorption into
some larger group or to degenerate through bad leaders and bad members. Two
other specimens of this type follow:
No. 5. Baptist—Fourteen active members.
The old store, which is used for church purposes, is a very shabby building. A
few chairs, two lamps, and a small table and a Bible make up the furniture. All
of the members are old and ignorant. There is no Sunday-school connected with
the church. The church government is a pure democracy, the pastor and the
active members governing the church. The members are ignorant and of ques¬
tionable character. The pastor is an old and ignorant man, but is fairly good. He
went away two years ago and left his flock because they did not give him the
proper support. The church did not split but degenerated. Very little charitable
work is done. When one of the members is sick he is given aid if he asks to be
aided. There are several ignorant Negroes living in the vicinity of the church.
No. 25. Baptist—Six active members.
The pastor has a fairly good education, but there seem to be some serious
doubts as to his character. In the church there seem to be three classes of mem¬
bers: some with good character, some with questionable character, and some
about whose character there is no question. There is no charitable and rescue
work done. The building is simply a small room house which is not used regu¬
larly for worship, but is used sometimes when the people in the neighborhood
desire to meet there and can get the pastor to attend. They hold no regular meet¬
ings.
The other type of church, with a strong leader and a number of followers, is a
more effective organization, but its character depends largely on its pastor. Here
is one:
No. 26. Baptist (Missionary)—165 active members.
The education of the pastor is fair, but his character is not good. He has the
reputation of being very immoral. He is, however, a good speaker. There are a
few intelligent members, but the larger portion of the members are very illiterate.
THE NEGRO CHURCH
75
There is connected with the church an organized body of women (Woman's Mis¬
sion) which looks after the poor, the old, and the sick. The church was organized
in 1878, in the old barracks of this city. It has bad eight pastors since its organi¬
zation, and it is very influential over a large number of people in the vicinity.
The church building is large and was once a beautiful wooden structure, but at
present it is very much in need of repairs. It is furnished fairly well on the in¬
side, and is situated in one of the black belts of Atlanta. There is an official
board appointed by or elected by the church. This official board attends to the
affairs of the church. The pastor presides over the meetings. The pastor now
in charge was once forced to give up his charge and leave the city, so the general
report goes, because of his immorality. There were seven preachers called during
his absence and two church splits, brought about through the pastors who were
leading. Then the first pastor was recalled. While many of the members and
the pastor bear the reputation of being immoral, they are also said to be very
good to the poor. The entire collection of every fifth Sunday goes to the
poor. There is a fairly good Sunday-school connected with the church, and this
Sunday-school has recently purchased an organ for the church. The church debt
is $400.
To reform a perverted group like this is extremely difficult, and yet the work is
slowly going on. If the reform is attempted through a change in the type of
pastor the result at first is likely to be the substitution of a less forceful personality
and the consequent loss of enthusiasm and interest among the mass of members.
No. 8. Baptist—Twenty-five active members.
The pastor, from the report of the clerk and two or three other members, is an
upright man. He attended the Atlanta Baptist College, but did not graduate.
He is a tailor,with a place of business on Edgewood Avenue, near Ivy Street, He
does not depend on the church to support him, but is supported entirely by his
business. The majority of the members are hard-working people. The men are
employed as day laborers and the women do house-work. There is a lack of inter¬
est among the members. The Sunday-school is held at 3 o'clock each Sunday
afternoon, and is composed of about ten or twelve children. The pastor is plan¬
ning an organization, a B. Y. P. U., to meet each Sunday afternoon after Sunday-
school. There is now being carried on a revival at the church. This church
building is one story, and has about twenty-five or thirty benches in it. There
are four windows on each side and a seating capacity for about 150 or 175. It has
a small organ, and is lighted by one large kerosene lamp with a few lamps on the
walls. It is situated in an unhealthy spot, but the pastor is contemplating chang¬
ing the locality. As soon as the debt is paid he says that he and the deacons in¬
tend to sell and move to a more desirable locality, where they can do more effec¬
tive work.
No. 49. African Methodist Episcopal—Eighty-five active members.
The church was built about fourteen years ago. It was organized in a small
house, where the meetings were held for about three years. The present building
was then erected and a pastor called, but the church was so poor that after a few
years there was no pastor sent. In January of this year the present minister was
sent, but he is pastor of two other small churches. The influence of the church
depends largely on the activity of the minister, yet its location would restrict its
influence in any case. It is bounded on one side by Oakland cemetery and all others
by a small settlement of Negro hovels, while back of these for a long way extend
76
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
only white residences. The building is a wooden structure, with basement, fairly
large. It is kept fairly clean on the inside, and was recently whitewashed. Out¬
side the woodwork is unpainted.
When, however, inspiration comes from without through the larger churches or
the church connection these small groups often show renewed activity and grow
into influential churches.
No. 30. Colored Methodist Episcopal—Fifty active members.
The church was first begun with one family, at the old barracks, in a one-room
cabin. From there it was moved to Peters street, to Shell hall, where it was
joined by a second family. Then it was moved to Markham street, where it was
joined by others; then to Hunter street, in a white church, where it was burned.
It was then re-established at Taylor street, in a store house, from whence it was
moved to its present site. It now has a fair brick building, which cost about
$3,000, and is fairly well furnished inside. The present building and parsonage
were built largely by the co-operative labor of its own members. The pastors are
noisy, but of pretty good education.
No. 34. Methodist Episcopal—115 active members.
The pastor has attended Clark University, and is a graduate of Gammon. He is
well liked by his parishioners. The church recruits its members from the rail¬
road hands and their families, who are for the greater part uneducated. Some
charitable work is done by different societies in the church. Such, for instance,
as aiding paupers. The church is nineteen years old. It is not in debt, and has
a large membership. Its influence is wide-spread, being one of the largest churches
in this particular section. The church has connected with it a Woman's Home
Missionary Society and an Epworth League. Through the missionary society,
and through the help department of the league, much charitable work is being
done in the community. I am told that during this year a poor woman was taken
and given a decent burial, whereas otherwise the county would have had it to do.
There is also a parsonage adjoining the church, which, together with the church,
is estimated to be worth $1,500.
The services in churches of this type are calculated to draw the crowd, and are
loud and emotional. A student thus describes a sermon in a large Baptist church
of 500 active members on the occasion of the annual sermon before the Knights of
Pythias. "He began by telling the history of the Knights of Pythias. This was
interesting and I could understand him; but when he shut the Bible and began to
preach I could not understand him at first. As soon as I could distinguish be¬
tween the words and the peculiar sound made by the intaking of his breath, I
found myself listening to what the people called 'a good sermont.' During his
talk he spit behind the altar many times, and often raised his voice to a veritable
yell. I could not keep any record of his exact words. After the sermon there
were speeches by several laymen and then the deacons, gathering around the ta¬
ble in front of the pulpit, began to call for the collection. The choir then sang,
but the calls of the deacons so interrupted that I could not hear the singing
well. Twenty-three dollars were finally collected, each bringing forward his col¬
lection and placing it on the table."
Such churches grow into large and influential organizations, losing many of
their unconventional features and becoming very much like churches in any part
of the land.
THE NEGRO CHURCH
77
No. 42. African Methodist Episcopal—600 active members.
The pastor is of good character and education, a graduate of Howard University
Theological School. The members vary from the old, poor, and respectable, to the
young and well educated. In 1866 this church was organized by Rev. J. J. Wood;
the membership increased steadily until 1868. The church moved into a new
building. This old structure itself is yet sufficiently well preserved to show what
a nice building it was. In 1891 the present structure was begun. In a short while
the building went up, but owing to poor workmanship it was condemned. For
this reason one wall had to be torn away at a loss of about $5,000. This meant a
great blow to the congregation for the edifice was constructed at a great cost and
as a result of much sacrifice on the part of many people. This left the people
under the burden of a heavy debt, and the ministers who have succeeded have
worked hard to pay it. The present structure is a handsome one, with a beautiful
interior. The building is granite and is finished inside in yellow pine. Beauti¬
ful glass windows adorn the church and there are electric light fixtures and
theatre chairs in the auditorium, while a $2,500 pipe organ also adds to the
beauty. The church is very large, having a seating capacity of 3,000. The total
membership is about 1,400, and is composed of some of the most influential and
cultured colored people of the city, a considerable number being school teachers
and property owners and respected people. The church is valued at $50,000 and a
statement of the money paid out during the previous year shows a total of
$4,964.86, which includes $98486 for salary to the pastor and $3,020 for the. church
debt. This church does a great deal of relief work among the indigent members.
Last year the amount expended was $200 for such work and $360 for missions;
$500 was given to the general connections.
The growth of such great Negro institutions involves much effort and genius
for organization. The greatest danger is that of the "split;" that is, the with¬
drawal of a dissatisfied minority and the formation of a new church. The gov¬
ernment of the Methodist churches hinders this, but the Baptist churches are
peculiarly liable to it. A case in the Methodist church follows:
No. 37. African Methodist Episcopal—110 active members.
The pastor is educated and respected and the- grade of membership is fairly
high. The church property, building and parsonage, is worth about $9,200. On
this there is a debt of $2,800, but as this was loaned by one of the church mem¬
bers, no interest is charged on it. The church is a nice brick structure, with
stained glass windows, galleries, choir, and organ. In the basement is a Sunday-
school room. The church was founded in 1870 by members of No. 44, who had
moved too far from their own church to attend services. As the church grew a
cleft appeared between the richer and poorer members and the result was that
some thirty or more members of the poor class withdrew and formed:
No. 54. Christian—Thirty active members.
The leader and pastor is a man of questionable character. The members are
mainly the middle working classes of average intelligence. Very little charitable
and relief work is done because the church has a hard time to keep on its feet.
The church drew out of No. 37 in 1897 and established this church, and since that
time the young church has been struggling for existence. The church building
is a large barn-like structure, roughly finished on the outside and rather crudely
furnished on the inside. It will accommodate about 400 people.
78
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
Such splits in the Negro church have been numerous in the past, but as the
churches grow stronger this method of protest is less effective. Of the present
fifty-four churches, eleven represent withdrawals from older churches. In some
cases this represents only natural growth; in others the establishment of more
convenient local churches; in others quarrels and differences. Since splits are so
easy in the democratic Baptist churches a large church of this denomination is
evidence of great cohesion and skilled leadership:
No. 57. Baptist—1,560 active members.
The character of the pastor is good and he is educated. The membership in¬
cludes some of the best people of the city, less than 100 are illiterate; there are
many business men, property owners and steady laborers and servants. The
church supports two missions, and has a committee for charitable work and
general relief. The organization dates back to 1870, when a few members of No.
28 formed a small church. To-day the church is out of debt and has a bank
account; has the largest Sunday-school in the state and one of the largest congre¬
gations in the city. It occupies a large plain building, furnished comfortably
but not elaborately. It has two organs and a piano. It has had but three pastors,
the second retiring on account of age, with a pension paid by the church.
Another type of church is the Negro church which is an organization in one of
the great white denominations. The Episcopal Church, for instance, has had
Negro communicants from early times, but while it helps them there is the feel¬
ing that the church wants them to keep in their "place," and their churches are
not growing.
No. 53. Protestant Episcopal—Sixty-eight communicants.
The character of the rector is excellent. He was educated at St. Augustine
College, Raleigh, N. C., and at Howard University, Washington, D. C. The mem¬
bership is small, quiet, and intelligent. Charity and relief work is done by dis¬
tributing clothing to the needy; periodicals are also distributed and visits made
to the sick. The present structure was erected in 1893. It is a frame building,
painted, of moderate size, and neatly but plainly furnished on the interior. There
is under the auspices of the church and in an adjoining building a primary
school with an enrollment of 120 students and three teachers.
The Methodist Church has treated its Negro members with much considera¬
tion and sympathy and has in consequence many large and influential churches.
One of the best of these in Atlanta is:
No. 33. Methodist Episcopal—500 active members.
The pastor is a "gentleman and honest man." The membership is composed of
the best class of working people with a large number of educated people and
graduates of the schools. The church supports a salaried deaconess to take
charge of its charitable work and spends nearly $300 a year on this work outside
of salaries. The church was organized in 1870 with thirty members. The present
building was owned by white Methodists, but they gave it up after the war and it
was turned over to the Negroes, and has become the leading church of this de¬
nomination in the South. The church is especially noted for its harmonious
work and lack of "splits." It does much for its young people, having a large
Sunday-school besides classes in cooking and sewing and a week-day class in
religious training.
The Congregational Church is virtually independent and its growth and influ¬
ence is due almost entirely to Negroes.
THE NEGRO CHURCH
79
No. 51. Congregational—400 active members.
The membership presents the highest average of intelligence of any colored
church in the city. The charitable work is regularly and efficiently organized
and a mission is maintained in the slums. The church was founded thirty-eight
years ago by two white missionaries. The church became self-supporting under
its present pastor and exerts a wide-spread influence in the city. The building is
plain but substantial and well located. The church raises $2,225 a year and has no
debt. Three hundred dollars is given in charity annually.
A word may be added here as to the character of pastors and the finances of
churches. In several of the smaller churches the pastors are ignorant and im¬
moral men, who are doing great harm. In the larger churches there is not in the
city a man of notoriously immoral life. Against a few ministers there are rumors
of lapses here and there, but it is difficult to say how far such gossip is trust¬
worthy and how far it is the careless talk of a people so long used to a low stand¬
ard among ministers that they hardly realize that there has been any change.
That there has been a change, however, is certain. The older type of minister
who built up the great churches of twenty years ago had a magnetic personality,
great eloquence, and a power of handling men. In private life he varied in all
degrees from an austere recluse to a drunkard and moral leper. This type of man
has passed away and his place has been gradually taken by a quiet, methodical
man, who can organize men and raise money. Such men are usually of good
average character and are executive officers of organizations strong enough to
hold together with or without a pastor. They, however, fall behind the present
demand in two particulars: they are not usually highly educated men, although
they are by no means illiterate, and their goodness is the average goodness of
every day men and not the ideal goodness of a priest, who is to revivify and rein-
spire the religious feelings of a rapidly developing group.
While the salaries paid ministers are still small, there has been a
great improvement in recent vears. The ministers of the fifty-four
Atlanta churches are paid as follows per annum :
$1,000 and over..
750-1,000
500-750
300-500
100-300
50-100
Under $50
No fixed salary
Total
The greatest change in the last decade has come in the forming of the
church groups. Ability to organize and systematize, arrange a regular
income and spend it effectively is demanded more and more of friinis-
ters and church officials. There is still much looseness and waste in
money matters and some dishonesty in the smaller churches. Over
$12,500 was paid out in interest and principal of debts last year. This
probably represents a total indebtedness of $50,000 to $75,000 on a quarter
of a million dollars worth of property.
80
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
18. Virginia.* There are twenty-four Negro churches in Richmond,f
nineteen of which are Baptist. The active membership of these
churches is nearly the same as that of the fifty-four churches in Atlanta.
As the Negro population of the two cities is nearly the same, this shows
a striking concentration in church fellowship and is probably the result
of longer growth in the older city, eliminating the smaller churches.
The statistics of membership and expenses are:
DENOMINATION.
No. of Churches.
i
! Membership
Claimed.
Active Members.
Value of Church
Property.
Expenses of
Last Year.
African Methodist Episcopal
Methodist Episcopal
i
i
19
1
2
236
97
14,802
83
143
78
50
6,949
60
138
$ 25,000
3,500
291,400
11,000
10,800
$ 3,810.00
1,490.00
40,653.29
732.00
1,210.70
Presbyterian
24
15,361
7,275
$341,700
5 47,895.99
The expenditures of these churches are distributed as follows:
ITEMIZED EXPENSES.
DENOMINATION.
For Salaries.
i
For Interest and
Principal Debt.
i
For Running
Expenses.
For Charity and
j Relief "Work.
For Missions.
For Support of
the Connection.
1
For other
Expenses.
African Methodist
$ 600.00
500.00
15,278.22
570.00
600.00
$ 4,100.00
750.00
14,843.79
$ 1,500.00
100.00
5,859.94
150.60
190.00
$ 90.00
20.00
1,667.02
$ 20.00
20.00
1,042.46
12.00
.50
$
8 500.00
70.00
4,616.08
Methodist Episcopal...
Baptist
30.00
446.81
360.00
54.20
6.00
Total
$17,548.22
#14,053.79
$ 7,699.91
$1,831.22
$1,094.96
8 476.81
$5,191.08
Richmond is noted for its large Baptist churches. If we divide the
twenty-four churches according to active membership, we have:
* The data on which this paragraph is based were collected by students of Virginia Union Uni¬
versity. t Including Manchester.
THE NEGRO CHURCH
81
Over 1,000 active members
2
1
3
2
750-1,000 active members
500-750 active members ..
250-500 active members..
100-250 active members ..
8
8
Under 100 active members
The three largest churches claim a total membership of 6,169 persons,
and an active membership of 3,134. They are all Baptist churches with
interesting1 histories. Over one the noted John J. Jasper was stationed
for years. The largest church has a total membership of 2,553, of which
one-half are active. This church raises $5,229 a year and spends nearly
$700 in charity and mission work. It has no debt. Ninety-four persons
joined the church last year, of whom sixty-two were under twenty years
of age. The pastor is a college graduate. Another church has 1,058
active members. It raises $5,000 a year and spends $270 in charities. It
paid nearly $3,000 on its debt last year. A third church, with 800 active
members, raises $3,250 a year. They paid off the last indebtedness on a
$3,000 church last year. The Protestant Episcopal Church has 133
communicants and raises $1,200 a year. It spends $243 a year in charity.
The present condition of Richmond churches seems, on the whole, to
be good. While the standard of the ministry is not yet satisfactory, the
proportion of upright and moral men is increasing. There is consider¬
able work among the sick and the poor, and this kind of work is in¬
creasing.
For a picture of the condition of churches in Farmville, Va., in 1898,
we may quote the following : *
"The church is much more than a religious organization: it is the chief organ
of social and intellectual intercourse. As such it naturally finds the free demo¬
cratic organizations of the Baptists and Methodists better suited to its purpose
than the strict bonds of the Presbyterians or the more aristocratic and ceremon¬
ious Episcopalians. Of the 262 families of Farmville, only one is Episcopalian
and three are Presbyterian; of the rest, twenty-six are Methodist and 218 Baptist.
In the town of Farmville there are three colored church edifices, and in the sur¬
rounding country there are three or four others.
"The chief and overshadowing organization is the First Baptist Church of
Farmville. It owns a large brick edifice on Main street. The auditorium, which
seats about 500 people, is tastefully finished in light wood, with carpet, small organ,
and stained glass windows. Beneath this is a large assembly room with benches.
This building is really the central club-house of the community, and in greater
degree than is true of the country church in New England or the West. Various
organizations meet here, entertainments and lectures take place here, the church
collects and distributes considerable sums of money, and the whole social life of
the town centers here. The unifying and directing force is. however, religious
exercises of some sort. The result of this is not so much that recreation and
social life have become stiff and austere, but rather that religious exercises have
* Bulletin of the United States Department of Labor, No. 14, pp. 34-35.
82
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
acquired a free and easy expression and in some respects serve as amusement-giving
agencies. For instance, the camp-meeting is simply a picnic, with incidental ser¬
mon and singing; the rally of the country churches, called the ' big meeting,' is the
occasion of the pleasantest social intercourse, with a free barbecue; the Sunday-
school convention and the various preachers' conventions are occasions of reunions
and festivities. Even the weekly Sunday service serves as a pleasant meeting and
greeting place for working people, who find little time for visiting during the
week.
"From such facts, however, one must not hastily form the conclusion that the
religion of such churches is hollow or their spiritual influence bad. While under
present circumstances the Negro church can not be simply a spiritual agency, but
must also be asocial, intellectual, and economic center, it nevertheless is a spirit¬
ual center of wide influence; and in Farmville its influence carries nothing im¬
moral or baneful. The sermons are apt to be fervent repetitions of an orthodox
Calvanism, in which, however, hell has lost something of its terrors through
endless repetition; and joined to this is advice against the grosser excesses of
drunkenness, gambling, and other forms disguised under the general term 'pleas¬
ure' and against the anti-social peccadillos of gossip, 'meanness,' and undue pride
of position. Very often a distinctly selfish tone inculcating something very like
sordid greed and covetousness is, perhaps, unconsciously used; on the other
hand, kindliness, charity, and sacrifice are often taught. In the midst of all, the
most determined, energetic, and searching means are taken to keep up and
increase the membership of the church, and 'revivals,' long continued and loud,
although looked upon by most of the community as necessary evils, are annually
instituted in the August vacation time. Revivals in Farmville have few of the
wild scenes of excitement which used to be the rule; some excitement and
screaming, however, are encouraged, and as a result nearly all the youth are 'con¬
verted' before they are of age. Certainly such crude conversions and the joining
of the church are far better than no efforts to curb and guide the young.
"The Methodist Church, with a small membership, is the second social center of
Farmville, and there is also a second Baptist Church, of a little lower grade, with
some habitual noise and shouting."
Outside the city of Richmond, we have returns from thirty-five
churches. Thirty-two of these are Baptist, one is Christian, and two
Presbyterian :
Total churches
Total membership
Total actual membership
Total value property
Total expenses
$114,810.00
21,155.54
18,727
10,842
35
Total expenses
Salaries
Debt and Interest
Running expenses
Charity, etc
Missions
Support and connection...
Other expenses
.$ 9,738.28
4,335.15
1,247.66
1,475.09
3,821.68
437.68
862.00
$ 21,155.54
THE NEGRO CHURCH
83
The condition of the Methodist churches can be judged by the reports
of the African Methodist Episcopal Churches in the Norfolk, Ports¬
mouth, Richmond, and Roanoke districts—108 churches in all:
Ministers 77
Members 9,126
Churches 108
Parsonages 38
Value churches and parsonages $ 168,114.09
Present indebtedness 64,739.61
Money raised for—
Pastors' support 18,578.62
Missionary-money 1,177.46
Charitable purposes 1,162.53
Educational purposes 512.40
Building and repairs 8,489.40
Current expenses 38,284.22
For all purposes 70,584.67
19. The Middle West, Illinois. (By Monroe N. Work, A. M., and the
Editor).
There are approximately about 250 Negro churches in the state with
a total membership of 15,177. The Negro population of the state was
85,078 for 1900. This gives about 22% per cent, of Negro population of
the state as members of the church. There is a large number of per¬
sons who have moved into the state that in their native homes were
members of churches. These would raise the actual number of church
communicants considerably, for they commune, etc., and to all intents
and purposes are members of the churches where they happen to reside.
These would in a census be returned as members and counted in the
state where residing.
By denominations the membership is as follows:
African Methodist Episcopal.8,375 Episcopal 380
Baptist 8,812 Presbyterian 210
African Methodist Episcopal Cumberland Presbyterian— 65
Zion 100 Christian 50
Methodist Episcopal 360 Catholics (not ascertained)
Old Time Methodist Episcopal 100 Adventists (estimated) 25
The total amount of church property owned in the state was about . $445,000
The total expenses for 1902 were about 133,000
Of the above amount about $70,000 was for pastors' salaries and about
$20,000 on church debt.
The following conclusions are based on my own observations and the
replies to questions sent out:
The Negro church, as a result of slavery, emphasized the emotional
side of mentality and the future life. Freedom, with its changed envir¬
onments and opportunities, has modified these two aspects. It is found
in the study of churches of this state, that there is a decided tendency
84
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
away from the emotional and the emphasizing of the future life. This
is especially noticeable in both Baptist and Methodist churches, which
contain the bulk of the Negro communicants. In the churches of these
denominations in the city of Chicago there are only a few where
the emphasis is on the emotional and the future life. There are
some churches where the emphasis is placed sometimes on the emo¬
tional, the future life, and sometimes on the intellectual and this present
life. There is a large number of churches in which the emphasis is
almost entirely on the intellectual and the things of this life. It may
be said, therefore, that in general the farther the people have moved
from slavery conditions the less emotional and unpractical they are
religiously; the more effort there is to make religion a rule of conduct
for every day life.
Historically the Negro ministry has had three distinct stages of
development and appears to be passing into a fourth stage. The min¬
ister of slavery days and early freedom, for the most part ignorant, was
the leader of the people along all lines—religiously, intellectually,
politically, etc. The emancipated Negro had few or no church build¬
ings. This, with the additional fact of a large emigration to the cities,
caused a demand for ministers who could build large church buildings
and control large congregations. The church-building, congregation-
managing minister was the result. It was not necessary that he should
be intellectual or morally upright if he could meet with the demands,
hence the development of this type of ministry. The need of church
buildings was largely met, but almost every church had a debt upon
it. There arose a demand for ministers who could raise money to pay
these debts and keep the church doors from being closed. This, the
third type, has more business ability than his predecessors. He is
stronger intellectually and better morally. There is arising a demand
for still another type of ministry, viz.: the man strong intellectually
and sound morally. This demand is, as yet, not very strong,
mainly because there are not many churches out of debt, and the
energies of the people are largely expended in raising money to pay on
church debts. It is more than probable that as the people progress in
intelligence and the churches are freed from debt, thus permitting
them to pay more attention to internal aspects of religion, the intellec¬
tual and moral man will become more and more the leader in the
churches.
The above is not izitended as a full or adequate explanation of the
churches in Illinois, especially in Chicago, but rather as one of the
main causes in producing the present conditions of the churches in this
state.
The present conditions of the churches seems to be about as follows:
they are for the most part deeply in debt. Hence the energies of
the people are expended in raising money to pay interest, etc., of debt,
thereby causing the emphasis to be laid on the incidentals instead of
THE NEGRO CHURCH
85
upon the essentials of the religious life. The people live for the church
instead of the church existing for the people. There is not as much
attention given to teaching the essentials of religion as should be, but
the tendency seems to be more toward this phase as the churches are
freed from debt. This is best illustrated by the institution of pastors
having for their purpose the ministering to the social needs of the
people. The Institutional Church, established in Chicago by the Afri¬
can Methodist Episcopal denomination, is the most advanced step in
the direction of making the church exist for the people rather than the
people for the church. Because of the financial needs and other things
this church has been compelled to modify its efforts to minister to the
people and lay emphasis on the incidental features.
The church appears to be occupying a somewhat less prominent place
in the social life of the people than it once did, although it is yet
probably the most influential factor, or one of the most influential, in
their social life.
The ministry has probably improved, both intellectually and morally.
It is, however, not meeting the needs of the people in the best possible
manner, because there are few ministers with college and theological
training, and the debt-ridden conditions of the churches call for men
with ability to raise money rather than for men intellectually and
morally strong.
The morals of the people are probably being raised. This is best
evidenced by the wide-spread dissatisfaction that is found to exist
among church members and the criticism of present conditions which
they make; also the increasing demand for a better ministry. This
criticism is:
(1) One of the ministry.
a. It lacks edification.
b. It lacks morality.
c. It lacks business ability.
(2) Of the members.
a. Of the officers of the church who are often dishonest and lacking in
business ability.
b. The members lack moral sense and appreciation, i. e., the ethical stand¬
ards are bad.
The church is probably losing its influence on the young people
because of the scarcity of ministers able to meet the intellectual needs
of the times and the emphasis which the church is compelled to place
on eternal things. The conditions of the churches in this state., while
far from being good, are probably being improved.
1. A better type of ministry is appearing (very few).
2. The business affairs of the church are being better managed. This
is notably true in Chicago.
3. The people are demanding better ministers and higher morals
(demand very weak and uncertain as yet).
4. Tendency appears to be toward more honest and upright living
among the members.
86
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
The opinions of seventy-five intelligent colored laymen throughout
the state are as follows:
The majority think that the present condition of the churches is bad.
The churches' influence is, on the whole, toward better and more upright
life, but there is great room for improvement. The ministers are said
not usually to be the right sort of men, their faults being ignorance and
immorality, and in some cases, drunkenness. Opinions are divided as
to the efficiency of Sunday-schools. Not much charitable work is done
and the church is not attracting young people.
The great needs of the church in Illinois are better ministers, better
business management, a high standard of living among members, a
larger income, and more practical work.
The standards of morality among Negroes are being slowly raised.
Detailed returns as to churches have been received directly from
sixty-one Negro churches having an enrolled membership of 10,144 and
an active membership of 6,172. Of this active membership, 4,969 is in
the thirty-two churches in the city of Chicago. The twenty-nine
churches outside of Chicago report the following statistics :
Twenty=nine Churches in Illinois
Total membership
2,143
Active membership
1,093
Cost of churches
8 72,660.00
Salaries
. 8 8,200.91
Debt and interest
3,206.49
Running expense
2,388.23
Charity
481.66
Missions
310.03
Support of connection
698.26
Other expenses
3,176.10
Total
J 18,461.68
For southern Illinois we have reports of seventy-four African Metho¬
dist Episcopal Churches as follows :
Ministers 52
Members 4,085
Churches 74
Parsonages 35
Value churches and parsonages $ 83,190.00
Present indebtedness 23,304.44
School houses 3
Money raised for—
Pastors'support j 17,964.11
Missionary money 481.35
Charitable purposes 650.08
Educational purposes 243.75
Building and repairs 8,215.74
Current expenses 4,161.98
For all expenses 33 207.58
THE NEGRO CHURCH
87
There are in Chicago thirty-two colored churches and missions. Six¬
teen of these own the places where they worship. There are no returns
from four of them. The figures are:
The Negro Churches in Chicago
DENOMINATION.
No. Reporting.
Membership.
Active
Membership.
Valuation of
Church
Property.
Expenses
Last Year.
African Methodist Episcopal
Baptist
African Methodist Episcopal Zion .
Presbyterian
9
11
1
2
1
1
2
1
3,549
3,097
500
215
50
280
310
2,080
2,140
300
134
40
125
150
$ * 125,800
16,500
20,000
8,000
$ 39,372.95
12,674.74
2,640.60
Episcopal
Methodist Episcopal
5,000
3,500
1,811.25
1,909.00
Total
28
8,001
4,969
$ 178,800
$ 58,408.50
[N. B.] These totals are slnaller than they really should be owing to the fact that
some churches were only partially reported, while the "Adventist Church" has no
report of statistics.
♦One of the African Methodist Episcopal Churches does not own property, but
uses a rented building.
Four of the Baptist Churches do not own property, but use rented buildings.
One of the Presbyterian Churches owns no property.
The Christian Church uses a rented building.
One of the Methodist Episcopal Churches uses a rented building.
The active membership of these churches varies as follows:
750-1,000 2
500-750 2
300-500 1
100-300 7
Under 100 14
Unknown 6
Total 32
The pastors of these churches may be classified as follows: Of the
five larger churches (300-1,000 members) the pastors are reported:
No. 1. "Reputation fair."
No. 2. "Charged with drunkenness and immorality; but charges not confirmed."
No. 3. "Charged with misuse of church funds."
No. 4. "No especial charges."
No. 5. "Character not good—immoral."
Of the pastors of churches with 100-300 members:
Nos. 0,7,8,9,10 and 12. "Character good."
No. 11. "Character not good—given to drink."
88
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
Of the pastors of the smaller churches nine are of good character.
The others are :
No. 14 "Reputation not good."
No. 26. "Charged with misuse of funds."
Nos. 15 and 17. ?
No. 20. Has no pastor at present.
In the larger churches four are composed largely of ignorant or
lower middle class people. One has a pretty intelligent class of people.
Of the seven medium churches three have intelligent congregations of
the upper class and four congregations of fair intelligence. The
smaller churches consist of three rather intelligent congregations,
seven of fair or medium intelligence, and five ignorant bodies.
Only one. of the large churches does much charitable work. It spent
last year nearly $400. One other church claims to spend considerable,
but does not do very effective work. Two of the medium sized churches
do charitable work of some importance. One of these was originally
organized as a social settlement, but for lack of proper guidance has
had but partial success. Nevertheless, it is a significant movement
and indicates a drift in the right direction. It has done some good
work, among other things co-operating with Atlanta University in this
study. One of the smaller churches has a day nursery and kindergar¬
ten, and two others do some institutional work among the young people.
The oldest of the Negro churches was established in 1850. It was for
some time a station on the underground railroad. It is to-day a center
of social and religious life and also of the political life of the Negroes.
President McKinley spoke in the church on his last public visit to
Chicago. The second oldest church was established in 1853.
The actual services in these churches can best be judged by record¬
ing the results of a series of visits. In four of the large churches we
have the following results:
African Methodist Episcopal Church—700 active members.
11 a. m. Sunday service. There was a long ritualistic introduction. The sing¬
ing was good and effort was put forth to make strangers feel at home. The ser¬
mon was preached especially to converts and there was much emotion prevalent.
The emphasis was laid on the after life. The house was well filled and the ven¬
tilation bad.
African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church—300 active members.
Morning service. The attendance was poor and much emotion was displayed.
The sermon was on "God's love." There was much insistence on money. The
ventilation was bad.
African Methodist Episcopal Church—800 active members.
Special afternoon service. Discussion of the decrease of consumption by col¬
ored physicians of the city. Talks on care of the body.
Baptist Church—1,000 active members.
THE NEGRO CHURCH
89
Evening service. The house was crowded and the sermon emotional. The ser¬
vice was long, running forty-five minutes over time. Sermon had some practical
bearings at the close. Ventilation was good.
Ten other church services in the medium and smaller churches are
reported. In nine of these there was no evidence of emotion—in some
cases for lack of interest, in other cases from custom. In one case the
church had white and colored members and a colored pastor. They
showed much emotion at the service, but were very sincere and earnest
people. The sermons varied: one was on the "Future life;" another
took the theme "Get ready to leave this world," but ended with prac¬
tical' advice on home-owning. Another spoke of the "Blessed life,"
putting emphasis on both this and the future life. Another sermon
was on "Self-control."
The expenditures of Chicago churches were as follows:
Thirty=two Churches in Chicago
Total membership 6,811
Active membership 4,329
Valuation of churches $ 199,300.00
Salaries 17,895.13
Debt and interest 17,617.39
Running expenses 12,869 32
Charity 2,760.98
Missions 609.10
Support of connection 1,550.95
Other expenses 4,267.10
Total.... $ 57,569.97
The comments of intelligent Negroes and some of the pastors on the
condition of the churches are worth listening to. As to the condition
of the churches there is much complaint of the debts due largely to
the erection of imposing edifices :
"As a rule, they are marked with inefficiency and a lack of proper regard for the
moral development of the people. The emphasis placed on the financial condition
is so great that the church is lacking in that which works for the moral develop¬
ment of the people in honesty, in sexual purity, etc."
"I have been informed that all but two of the churches in this city carry large
debts. These debts range from $5,000 to $27,000. In appearance and appointments
the church structures compare favorably with the edifices of the white population.
One was built and completed at a cost of nearly $50,000. The Institutional Church
was bought from the First Presbyterian Church for $33,000, of which sum $9,000
has been paid. The Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church and the Olivet
Baptist Church cost in the neighborhood of $30,000 each. They each owe about
$15,000."
"The majority are in debt. The larger churches are largely attended by fash¬
ionably dressed people. The smaller ones have a hard struggle to exist. There is
a constant demand for money at every service in all of them."
90
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
The influence of these churches is criticized:
"The thought of right doing and right living seems to be secondary. The pri¬
mary idea seems to be to get the most good-paying members."
"We have many loyal and faithful members in our churches, and, I may add,
altogether too many bad ones."
The ministers are especially taken to task:
"As a rule, I think the ministers are good men. There are dangerous exceptions,
however."
"I know some good, pure, and upright men in the ministry but I know some
who are not good, pure, and upright. In my observations, I have noticed drunk¬
enness, poor paymasters, lack of interest in their families, and very much tainted
with sexual impurity."
"The ministers of churches are excellent Christian gentle¬
men, educated, and doing all in their power to raise the standard of Christian
citizenship."
"So far as my personal knowledge goes, the ministers are good men. I can not
deny that I have heard some ugly and persistent rumors concerning the life and
character of several of the local staff of preachers. Sexual immorality and drunk¬
enness are the offenses charged. I do not know of this from personal knowledge,
however. In making this statement I am not attempting to evade whatever
responsibility may rest with me in this matter. I simply do not know of my own
knowledge of the correctness of these charges."
"I do not know of any specific cases of immorality such as you make mention
of here. I can only judge by what I hear and that not too harshly. If I should
judge strictly according to what I hear, I should not believe that there were any
Christians among our ministers. This I am unwilling to accede."
"I regret to say some of those in our larger churches have not conducted them¬
selves as Christian ministers should, numerous scandals having arisen about them.
Whether false or true, it has a tendency to destroy their influence for good."
"Common rumor charges the ministers of our largest churches in this com¬
munity with gross immorality—sexual impropriety and drunkenness. The min¬
isters of the three largest Methodist churches are charged with drunkenness,
and the one at another church with gross sexual immorality. According to
persistent rumor, one church was robbed by a former pastor who still has a
charge here."
"Several ministers whom I know have had the above charges laid at their door.
I cannot say whether they are guilty or not. I know, however, that a great deal
of money passes through their hands and still the churches groan under the heavy
weight of debt. Some I know are positively immoral."
Several pastors write of their especial difficulties, enumerating them
as follows:
"How to secure sufficient means to prosecute the work in my district, which is
the 'Slum District,' and how to treat and deal with the influx now migrating
here from the South."
"One is poverty. Another is to have my message received for its own sake. A
third is the utter lack of moral stamina in the community, extending to every¬
thing."
"The pastor's greatest difficulty is to meet his financial obligations because of
his meagre salary."
THE NEGRO CHURCH
91
"The one great difficulty of the Negro pastor is to overcome the persistent, well
nigh peremptory demand for something which appeals to the animal rather than
to the human that rouses the excitable rather than convicts the judgment.."
"Lack of competent officials in a business way."
The greatest needs of the churches, according to the pastors, are:
"More intelligence and more piety, as well as an infinitely greater degree of
purified refinement."
"(1) New methods of giving, i. e., from principle; (2) harmony between inner
and external life; (3) promptness in attendance; (4) true conception of the mean¬
ing of worship; (5) to keep the church out of politics."
"The greatest need is money."
The laymen think the needs are :
"I think the greatest need of our churches is good business management of funds,
honest, intelligent and industrious business men on our trustee and deacon boards."
"More earnestness, higher moral tone, particularly in pulpit. To reform meth¬
ods of raising money so as to preserve the quiet calm that should prevent devo¬
tional meetings from degenerating into a bargain counter session. The building
of large and imposing edifices without previous monetary arrangements or its
spiritual value being thought of, makes morals and religion serve as bell-ringer
merely to call the congregation in order to cajole, importune or brow-beat inter¬
est money and pastor's salary."
And above all, "Better ministers
Yet, that there is some good work done in matters of charity and
reform by the churches, all admit.
"Yes, we have Sunday Clubs, as for instance, the Ladies' Aid of Berean Church,
which did noble work during the severe cold weather just passed. They meet from
house to house and sew for the poor."
"The Institutional Church and Social Settlement does the most of this kind of
work. The other churches confine their charitable and reformatory work to their
membership. I think this is accounted for in the small and moderate means of
the membership."
"No specialized charity, but particularly generous and open-hearted in request
cases"
"The Institutional, Quinn Chapel, Bethel, and others in Chicago. Special col¬
lections are lifted to bury some poor unfortunate or to relieve the wants of the
destitute."
The churches are not attracting young people as they should.
"Owing to present conditions, as I see them, the young people of the intellectual
class are not attracted to the church. They give very little for the support of the
church."
"Not in large numbers. A few are scattered throughout all of the churches, but
the vast majority seems to have no inclination toward the church."
"Taking Chicago as a whole. No! In the community of which I write, Yes! One
of the largest Negro churches in the city until recently actually set a premium on
ignorance, and drove the younger element from the church."
"I am sorry to have to answer No. Our young people are being educated away
from the church. A very small percentage of our professional men and women
are regular in their church attendance."
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EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
In spite of all drawbacks the weight of opinion is that moral stand¬
ards in Chicago are being slowly raised despite the influx of the new
colored immigrants:
"It is my firm belief that the standards are being raised in these particulars.
The accumulations in property holdings and homes, the increase in bank accounts,
the visible improvement in the matter of good taste in dress, are signs which, in
my opinion, confirm the belief that the standards included in this question are
being raised."
"I do not think the standards are being raised by any means."
"Through the efforts of the church, Women's Clubs, and Sunday Clubs, there
seems to be an improvement in morals."
"Lowered, as viewed from large numbers of marriages, which are not held in
such sacredness as such tie demands and in careless rearing of children."
"I think the standard of morality is being raised. Marriages are common,
every-day occurrences, and illicit and illegal cohabitation is no longer common
but is very rare. The chief agencies in this work are church and school."
20. The Middle West, Ohio. (By R. R. Wright, Jr.*)
Greene County is situated in the southwestern portion of the state of
Ohio, about midway between Cincinnati and Columbus. Its area is
453 square miles and its population is 31,613, of whom 4,055 are Negroes.
Greene County is a typical county for the study of the Negro problem,
as it refers to the Northern Negro of the country and small town, for
it not only has a very varied population of Negroes, but also the largest
proportion of Negroes to whites in the state; and among these Negroes
are some of the oldest inhabitants of the state as well as some of the
most recent immigrants from the South.
Negro Church in Ohio
Ohio has a population of 4,157,545 persons, of whom 96,901 are Negroes.
Of these about 28,000, or twenty-nine per cent., are reported as church
members.
Early in the last century the Negro church had its rise in this state.
In 1815, when there were but few Negroes here, the first Negro church
was established at Cincinnati. This was under the Methodist Episco¬
pal church. Rev. B. W. Arnett, now bishop of the African Methodist
Episcopal Church, gives the following account in his "Proceedings of
the Semi-Centenary Celebration of the African Methodist Episcopal
Church of Cincinnati, 1874: " "The first religious society organized in
Cincinnati by colored people was the Deer Creek Church, organized in
1815, under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church. This was
one year before the organization of the African Methodist Episcopal
denomination in Philadelphia by Richard Allen and others. What
Negroes there were in Cincinnati had been attending Old Stone Church,
*Cf. Mr. Wright's longer study, Bulletin United States Bureau of Labor, No. 48.
THE NEGRO CHURCH
93
or 'Wesley Chapel' Methodist Episcopal Church; but on account of
the shouting habit they were not very much desired at this white
church. They were all crowded into one section of the church, where
with much effort they tried not to disturb their white brethren by
their frequent outbursts of praise to God. The whites tolerated them
as long as they were successful in suppressing this inclination to shout.
The crisis came, however, in 1815, when a brother, striving to suppress
his shout by muffling his mouth with a handkerchief, burst one of his
blood vessels in the attempt. After this the whites themselves took
serious steps to have a separate church for Negroes. The result was
the Deer Creek Church, whose pastor for a long while was a slave who
came over from Kentucky from time to time. This new church was
under the Methodist Episcopal connection until 1823, when, on account
of alleged discrimination and unbrotherly action on the part of the
white brethren toward the colored, many of the latter withdrew and
went over to the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Those who
remained continued in the Methodist Episcopal Church, known later
as Union Chapel. Thus began the Negro church in Ohio. Its mother
was the Methodist Episcopal Church. The first African Methodist
Episcopal Church was at Steubenville. In 1823, according to Bishop
D. A. Payne's History of the African Methodist Episcopal Church,
there were churches of this denomination at Cincinnati, Steubenville,
and Chillicothe. When the Chillicothe and Steubenville churches
were founded is not exactly known. In 1824 the report for the African
Methodist Episcopal churches was as follows: Jefferson County Cir¬
cuit (composed of Steubenville, with forty-five members, Cape Belmont,
six members, Mount Pleasant, twelve members) — total sixty-three
members; Chillicothe Circuit (composed of Chillicothe, Zanesville,
Lancaster, and Cincinnati), only thirty-three members were reported
on these charges. In 1833 there were churches at twenty different
points with a membership of 690. In 1836 the membership of the
African Methodist Episcopal Church was 1,131, and in 1838 it was 1,817.
It has steadily increased until to-day it is more than 6,000."
When the separate Negro church was established, in 1815, nearly
all the Negroes of the town joined or attended it regardless of what
denomination they had before belonged to. It was not until 1835 that
the first Baptist organization was begun—"Union Baptist Church" of
Cincinnati.
There are now in the state seven denominations maintaining separate
churches for Negroes, with a membership as follows :
94
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
Baptists 16,213
Western Association 6,885
Eastern Association 3,704
Zion Association *3,500
Providence Association 2,124
African Methodist Episcopal Church 6,308
Ohio Conference 3,179
North Ohio Conference 3,129
Methodist Episcopal Church, North 1,645
Wesleyan Methodists 557
Christian (Disciples') *1,000
Episcopal and Presbyterian 2,000
Total 27,723
These with the number of Negroes who are members of white con¬
gregations among Presbyterians, Catholics, Congregationalists, Zionists
(Dowieites), would make the total about 28,000, or about twenty-nine
per cent, of the total Negro population of the state. Of the population
over fifteen years of age—70,032—forty per cent, are church members.
In 1890 there were 250 organizations in the state among Negroes, having
19,827 communicants. This was 22.8 per cent, of the total population
of 87,113 Negroes, much less than in 1902. The number of church mem¬
bers in the country at large in 1890 was 2,673,977 or 35.7 per cent, of
the total Negro population. By this we see that Ohio is now still
somewhat behind what the country at large was in 1890. The following
table is taken from the United States census of 1890:
STATE.
Organizations.
Edifices.
Seating
Capacity.
i
Halls.
Seating
Capacity.
Value.
Communicants.
j Population.
Total for United States.
23,462
250
23,770
214
6,800,035
66,516
1,358
34
114,644
1,750
$26,626,488
576,425
2,678,977
19,827
7,488,788
87,113
There arp now over 300 organizations distributed among over 200 cities
and towns in the state.
Qreene County
Greene County has a population of 31,613, of whom 4,055 are Negroes.
The county is favorably situated for farming, and outside of Xenia
many Negroes engage in this occupation, chiefly as "hands" at odd
labor, however, as the census of 1900 gave only ninety farmers among
the colored population of the county. The county is one of the oldest
in the State, constituted in 1802, and named for General Nathaniel
* Estimated by Secretary.
THE NEGRO CHURCH 95
Greene. From its earliest days it has had Negroes among its population,
as the following table will show:
POPULATION OF GREENE COUNTY BY UNITED STATES CENSUS, 1810-1900
Year.
White.
Colored.
Total.
1810
5,834
36
5,870
1820
10,468
61
10,521
1830
14,639
162
14,801
1840
17,184
344
17,528
1850
21,292
654
21,946
1860
24,722
1,475
26,197
1870
24,199
3,839a
28,038
1880
26,774
4,575 b
31,349
1890
25,950
4,060 c
29,820
1900
27,554
4,055 d
31,613
a Includes 24 Indians.
b Includes 6 Chinese and 19 Indians.
c Does not include 3 Chinese and 7 Indians.
cZNegroes only. Does not Include 4 Chinese and Japanese.
The following table gives a partial exhibit of the general financial
condition of the churches of the State:
CHURCHES.
Value of Prop¬
erty.
Indebtedness.
Salary of Pastor.
Paid on Debt.
Total Raised.
a$79,050.09
242,375.00
108,570.00
$10,439.00
17,055.25
10,364.53
$ 8,430.00
14,692.01
13,116.28
b $9,074.00
14,898.29
10,806.64
A. M. E.—
N. O. Conference
Ohio Conference
$37,878.57
28,522.43
13,380.00
dl3,510.00
(. Providence Association ...
Wesleyan
31,350.00
9,400.00
el,414.40
1,954.99
3,296.52
a $12,200 for parsonages.
b $5,628 for improvements, $3,466 on debt.
c For six pastors only.
d The total valuation of church property of the Baptists is estimated at $259,200.
Greene County is noted for its many small towns, among a score of
which the most prominent are Xenia, with a population of 8,696; James¬
town, 1,205; Yellow Springs, 1,371; Cedarville, 1,189; Osborn,948; Bow-
ersville, 370; Springvalley, 522; and Bellbrook, 352. In five of these,
viz: Xenia, Jamestown,Yellow Springs, Cedarville, and Wilberforce,
we find the Negro church. To describe one of these is to describe all
save Xenia and Wilberforce, the latter a college community, where
Wilberforce University is located.
96
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
One rides into one of the other of these little towns and here he finds
two more or less neat little church buildings, with seating capacity,
on an average, of about 150 or 200 persons; sometimes of brick, some¬
times frame. At Yellow Springs, the seat of Antioch College, where
once the great Horace Mann presided, both churches are of brick and
neat. One of these churches is an African Methodist Episcopal, and
the other a Baptist Church. Almost invariably you will find that the
younger and more intelligent class of Negroes is at the Methodist
Church, while the older contingent generally constitute the member¬
ship of the Baptist Church. At the Baptist Church one will find more
fervency of speech and a more sanctimonious look on the part of both
pastor and people, more of heaven and the future is talked of; at the
Methodist churches there is all of this, but less in proportion. The
sermons one very probably will hear at the Baptist Church will abound
in much good thought, ending generally in the same way, with some¬
thing foreign more or less to the text. While the Methodist pastor
may not be free from digressions, yet he is in every case the more logical
speaker, and now and then gives his people something out of the "same
old way." This is natural, when we know that the pastor of the Bap¬
tist Church is generally a middle-aged man * of but meagre English
and no theological training, while the pulpit of the Methodist Church
is occupied by a student in the Theological Seminary at Wilberforce,
who is also generally the equivalent of a high school graduate. These
circumstances account for the above-named facts that the more intelli¬
gent class attends the Methodist Church. This comparison is somewhat
abnormal when the whole state is considered, because the Methodist
pastors are students who, were they engaged solely in preaching, would
have much better churches, and leave these smaller churches to more
poorly equipped men, as is the case with the Baptists now. The
Baptist churches are, however, generally larger than the Methodist
chiefly because they receive more time from their pastors. This was the
case up to two years ago. Still there is no friction, but the most cordial
feeling between both pastors and both flocks. Indeed many of the
members of the Methodist Church take active parts in affairs of the
Baptist Church, and vice versa. The pastors even change their pulpits,
which once was not common. During the winter of 1902, when the
revival fever had taken vigorous hold of Greene County, in order that
there be no disadvantage in fighting Satan occasioned by a division of
the hosts of the Lord, an agreement was made in Cedarville to the
effect that one of the denominations would hold its revival and that all
the members of the other church would give aid. After this first
revival, then all, regardless of denomination, should combine their
forces at the other church. This worked well for both. On the day
* The pulpit of Cedarville Baptist Church has been recently given to a young man—student
at Wilberforce.
THE NEGRO CHURCH
97
that the Methodist Church was visited by the writer, he found the
pastor of the Baptist Church present to preach.
In all of these churches the chief stress is put upon "saving souls;11
that is, in persuading people to forsake sin and accept the Christian
religion as the guiding force of their lives. And the method is quite
rational. Usually in the middle of the winter, i. e., the first thing in
the new year, the churches begin their revivals. This first work of the
year lasts from two to eight weeks and many come to be saved, and are
converted. Some of these see visions or dream dreams, some spend
weeks in mourning, and still others are converted in a few minutes. In
the revivals the sermons are chiefly on hell and its terrors, the love
of Christ and God as shown in the suffering and death of Christ, Christ
seeking sinners, the awful doom of those rejecting Him, etc. They
abound in pathetic stories, which are related with great feeling, and
which seldom fail in the desired result. This result is a large number
of conversions and accessions to the churches. These are in due time
baptized and admitted to full membership. Then the revival has
closed, not only having been of great benefit to those converted, but
also a positive moral help to the community at large. The remaining
nine or ten months of the year are used for strengthening and teach¬
ing the members in the Christian religion and in the doctrines of the
church. The Baptists take in their members directly. The Methodists
require six months of probation, during which the candidate is supposed
to receive instruction in his duty as a Christian and church member
by the pastor, beside the regular instruction given from the pulpit. In
none of the Methodist churches of Greene County is this carried out
fully, but in those where it is attempted with anything like success,
the results show well in the character of the members.
If there is any criticism as to method in arousing and directing the
religious consciousness it should be more severe as regards post-revival
methods than revival methods. Experienced revivalists, and some
men of much intelligence living in the county, state that for the aver¬
age Negro congregation their method, though accompanied by much
of the spectacular, is best suited for those to whom they appeal, but
that after the "revival" is over the proper oversight is seldom given
the young Christian and, as is quite natural, the life is far from the
ideal.
WiiiBERFOKOE.—The value of the Wilberforce church consists in the
fact that many students are interested in Christian work, and are
trained for larger service after leaving school. The pastor of the
church is the instructor in science and a very devout man. Under his
preaching from forty to eighty students are converted every year. Of
these some take an active interest in the local Christian work, and of
these latter some enter the ministry. In many states of the Union
there are men and women earnestly engaged in church, Sunday-school,
Young Men's Christian Association work, now leaders and pastors,
98
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
who were converted in the Wilberforce revival and got their first
interest and training- here. For the training of the newly converted
there is a class led by one of the instructors. Beside this the Bible
classes of the Y. M. C. A. and Y. W. C. A., taught by professors in
the University, have in the past year been successful in imparting
systematic knowledge of the Scriptures more than at any previous
time.
Payne Theological Seminary is at Wilberforce, and its students and
teachers are local preachers in the church. Its dean is superintendent
of the Sunday-school. In the Seminary are forty-five students, repre¬
senting South America, South Africa, West Africa, and various states
in the Union. The class of 1903 numbers eleven members.
Xenia.—Xenia is the county seat of Greene County and one of the
oldest towns in the state. Its population by the census of 1900 was 8,696,
of whom 1,988, or 21.7 per cent., were Negroes. These Negroes are made
up of about half natives of the state of Ohio and about half immigrants
from Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee and other South¬
ern states. In general the immigrants make up the lower class, being
the poorer and more illiterate. The illiteracy of Xenia Negroes is
13.42 per cent, for all above ten years, and 1.57 per cent, for those
between ten years and forty years. About 63 per cent, of Xenia Negroes
own their homes and they pay taxes on $116,828 worth of property.
The school advantages, through high school, are far above ordinary.
Yet Xenia is a town of but little thrift compared with the advantages
offered. The chief businesses are barbers, small groceries and an
undertaking establishment. While the Negroes are not extraordinarily
thrifty, they are not, on the other hand, very vicious. Composing 21.7
per cent of the population, they furnish 29.9 per cent, of the arrests.
The number for 1901-2 was ninety-eight. Among these cases were:
Drunk, ten; loitering, three; disorderly, twenty; drunk and disorderly,
seven ; assault and battery,seven ; suspicion, five; safe keeping, eleven;
stealing ride, seven ; petit larceny, one; lunacy, two; burglary, fugitive
from justice, murder in another state, larceny, threatening, execution,
one each; gambling, seven; horse stealing, two.
Xenia, then, is a slow, not good, not bad, conservative, somewhat
conceited sort of a town, whose people live, in the main, comfortably,
i. e., according to the general standard for Negroes.
Negroes have lived in the county ever since it has been established.
The first count made in the county, in 1803, took a record only of white
males over twenty-one years of age, but the United States census gives
the colored population of Xenia only since 1830, as follows:
THE NEGRO CHURCH 99
Year.
White.
Colored.
Total.
1830
902
2,694
3,856
4,687
5,077
5,424
6,705
17
330
802
1,690
1,949 a
1,877 6
1,991c
919
3,024
4,658
6,377
7,026
7,301
8,696
1850
18(50
1870
1880
1890
1900
a Includes 3 Chinese and Japanese and 3 Indians.
b Includes 3 Chinese and 6 civilized Indians,
c Includes 3 Chinese.
There are seven churches in Xenia, viz: Three Baptist, one African
Methodist Episcopal, one Methodist Episcopal, one Wesleyan Metho¬
dist, and one Christian Church.
The first church in Xenia was established by the African Methodist
Episcopal connection in 1833. Nothing is known of it save that it was
on the Hillsboro Circuit, and Rev. Thomas Lawrence was its pastor.
In 1836 Rev. William Paul Quinn, afterwards bishop of the African
Methodist Episcopal Church, was pastor. In 1842 the church was
called the "Greene County Mission," had twenty-five members and
paid its pastor the neat sum of $7.91. The first Baptist Church was
established in 1848. Henry Howe's first "History of Ohio," published
in 1852, says that then Xenia contained one German Church, one
Lutheran Church, one Methodist Episcopal Church, one Seceders1
Church, one Associate Reformed Church, one Baptist Church, and two
churches for colored people.
Membership.—The seven churches of Xenia report a total membership
of 1,068, or 53.4 per cent, of the entire Negro population. The member¬
ship is as follows:
. Church. Membership.
Baptist 640
Zion 370
Middle Run 140
Third 130
African Methodist Episcopal 240
Methodist Episcopal 54
"Wesleyan 9
Christian 125
Total 1,068
By a personal count of 1,832 persdns made by the writer during May-
June, 1902, 976, or 53.6 per cent., reported themselves as church mem¬
bers. These members were all persons over ten years of age. The
number of persons counted who were over ten years of age was 1,505.
Hence 64.8 per cent, of these were church members. The following
table will show the membership as reported by the persons themselves:
100
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
Church Members.
Total Population.
Percent of
Members.
Males.
Females.
Total.
Males.
Females.
Total.
10 to 19 years
46
102
148
142
189
331
44.7
20 to 29 years
52
124
176
149
168
317
55.5
30 to 39 years
44
106
150
104
133
237
63.3
40 to 49 years
73
119
192
112
125
237
81.0
50 to 59 years
64
93
157
82
103
185
84.8
60 to 69 years
53
47
100
73
51
124
80.7
70 to 79 years
17
15
32
25
18
43
74.4
80 years and over
4
12
16
5
12
17
94.1
Unknown age
4
1
5
9
5
14
35.7
Total
357
619
976
701
804
1,505
64.8
This table shows very strikingly that the young people are not for¬
saking the church to such an extent as to discard membership. More
than half for every age period above twenty years are members, and
in the first period more than half from fifteen to nineteen years of age
are church members. The excess is of women over men. These per¬
sons are distributed throughout all occupations, but almost invariably
those in the most lucrative positions or employments are church mem¬
bers. As to culture, as indicated by scholastic training, it appears from
a personal count by the writer that out of ninety-five high school
graduates eighty per cent, are church members — fifty-nine out of
sixty-seven women, and twenty-one out of twenty-eight men. In the
African Methodist Church the principal of the high school is superin¬
tendent of the Sunday-school, and the principal of the elementary
school, although a woman, is a class leader. The only college graduate
in the city is also an ordained minister connected with the local African
Methodist Episcopal Church. As to material standing of the church
members it is noted that of the 318 families who own their homes 288,
or 90.6 per cent., were connected with the church by some member of
the family, and 237 of them were connected by the head of the family.
The chief means of increasing the membership is through the revival,
which is substantially the same as conducted in other parts of the
county. Last year there were 175 conversions, of whom sixty-nine
were under twenty years of age, and eleven were over forty years,
according to the report of the pastors. (See table, page 104.)
Activities.—These churches make some attempt to satisfy all the legiti¬
mate social desires of their members. There are sick benefit societies,
educational societies, Home and Foreign Missionary Societies, Chris¬
tian Endeavor Societies, Baptist Young People's Unions, sewing cir¬
cles, besides various temporary organizations for raising money and
other purposes. These are in addition to the organizations fundamen¬
tal to the church government, such as in the Methodist Church, the
various conferences, boards of trustees, stewards, spiritual officers,
Sunday-school, etc.
THE NEGRO CHURCH
101
As before stated, the chief activity is to preach and teach Christian
doctrine and morality. The method for this is preaching in all the
churches two or three times on Sunday, once or twice during the week,
prayer-meeting on Wednesday night, class-meeting once a week in the
Methodist Church and pastoral visiting, beside monthly love feasts or
covenant meetings. As a means to this end is the material side of the
church life to be looked after, and this is chiefly in regard to raising
funds for the pastor's salary, current expenses, the debt, improvements,
general purposes, etc. This is done by way of the Sunday and weekly
collections and by organizing the members into clubs to solicit sub¬
scriptions or to raise funds by concerts and other entertainments. In
this way the African Methodist Episcopal Church paid its debt of some
$400 last year.
The next function of the church is the purely social. This is carried
forward in other organizations and as a part of the more religious and
financial activity. At church service old friends are met and new ones
often made, but as no part of the special program. To raise money
socials are given, etc., so that as secondary through all the activity
there is the purely social. Along literary and musical lines, in spite of
the fact that Negroes have free access to the theatre, the University
Extension Courses, and the Y. M. C. A. lecture courses, the church is
still the most powerful factor in Xenia life. Here the local talent finds
the best opportunity for expression and development, and here the
best available talent is brought from afar. In the Baptist Church last
year there were ten lectures and two high class concerts. Among the
lecturers was Rev. M. C. B. Mason, one of the most distinguished Negro
orators. The Methodist (African) Church had during this year Miss
Flora Batson, the noted singer, and a few weeks later the Canadian
Jubilee Singers to entertain the people. In this way the church fulfills
a social need which neither the extension courses or the theatre would
fulfill—that of bringing the Negroes into touch with some of the best
of their own race.
The table below will show that there is not much charity work done
in Xenia by the churches, chiefly because there is not much need for
such. Last year the churches gave as follows :
Zion Baptist $25.00
Middle Run Baptist 7.00
St. John African Methodist Episcopal— 50.00
Total $82.00
Eighty-two dollars are reported, but the amount of charity work is
more. By this it is seen that Middle Run Baptist Church reports $7,
but Middle Run takes care of an old woman of eighty years, granting
her free rent of a small house owned by the church and furnishing her,
from time to time, with other necessities. In times of sickness, in
many ways the church influences charity, though it does not get credit
102 EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
for it. On the first Sunday of each month most of the churches take
an offering called the ''Poor Saints' Collection." Beside this there are
connected with several of the churches sick benefit societies. For
instance, connected with Zion Baptist there are two: The Ladies'
Home Aid and the Ladies' Auxiliary, both of which are especially
designed to help the sick. There is practically no prison work under¬
taken by the churches of Xenia, except an occasional visit to the work¬
house or jail by one of the pastors.
Pastors.—The pastors of Xenia are all men of high moral character,
as is the universal testimony of those who have given opinions. They
are all men of zeal for their work, intelligent, though none are college
graduates. (See table, page 105.) It seems that Xenia has always had
as ministers men of good reputations and high character. A historian*
of Greene County, writing in 1881, speaking of the different Negro
ministers of the city, said of one: "He has always been an upright
Christian man;" of another: "By his gentlemanly deportment and
Christian walk, he has gained many warm friends;" of another : "A
congenial, attractive man, he shows from his fruits that he practices
what he preaches;" of another: "The people of this county will find it
a hard matter to fill his place should he be called to some other locality."
Value of Church Properties, Indebtedness, Pastor's Salary and Total Amount Raised by-
Churches of Greene County
CHURCH.
Value of Property.
Indebtedness.
Pastor's Salary.
Total Raised.
$3,400.00
00
$ 500.00
170.00
500.09
210.00
170.00
350.00
$1,025.00
223.25
505.00
266.00
640.00
25.59
300.00
300.00
167.50
250.00
768.00
250.00
42.49
600.00
956.71
316.80
495.85
1,178.00
624.75
00
00
00
00
0
Baptist—
Zion
Middle Run
Third
Yellow Springs
Cedarville
Jamestown
Massies1 Creek
Methodist Episcopal
"Wesleyan Methodist
Christian
A. M. B.¬
Jamestown
Cedarville
Yellow Springs
St. John, Xenia
"Wilberforce
$ 12,000
1,000
8,000
3,000
1,000
2,000
700
1.500
500
3,000
2,000
1,200
3,000
6,000
Use Chapel of Wilber¬
force University ..
Incomplete.
* Dill's History of Greene County.
THE NEGRO CHURCH 103
General Financial Statistics
CHURCH.
Current
Expenses.
For Connection.
Interest on Debt
and Principal.
Charity.
Missions.
Education and
Other Purposes.
Salary.
Total.
Baptist—
Zion
$ 100.00
100.00
$400.00
475.00
125.00
7.00
$500.00
170.00
500.09
$1,025.00
Middle Run
$32.60
$14.00
Third
Yellow Springs
3.83
210.00
40.00
0
22.00
6.75
25.00
$ 54.17
2.40
15.00
280.00
Cedarville
2.60
75.00
1.50
30.00
170.00
350.00
10.00
505.00
Massies' Creek
Methodist Episcopal
72.00
7.40
92.00
89.00
37.20
18.78
200.00
113.72
10.00
2.00
640.00
25.59
300.00
300.00
167.50
2.50
768.00
250.00
Weslevan
7.00
9.50
42.49
600.00
956.71
316.80
495.85
1,178.00
665.65
Christian
208.00
448.71
.00
125.00
400.00
A. M. E.—
Jamestown
37.50
11.51)
33.30
120.00
65.75
12.50
19.60
'50.00
49.68
9.00
27.58
8.77
40.00
60.00
60.00
53.42
Cedarville
127.00
Incomplete.
The questions on the schedules for "Data from Negro Churches"
were answered as follows by the pastors of Greene County :
I.
What do the churches need most ?
Preachers that study the Bible and teach it in its purity 1
Educated ministers on fire with glory of God and uplift of the people. 1
Leaders, pure, courageous, with executive ability 1
Educated, experienced, courageous, and honest men as preachers... 1
Religion and good sense 1
Religion and faithful ministers, and refinement 1
Revival of religion and money 1
More of the spirit of Christ 1
Better attendance and support from members 1
Union 1
II.
What is the pastor's greatest difficulty?
Lack of conscientious Bible study on his part 1
Minister too abusive and people too sensitive 1
Lack of courage and ability on part of minister 1
Unconverted membership 1
Irregular and desultory attendance of members 2
Lack of co-operation on part of members 1
Difficulty of getting people to live Christian lives after joining the
church
Immorality and ignorance of the people
104
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
III.
Are the morals of the people being raised or lowered in respect to
sexual morals, honesty, home life, truth-telling, etc.?
Raised 5
Raised by fifty per cent 1
Doubtful 1
Very little as to sexual morals, home life and truth-telling; some as
to honesty 1
IV.
Is the Sunday-school effective ?
Yes 8
How can it be improved ?
By co-operation of parents 4
Systematic visiting through the week 1
Gathering the little children 1
V.
How many persons joined the church last year?
How many of these were under 20 years of age?
How many were over 40 years of age?
Accessions.
Total
CHURCH.
Total.
Members.
Active
Under
Over 40
Members.
20 Years.
Years.
Baptist—
370
250
19
38
Middle Run
30
4
81
140
45
Third
0
0
2
130
27
161
Cedarville
0
3
10
40
30
Jamestown
8
0
9
108
75
Massies'Creek
0
0
0
25
14
0
0
0
58
9
9
Christian
0
1
4
125
50
A. M. E.—
Jamestown
18
1
20
124
85
35
Cedarville
24
0
24
47
Yellow Springs
9
0
9
75
40
St. John, Xenia
20
6
50
240
160
Wilberforce*
60+
2
80
108
55
Total
188
17
327
1,760
875
* 1901. Report for 1902 not available. + Estimated.
VI.
Is there much shouting or emotion ?
Not very much 8
Considerable emotion, occasional shouting 1
Yes 1
Too much for the good done 1
THE NEGRO CHURCH
105
VII.
Are the younger set of educated people joining the church and helping
in its work ?
Yes 8
To some extent 1
Slowly; they do a little 1
VIII.
Sketches of Pastors of Greene County
(This includes also the A. M. E. and M. E. Presiding Elders.)
Church of Which
Pastor.
Birthplace.
o fl
as
S3 ®
£ »
*
Education.
Baptist—
Zion
Middle Bun
Third
Cedarville
Jamestown
Yellow Springs
Massies' Creek
Methodist Episcopal
Wesleyan Methodist.
Christian
A. M. E.—
Xenia
Cedarville.
Jamestown.
Yellow Springs
Wilberforce
Presiding Elder A. M.E.
Presiding Elder M. E. ..
Ohio
Ohio
South Carolina.
Ohio
No pastor.
No pastor.
Kentucky.
Illinois ..
Florida...
Ohio
Louisiana.
Ohio
Ohio
Indiana...
Normal.
High School.
Common Schools of South Carolina.
Common School.
Common School.
Common School.
"Very limited."
High School Graduate.
(Common School and Member of
( Class '03, Theological Seminary.
(Theological and High School
j Graduate.
Grammar School and Graduate
( Theological, '03.
College Graduate.
Theological.
College.
Opinions of Negro Church
These opinions are from people of long residence and good standing
in Greene County. They are as to occupations as follows:
Pastors 6
Presiding Elders 2
Physicians 2
College Professors 3
Dean Theological Seminary 1
Principal High School 1
Principal Elementary School 1
Barbers 2
Grocer 1
Student 1
Total 20
106 EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
I.
So far as you have observed, what is the present condition of the
churches in your community ?
Very gratifying 1
Improving *
Embarrassed financially 2
Fair 3
Good 5
Some answered this question as follows:
Financially, poor 2
Financially, fair
Financially, good
Intellectually, fair
Intellectually, good
Spiritually, dull
Spiritually, fair 2
II.
Is their influence, on the whole, toward pure, honest living ?
Yes 12
Not as much as should be 3
In part, but not all 2
Largely so 2
Generally so 1
III.
(a) Are the ministers usually good men ?
Yes 16
Usually, not universally 2
(b) Their chief faults ?
Whiskey and women 2
(This does not apply to those in Greene County.)
Illiteracy and want of deep convictions 1
(This also does not apply to those in Greene County.)
Desire to be popular 1
Failure to study 1
IV.
Of the ministers whom you know, how many are notoriously immoral ?
What direction does their immorality take ? Cite instances.
This question, like the third, was generally answered for the general
condition and not as applying to Greene County in particular, as
directed. One man of wide experience says he knows twenty-four
notoriously immoral preachers, but there are only twenty-five in the
county, including those who are idle and who preach outside of the
county.
None 11
A few 1
Two 2
Twenty-four 1
THE NEGRO CHURCH 107
"Eighty-five per cent, are good men, five per cent, dishonest in money matters,
ten per cent, tinctured with sexual impurity."—A Presiding Elder.
"I know a dozen who are immoral, basing my reply upon facts given by others."
—A principal of city schools.
As to kinds of immorality, see above, and also-
Sexual impurity and drunkenness 1
Sexual impurity, dishonesty in money matters, and drunkenness 3
Dishonesty in money matters 1
v.
Is the Sunday-school effective in teaching children good manners and
sound morals?
Yes 10
In a large degree 1
Generally 3
To some degree 5
Not as much as might be 1
VI.
Do the churches with which you are acquainted do much charitable
work ?
Yes 3
Some 6
Not much 7
Considerable among the poor 1
Yes, in large cities 1
VII.
Do the young people join the church and support it ?
Some do 4
Only a few 2
Yes, but about one-fourth support it 2
Yes 5
Yes, but do not support well 3
Not all, but a fair proportion 3
Young women do, hut not many young men 1
VIII.
What is the greatest need of our churches ?
Pure gospel and money 1
More enforcement of spiritual duty of the church 2
Ministers of broader culture and deeper piety 3
Systematic business methods, trained men in pulpits, doctrinal
preaching, and an earnest desire to persuade men to serve God from
choice 1
Religious enthusiasm, sound financial basis, respect for pastor 1
Higher ideals and deeper Christianity 1
Educated and called ministry 1
Pure religion, money, and education 1
Fewer churches, better preachers, better religion 1
More love for church and each other on part of members 2
Money, and instruction in race pride, and business 1
Good morals, home training, ana piety 1
IX.
Are the standards of morality in your community being raised or
lowered in respect to sexual morals, home life, honesty, etc ? Give
instances.
108
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
Raised 14
Inclined to think raised 1
Raised very little 1
Raised to some extent 1
"Twelve or thirteen years ago the patrol was constantly called to a class of
resorts which have been wiped out."
"Xenia, Jamestown, Cedarville, Yellow Springs, are 'dry.' "
"Greater condemnation of men who deceive women."
21. An Eastern City.* Philadelphia, Pa., gives an opportunity to
study the growth of the Negro church for over a century. In 1800 there
were in that county + 7,000 Negroes and three Negro churches, founded
as follows:
1792—St. Thomas Episcopal.
1794—Bethel African Methodist Episcopal.
1794_Zoar Methodist Episcopal.
In 1813, when there were about 11,000 Negroes in the city, there were
the following churches and members:
St. Thomas, Protestant Episcopal 560
Bethel, African Methodist Episcopal 1,272
Zoar, Methodist Episcopal 80
Union, African Methodist Episcopal 74
Baptist, Race and Vine Streets 80
Presbyterian 300
Total 2,366
There were about 17,500 Negroes in 1838:
DENOMINATIONS.
No. Churches.
Members.
Annual
Expenses.
Value of Prop¬
erty.
Incumbrance.
1
1
8
2
4
100
10
2,860
325
700
$1,000
120
2,100
1,500
1,300
$36,000
3,000
50,800
20,000
4,200
Lutheran
Methodist
Presbyterian
$1,000
5,100
1,000
Total
16
3,995
$6,020
$ 114,000
$7,100
In 1847 the population had grown to 20,000. There were nineteen
churches; twelve of these reported 3,974 members; the property of
eleven cost $67,000. After the war the population had increased to 22,000.
There were the following churches in 1867:
"'From the more elaborate study on the Philadelphia Negro (Ginn).
t City and County are to-day co-terminous.
THE NEGRO CHURCH
109
NAME.
Protestant Episcopal-
St. Thomas
Methodist-
Bethel
Union
Wesley
Zoar
John "Wesley
Little Wesley
Pisgah
Zion City Mission.
Little Union
Baptist.—
First Baptist..
Union Baptist.
Shiloh
Oak Street
Presbyterian—
First Presbyterian
Second Presbyterian.
Central Presbyterian.
1792
1794
1827
1817
1794
1844
1821
1831
1858
1837
1842
1827
1807
1824
1844
% a>
1,100
467
464
400
42
310
116
90
200
360
400
405
137
200
240
,5 ^
o3 P
150,000
40,000
21,000
12,000
3,000
11,.00
4,600
4,500
5,000
7,000
16,000
8,000
16,000
Pastor's Salary.
600
850
700
No regular salary.
500
430
600
600
By 1880 (population 30,000) there were twenty-five churches and mis¬
sions. In 1897 there were about 60,000 Negroes in the city, and the
following' churches:
DENOMINATION.
African Methodist Episcopal
African Methodist Episcopal Zion...
Union African Methodist Episcopal
Methodist Protestant
Methodist Episcopal
Baptist
Presbyterian
Protestant Episcopal
Roman Catholic
w
a>
Members
Claimed.
"-1 sA
OS
CO
0>
o
d
A
O
11
d
P.
X
H
14
3
3,210
$ 202,229
25,000
$27,074
5,000
1
1
6
17
3
6
1
1,202
5,583
633
791
200?
49,700
296,800
150,000
130,000
16,394
30,000
4,473
6,613
There are three other small churches, making fifty-five churches in
all, with 13,000 members, $910,000 worth of property, and an annual in¬
come of $95,000. In 1900 Philadelphia had 62,613 Negroes.
The general character of church life is thus set forth :
"Perhaps the pleasantest and most interesting social intercourse takes place on
Sunday; the weary week's work is done, the people have slept late and have had a
good breakfast, and sally forth to church well dressed and complacent. The usual
hour of the morning service is eleven, but people stream in until after twelve. The
sermon is usually short and stirring, but in the larger churches elicits little re¬
sponse other than an 'Amen' or two. After the sermon the social features begin;
notices on the various meetings of the week are read, people talk with each other
110
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
in subdued tones, take their contributions to the altar, and linger in the aisles and
corridors after dismission to laugh and chat until one or two o'clock. Then they
go home to good dinners. Sometimes there is some special three o'clock service,
but usually nothing, save Sunday-school, until night. Then comes the chief
meeting of the day; probably 10,000 Negroes gather every Sunday night in their
churches. There is much music, much preaching, some short addresses; many
strangers are there to be looked at; many beaus bring out their belles, and those
who do not, gather in crowds at the church door and escort the young women
home. The crowds are usually well-behaved and respectable, though rather more
jolly than comports with a Puritan idea of church services.
"In this way the social life of the Negro centers in his church—baptism, wedding
and burial, gossip and courtship, friendship and intrigue—all lie in these walls.
What wonder that this central club-house tends to become more and more luxu¬
riously furnished, costly in appointment and easy of access!
"It must not be inferred from all this that the Negro is hypocritical or irreligious.
His church is, to be sure, a social institution first, and religious afterwards, but
nevertheless, its religious activity is wide and sincere. In direct moral teaching
and setting moral standards for the people, however, the church is timid, and
naturally so, for its constitution is democracy tempered by custom. Negro preach¬
ers are condemned for poor leadership and empty sermons, and it is said that men
with so much power and influence could make striking moral reforms. This is but
partially true. The congregation does not follow the moral precepts of the
preacher, but rather the preacher follows the standard of his flock, and only excep¬
tional men dare seek to change this. And here it must be remembered that the
Negro preacher is primarily an executive officer rather than a spiritual guide. If
one goes into any great Negro church and hears the sermon and views the audience,
one would say, either the sermon is far below the calibre of the audience, or the
people are less sensible than they look. The former explanation is usually true.
The preacher is sure to be a man of executive ability, a leader of men, a shrewd and
affable president of a large and intricate corporation. In addition to this, he may
be, and usually is, a striking elocutionist. He may also be a man of integrity,
learning, and deep spiritual earnestness; but these last three are sometimes all
lacking, and the last two in many cases. Some signs of advance are here manifest:
no minister of notoriously immoral life, or even of bad reputation, could hold a
large church in Philadelphia without eventual revolt. Most of the present pastors
are decent, respectable men. There are perhaps one or two exceptions to this, but
the exceptions are doubtful rather than notorious. On the whole, then, the aver¬
age Negro preacher in this city is a shrewd manager, a respectable man, a good
talker, a pleasant companion, but neither learned nor spiritual, nor a reformer.
"The moral standards are, therefore, set by the congregations, and vary, from
church to church, in some degree. There has been a slow working toward a literal
obeying of the Puritan and ascetic standard of morals which Methodism imposed
on the freedmen, but condition and temperament have modified these. The grosser
forms of immorality, together with theatre-going and dancing, are specifically
denounced; nevertheless, the precepts against specific amusements are often vio¬
lated by church members. The cleft between denominations is still wide, espe¬
cially between Methodists and Baptists. The sermons are usually kept within the
safe ground of a mild Calvinism, with much insistence on salvation, grace, fallen
humanity,and the like."*
* Philadelphia Negro, p. 204, ff.
THE NEGRO CHURCH
111
22. Present Condition of Churches—The Baptists.
'In the minutes of the old Savannah Association for 1812, is the following note:
'The Association is sensibly affected by the death of Rev. Andrew Bryan, a man of
color and pastor of the first colored church in Savannah. This son of Africa, after
suffering inexpressible persecutions in the cause of his Divine Master, was permit¬
ted to discharge the duties of his ministry among his colored friends in peace and
quiet, hundreds of whom through his instrumentality were brought to a knowledge
of the truth as it is in Jesus. He closes his useful and amazingly luminous course
in the lively exercise of faith and in the joyful hope of a happy immortality.'
"The most of the colored Baptists were at this period identified with white
churches, and in churches of mixed membership the whites were often in the
minority. In the mixed churches of this period, the colored members had no voice
in affairs, unless in the reception and discipline of members of their own race. After
the emancipation of slaves, the Negro Baptists of the Southern states very gener¬
ally separated from the white churches, and organized churches and Associations
of theirown. Other colored Baptist churches of that section, that were organized
at an earlier period, besides the one at Savannah, above mentioned, are the Spring¬
field Baptist Church, Augusta, Ga., 1790, and the one at Portsmouth, Va., 1841; the
Nineteenth Street Baptist Church of "Washington, D. C., 1832; one in Louisville,
Ky., 1842; one in Baltimore, Md., 1836. In the Northern and Western states, the
earliest organized colored Baptist churches are the Abyssinian of New York City,
1803; the Independent of Boston, 1805; the First of Philadelphia, 1809; Ebenezer
of New York City, 1825; the Union of Cincinnati, 1827; the Union of Philadelphia,
1832; the Union of Alton, 111., 1838.
"The Western states organized the first colored Baptist Association. The Provi¬
dence Baptist Association of Ohio was organized in 1836, and the Wood River Bap¬
tist Association of Illinois in 1838. The number of colored Baptists in the United
States in 1850 is reported but in part. In fifteen Southern states and four Northern
states, 100 out of 336 Associations report 89,695 colored members. There is no re¬
port from 146 Southern Associations, but high authority puts the whole number of
colored Baptists in this country in 1850 at 150,000. Then we have a numerical
growth of Negro Baptists in America from 150,000 in 1850 to 1,604,310 in 1894; an
increase of 1,454,310 in forty-four years, which is an increase of over 33,000 net each
year. From one ordained preacher in 1777 to 10,119 in 1894; from one church in
1788 to 13,138 churches in 1894, or an average increase of 124 churches each year;
increase in valuation of church property from nothing in 1788 to $11,271,651." *
The Baptist churches unite in Associations and State Conventions for
missionary" and educational work. For a long time, however, it seemed
impossible to unite any large number of them in a National Convention,
but this has at last been done.
The National Baptist Convention was organized at Atlanta, Ga.,
September 28, 1895. Its objects are missionary and educational work,
and the publication of religious literature. The membership consists of
representatives of churches, Sunday-schools, Associations, and State
Conventions of Baptists, and of such individual Baptists as wish to join.
The Convention meets annually, and has a president, vice-presidents
from each state, a statistical secretary, and other officers. This Con-
* Growth of the Negro Baptists, by R. De Baptiste, 1896.
112
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
vention elects annually a Foreign Mission Board, a Home Mission
Board, an Educational Board, and a Baptist Young People's Union
Board. These boards all consist of one member from each state repre¬
sented, and elect their own officers and executive committee so located
as to be able to meet monthly. The Convention also collects statistics
concerning the Negro Baptists throughout the United States. The
Conventions of 1901 and 1902 follow.
These figures are not altogether accurate, but are probably under¬
statements rather than exaggerations. *
The most remarkable result of the united efforts of the Negro Baptists
is the Home Mission department, including the publishing house :
"It has been the policy of our Board from its incipiency to do whatever mission¬
ary work that is done in any state in co-operation with the regular state authori¬
ties or state organizations in their organized capacity.
"We believe also that when this policy of our Board is better understood,
the churches, Associations and Conventions will contribute more liberally to the
advancement of the work of our Board. While we have not been able to do as much
in this co-operative mission work as we had hoped, yet we have done what we
could. We have gone as far as our limited means would allow. The following is
a summary of the missionary work done by our Board and by its co-operative policy
in the United States:
COMBINED REPORTS
Sermons preached
Sunday schools addressed
Prayer-meetings attended
B. Y. P. U. meetings attended
Women's meetings addressed
Other addresses made
Total number addresses made
Conventions, Associations and wo¬
men's meetings visited since last
report
Number of letters and cards writ¬
ten
Number of circulars and tracts
distributed
Number of books and tracts dona¬
ted
Books sold
Money collected
Total amount of money received
from all sources
Subscriptions to the Union
Money collected for same
Days of service rendered
1,550
805
829
478
261
1,495
2,376
253
12,056
40,703
1,019
$1,774.83
$3,538.37
$5,114.02
256
$ 57.20
2,223
Homes visited
Homes found without Bibles
Churches visited
Sunday-schools organized
Missionary societies organized. ..
Baptisms
Miles traveled by railroad
Cost of travel
Miles traveled otherwise
Cost of same
Total traveling expense
Total amount of money sent to
National Baptist Publishing
Board
Amount of the money collected
applied to salaries
Total amount of money collected
and left with churches
Number of Missionary Confer¬
ences held
Paid on salaries
Total paid on salaries
* A prominent church official writes:
"The statistics are not correct. For instance, you will notice New Jersey. At the time of getting
the statistics from there we had only thirty-six churches. I have just returned from there, and
know that they have sixty-seven. What is true of that state is true of many others.
"We have a very poor way of getting accurate statistics. We have had to depend upon the
various minutes of the state meetings and, as you know, our people attend these meetings if
they wish and let it alone if they please. There is no reason nor power to compel them to give
statistics. A great number of our churches do uot attend the Associations and a great number
of our Associations do not attend the State Conventions and a number of the State Conventions
are not represented in our National Convention. Therefore, you see that we only have to get
such statistics as are in co-operation with us."
THE NEGRO CHURCH
113
"It has been our custom, from year to year, to call the attention of our Conven¬
tion to the work of correspondence of our Board. This is done with a view of giv¬
ing the members somewhat of an idea of the magnitude of this portion of our
work. For the benefit of those who may be interested, we quote the following
number of first-class letters received and disposed of by answers by the Corre¬
sponding Secretary and his assistants during the fiscal year:
September, 1901 4,303
October, 1901 6,255
November, 1901 2,243
December, 1901 3,355
January, 1902 5,968
February, 1902 2,709
March, 1902 6,432
April, 1902 9,607
May, 1902 4,866
June, 1902 8,576
July, 1902 7,922
August, 1902 2,720
Grand total for the year 64,956
General Summary of Baptists in the United States
State Conventions
Associations
Churches
Ordained ministers
Present membership in the United States.
Meeting houses
Valuation
Sunday-schools
Teachers and officers
Pupils in Sunday-schools.
Total In Sunday-schools.
1901.
1902.
43
515
15,654
14,861
1,975,538
7,576
$ 11,605,891
7,466
517
16,440
16,080
2,038,427
11,069
$ 12,196,130
13,707
36,736
473,271
41,537
544,505
510,007
586,042
MONEY RAISED
Church expenses
Sunday-school expenses
State Missions
Foreign Missions
Home Mission and Publication.
Education
Total raised during the year
$ 115,809.55
$ 1,816,442.72
$ 3,090,190.71
107,054.00
9,954.00
8,725.00
81,658.40
127,941.00
$ 3,425,523.11
114
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
"The Publishing Board of the National Baptist Convention is acting as trustees
of the Convention in holding and managing the publishing concern. It is com¬
posed of a committee of nine, and the vacancies are filled by three each year. These
form the charter or corporate members and are incorporated under the laws of
Tennessee, and hold and operate the property in trust for the National Baptist
Association, and are amenable to our Home Board. They, under the authority of
our Home Board, have their regular organization of chairman, secretary and treas¬
urer. The secretary and treasurer is one and the same person, who is required to
execute and file in the courts of Davidson County a suitable and sufficient, well
secured bond. This has been the requirement since this board was inaugurated in
1898.
"In order to curtail the expenses and economize in our work, the Home Mission¬
ary Board has operated its missionary and Bible work under the management of
the Publishing Board, together with its publication work. The experiment has
proved a profitable one, and we find that the business has been operated with less
than one-half the expense of other denominations doing similar work. In fact,
the Corresponding Secretary of the Home Mission Board, upon a meagre salary, has
operated the missionary work, and has acted as secretary, treasurer and general
manager of the National Baptist Publishing Board. By blending the four offices
into one we have been able to save the salary of three other secretaries. This is one
of the great causes or economical provisions that have enabled your board to give
a dividend to missions each year.
"The publishing plant and offices are located at the corner of Market and Locust
streets, one-half block from the Louisville and Nashville passenger depot. Market
street is one of the greatest business thoroughfares in the city of Nashville. This
plant occupies four brick buildings, one one-story, two two-story, and one three-
story building. The scattered condition of the plant makes it very inconvenient to
operate the machinery in carrying on the great volume of manufacturing that is
necessary to supply the increasing demands of this institution.
"This plant consists of a large first-class steam boiler, two engines, a complete
electric plant, a complete system of telephones, with a well-regulated set of the
most improved power printing presses, a well-regulated bindery, with all the
machinery and equipment that is commonly attached to the most modern
printing and publishing plant, together with a complete composing room, with all
of the modern paraphernalia, including linotype machines. This plant, with its
stock, is fully worth to the denomination $100,000 and if it were in a stock com¬
pany its stock, if placed at $100,000, would sell in the market at par, and its income
would pay a creditable dividend.
"The board has been compelled to purchase and exchange a considerable amount
of its machinery. The authorities or managers were unable to foresee the large
increase of work that would be necessary to supply the necessities. They, therefore,
supplied themselves with machinery and material in proportion to then present
needs of the institution, but so marvelous has been the increase that the machin¬
ery and quarters were found inadequate to meet the demands. They have, there¬
fore, been compelled to exchange old machinery and buy new at a considerable
loss in the dealings. They have been compelled to lease or rent other buildings.
These increased demands have also created a demand for more and better skilled
laborers, and they have, therefore, been compelled to increase the wages in each
department in order to secure the help needed.
THE NEGRO CHURCH 115
"The Book Department of our work is divided into three departments. First,
books bought of other publishers and dealers and sold with or without profit to
supply the needs of our patrons. Secondly, books manufactured by ourselves for
the exclusive use of the denomination. Third, books manufactured for the author
as job work, and, at the same time, bought and retailed by our board. These three
features of the book work constitute the major portion of our actual work.
"The periodical and Sunday-school departments deal almost exclusively with
the rising element of our denominaton. In other words, in this department we
are preparing the future church. In this periodical department we are sending
fresh publications to the homes of our churches each quarter, month and week.
We are thereby moulding the doctrines and opinions and shaping the destiny of
the future church and race. The expression that we now put forth may be criti¬
cised by some, but we give it as our opinion that it is impossible for any race of
people to keep their identity, sway their influence, keep pace with other races,
hold the influence over their offspring, unless they provide themselves with litera¬
ture and keep before their rising generation the great men that are passing from
the stage of action. Artists and poets have done more to make the Caucasian great
than has the writer of prose. The Negro Baptists of this country, therefore, will
be compelled to cease talking or discussing cheap literature for their children, but
they must discuss, produce or provide literature capable of keeping the identity and
increasing race pride of the rising generation or they must be entirely overshadowed
by the dominant race of this country, and each child born of Negro parents must
be brought to feel that his God has made him inferior by nature to other races
with whom he comes in contact. We, therefore, feel the value of the literature
produced by the National Baptist Publishing Board cannot be measured by dollars
and cents.
"The following is a list and number of periodicals published and circulated by
our Board during the years 1900, 1901 and 1902:
PERIODICALS.
Teachers
Advanced Quarterlies
Intermediate Quarterlies
Primary Quarterlies
Leaflets and Gems
Picture Lesson Cards
Bible Lesson Pictures
National Baptist Concert Quarterly.
Child's Gem
Davidson's Questions
Boyd's Questions
National Baptist Easy Lessons
Total
84,800
416,000
175,000
275,000
557,000
1,560,000
33,800
259,000
6,000
3,366,600
136,000
244,000
244,000
380,000
528,000
2,340,000
41,600
800,000
4,713,600
139,000
543,000
250,000
332,000
585,000
2,500,000
50,000
850,000
85,000
85,000
90,000
5,509,000
"These periodicals have been published and mailed to our Sunday-schools at
such prices as in reality do not pay for the expense of producing them. In fact,
our thirty-two paged magazines are retailed to our Sunday-schools, with the post¬
age paid, cheaper than blank paper could be received through the mail. We call
the attention of the Convention to this fact in order that they may see and know
under what difficulties we are laboring.
"We are glad to call the attention again this year to the department of our work
of issuing circulars and tracts. W^e still hold to the opinion that more people are
116
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
influenced by tracts than by any other publications, and, as we have had occasion to
say in the preface of the introductory of one of our little booklets, that the colored
people, more than any other in this country, need the use of short and concise
tracts; that is, they need Bible doctrine, true gospel teaching, put in plain, sim¬
ple, concise form, and furnished to them in such a way that they can read it. A
glance at the census of 1900 will show that the illiteracy in the South reaches over
50 per cent., but as this may be overdrawn, it is perfectly safe to say that 40 per
cent, of the colored people are illiterate, and 20 per cent, of those who can read
and write are not fluent readers. Sixty per cent, of those who can read are youths—
children. Therefore, it is very essential that reading matter for these people must
not be in large and soggy books, but must be in small books, booklets, tracts and
pamphlets. Our board has endeavored to turn some attention to raising a tract
fund, but has done very little as yet.
"We are in need of both money and writers to produce these tracts. Addresses,
papers and sermons read or delivered before the different annual gatherings, if
they were put in print and circulated among the people, would do much toward
elevating them. We have been able this year to publish a few tracts for free dis¬
tribution. We have been able to print and distribute through our free distribution
system something over 40,000 tracts. These the writers have contributed free of
charge.
RECEIPTS
BUSINESS DEPARTMENT
Balance on hand 8 1,054.09
Fourth quarter, 1901 12,119.01
First quarter, 1902 10,825.69
Second, quarter, 1902 15,884.82
Third quarter, 1902 18,782.77
Total receipts from Business Department 8 58,666.38
RECEIPTS FROM MISSIONARY DEPARTMENT
From Woman's Auxiliary Convention $ 75.00
From Home Mission Board of Southern Baptist
Convention 1,800.00
From Woman's Auxiliary of Southern Baptist
Convention 50.00
By missionary collections (a) 3,538.87
By special missionary collections (6) 281.35
By designated collections (c) 79.80 8 5,824.52
SPECIAL DONATIONS IOR BIBLES AND COLPORTAGE
WORK
From Sunday-school Board of Southern Baptist
Convention $ 121.25
By other donations 119.00
For colportage and book work 2,100.94
From special periodical donations 230.90
From special tract donations 109.36
For special Bible work in Africa 35.71
From general missionary and Bible donation... 432.48 $ 3,149.64
SPECIAL SUBSCRIPTION, ADVERTISING, NEGOTIABLE
NOTES AND OUTSTANDING ACCOUNTS
From subscriptions to Union $ 499.91
From advertisements 510.00
From negotiable notes 738.26
From periodicals uncollected 1,129.57
From printing uncollected accounts 2,205.58
Remaining in hands of colporters and mission¬
aries unreported 1,683.78 $ 6,767.10
Grand total 8 74,407.64
THE NEGRO CHURCH
117
DISBURSEMENTS
business department
Wages, printing material and Editorial Depart-
iH6iit 326 54
Merchandise, notes, machinery and other mis- '
cellaneous 17 073.84
Goal, ice, freight, drayage, boarding horses, etc.. 2',842.54
Rents, water tax, gas, commission, insurance,
traveling and special missions 2,127.92
Stamps, postage, telephone, telegrams, electrici¬
ty, etc 5,360.54
To balance in hand 934 .94
Total disbursements of Business Department. $ 58,666.38
missionary department
In salaries of district secretaries, state and local
missionaries, male and female $ 5,824.52
In expenses, books, Bibles, tracts and periodi¬
cals donated by them 3,149.64
Salary of secretary, advertising, special traveling
expenses, uncollected accounts, negotiable
notes, manuscripts, etc 6,767.10 $ 15,741.26
Grand total 1 74,407.64
"Notwithstanding the failure of crops of 1901, by glancing over the report of the
work done for the year it will be seen that this institution is not only self-support¬
ing, but besides defraying its own expenses, has been able to spend on missionaries
and their traveling expenses $11,683.19, and on machinery, notes, etc., which stand
as a sinking fund, $5,352.48, making a dividend to the denomination of $17,035.67;
and, if we add in the $1,601.09 deficit for running the denominational paper, and
the $3,335.15 outstanding accounts for work and periodicals during the year, and
$1,683.78 in the hands of agents, missionaries and colporters unreported, it will be
seen that the denomination has a clear dividend arising from the work of these
boards of $23,655.69."
The Negro Baptists support eighty schools, as follows :
List of Institutions by States
STATES.
Institution.
Location.
Alabama
Baptist University
Selma.
U
Normal College
Anniston.
It
Eufaula Academy
Eufaula.
"
Marion Academy
Marion.
it
Opelika High School
Opelika.
"
Thomsonville Academy
Thomsonville.
Arkansas
Aouchita Academy
Camden.
Baptist College
Little Rock.
a
Arkadelphia Academy
Arkadelphia.
Brinkley Academy
Brinkley.
<(
Magnolia Academy
Magnolia.
Florida
Florida Baptist College
Jacksonville.
U
Florida Institute
Live Oak.
U
West Florida Baptist Academy ....
Pensacola.
Georgia
Americus Institute
Americus.
Walker Academy
Augusta.
ii
Jeruel Academy
Athens.
"
Central City College
Macon.
Illinois
Southern Illinois Polytechnic Institute .
Cairo.
Indiana ......
Indiana Colored Baptist University . . .
Indianapolis.
118
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
List of Institutions by States—Continued
STATES.
Institution.
Location.
IndianTerritory . .
Dawes Academy
Sango Baptist College
Muskogee.
Kentucky
it
66
66
66
66
State University
Cadez Theological Institute
Female High School
Glasgow Normal Institute
"Western College
Danville Institute
Hopkinsville College
Eckstein Norton University
Louisville.
Cadez.
Frankfort.
Glasgow.
"Weakly.
Danville.
Hopkinsville.
Cane Springs.
Louisiana
a
«(
a
tt
a
u
a
u
u
a
Leland Academy
Baton Rouge Academy
Houma Academy
Morgan City Academy
Howe Institute
Opelousas Academy
Central Louisiana Academy
Cherryville Academy
Baptist Academy
Monroe High School
Ruston Academy
Shreveport Academy
Mansfield Academy
North Louisiana Industrial High School
Donaldsonville.
Baton Rouge.
Hotfma.
Morgan City.
New Iberia.
Opelousas.
Alexandria.
Cherryville.
Lake Providence.
Monroe.
Ruston.
Alexandria.
Mansfield.
Monroe.
Maryland
Clayton "Williams Institute
Baltimore.
Mississippi
<(
66
<t
it
u
(4
<(
Natchez College
Gloster High School
Central College
Greneda High School
Meridian High School
Ministerial Institute
Nettleton High School
Greenville High School
New Albany High School
Natchez.
Gloster.
Kosciusko.
"Winona.
Meridian.
"West Point.
Nettleton.
Greenville.
New Albany.
Missouri
"Western College
Macon.
North Carolina . . .
(t
66
<(
<(
<<
u
a
a
66
"Wharton Industrial School
Latta University
High School
Shiloh Industrial Institute
Thomson's Institute
Addie Norris'Institute
Training School
Roanoke Institute
Albemarle Training School
Bertie Academy
Charlotte.
Raleigh.
Wakefield.
Warrenton.
Lumberton.
Winston.
Franklin ton.
Elizabeth.
Edenton.
Windsor.
Ohio
Curry School
Urbana.
South Carolina .
66
Mather School
Peace Haven Institute
Beaufort.
Broad River.
Tennessee
66
66
Howe Institute
Nelson Merry College
Lexington Normal School
Memphis.
Jefferson City.
Lexington.
Texas
6i
.6
66
Guadalupe College
Central Texas Academy
Houston Academy
Hearne Academy
Seguin.
Waco.
Houston.
Hearne.
Virginia
66
Virginia Seminary and College
Union Industrial Academy
Lynchburg.
Port Conway.
Total number of schools ... 80 Valuation of property . . $ 564,000
THE NEGRO CHURCH 119
Twenty of the above schools reported last year as follows:
Teachers, males
Teachers, females 73
Total
Students, males 1 838
Students, females l'58l
Total students 3,364
Total in Home Missionary Society
Schools 6,198
Total in schools heard from . . . 9,562
The value of property owned by these schools is as follows :
Alabama $ 39,500
Louisiana 45,000
Missouri 15,000
Georgia 10,000
Mississippi 77,000
Ohio 5,000
Arkansas 70,000
Maryland 6,000
Kentucky 65,000
Florida 20,000
Tennessee 33,000
Texas 80,000
North Carolina 16,000
South Carolina 19,000
Virginia 60.000
Indian Territory 3,700
Total $ 564,200
The total income of the schools for 1902 was :
Arkansas $ 35,000.00
Alabama 10,500.00
N orth Carolina 2,700.00
Louisiana 15,000.00
Mississippi 9,100.00
Tennessee 4,300.00
Florida 16,000.00
Georgia 12,000.00
Maryland 585.00
Virginia : 25,000.00
Texas 23,000.00
Ohio 3,500.00
Kentucky 20,000.00
Missouri 8,041.02
District of Columbia 400.00
Pennsylvania 857.75
Miscellaneous sources 238.00
Total $ 186,221.97
The total number of pupils in all these schools is not given. Twenty
of them report 148 teachers and 3,364 pupils. Probably there are at least
6,000 or 7,000 pupils in all the schools. The institutions are for the most
part primary and secondary schools, despite their pretentious names,
and supplement the public schools.
Beside, these Negro Baptists have contributed largely to the Baptist
schools of higher denomination, supported by the Northern white Bap¬
tists, for Negro students. The chief schools of this class are:
120 EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
Baptist Schools (Report of the United States Commissioner of Education, 1900=1)
PLACE.
Richmond, Va
Richmond, Va
Raleigh, N. 0
Winton, N. C
Columbia, S. C
Athens, Ga
Atlanta, Ga
Augusta, Ga
Jackson, Miss
Marshall, Tex
Nashville, Tenn
Little Rock, Ark
Atlanta, Ga
Harper's Ferry, W. Va
Hampton, Va
Windsor, N. C
LaGrange, Ga
New Orleans, La
SCHOOL.
Hartshorn Memorial College.
Virginia Union University
Shaw University
Water's Normal Institute
Benedict College
Jeruel Academy. ..:
Atlanta Baptist College
Walker Baptist Institute
Jackson College
Bishop College
Roger Williams University ..
Arkansas Baptist College
Spelman Seminary
Storer College
Spiller Academy
Bertie Academy
LaGrange Baptist Academy..
Leland University
120
157
511
272
488
221
165
121
102
337
268
213
142
103
182
115
In the words of the late General Morgan, secretary of the American
Baptist Home Missionary Society, this society "has already spent more
than $3,000,000 in their (i. e., the Negroes') behalf; the value of school
property used for their benefit is not less than $1,000,000; its expenditure
in their interest at present exceeds $100,000 a year. It has aided in the
erection of a good number of meeting-houses."
The other departments of the church are of less relative importance.
The Baptist Young People's Union Board spent $7,000 for its work; the
National Board spent $8,302.29 for missions, with the following results :
Sierra Leone, West Coast Africa—Churches, 2; pastors and workers, 3; mem¬
bers, 40.
Liberia, West Coast Africa—Churches, 52; pastors and workers, 86; members,
8,000.
Lagos, Southwest Coast Africa—Churches, 21; pastors and workers, 56; mem¬
bers, 2,000.
Cape Colony, South Africa—Churches, 23; pastors and workers, 80; members,
1,750.
Chiradzulu Blantyre, East Coast Africa—Churches, 3; pastors and workers,
5; members, 35.
Georgetown Demerara, British Guiana, South America—Churches, 3; pastors
and workers, 11; members, 310.
Lagwan, East Coast, British Guiana, South America—Churches, 1; pastors and
workers, 2; members, 10.
Surinam, Dutch Guiana, South America—Churches, 1; pastors and workers, 3;
members, 30.
Barbadoes, British West Indies, Bridgetown—Churches, 1; pastors and work¬
ers, 5; members, 62.
There are churches at St. George, St. John, Christ Church and St. Thomas, on the
island, with pastors and workers, 7, and members, 42.
THE NEGRO CHURCH
121
There is a Convention organized separately from the regular organi¬
zation. It had in 1902:
State Conventions 22
Mission Societies 4,033
Children's Bands 1,880
Sewing Circles 420
Circles of King's Daughters 120
Money raised during 1902 $ 8,800
There are the following newspapers published by Negro Baptists in
the interest of that denomination:
NAME.
"Where Published.
American Baptist
Baptist Leader
Baptist Magazine
The Pilot
The Sentinel
Christian Banner
Baptist Herald
Florida Evangelist
Georgia Baptist
Western Messenger
National Baptist Union
Virginia Baptist
Baptist Vanguard
The Western Star
The Baptist Truth
The Baptist Truth
The Christian Organizer
The South Carolina Standard
Southern Watchman
The Herald
People's Recorder
The Informer
The Messenger
The American Tribune
Negro World
Guadaloupe College Recorder
Advanced Quarterly (National Baptist Convention)
Intermediate Quarterly (National Baptist Convention).
Primary Quarterly (National Baptist Convention)
The Teacher
Child's Gems
Easy Lesson Primer
Preacher's Safeguard
Zion Church Bulletin
The Journal
The Clarion
The Blue Grass Bugle
The Moderator
The Mission Herald
The Trumpet
The Watchman
The Pennsylvania Baptist
The Florida Baptist
Louisville, Ky.
Selma, Ala.
Washington, D. C.
Winston, N. C.
Raleigh, N. C.
Philadelphia, Pa.
Live Oak, Fla.
Jacksonville, Fla.
Augusta, Ga.
Macon, Mo.
N ashville, Tenn.
Richmond, Va.
Little Rock, Ark.
Houston, Tex.
Savannah, Ga.
Cairo, 111.
Lynchburg, Va.
Columbia, S. C.
Mobile, Ala.
Austin, Tex.
Columbia, S. C.
Urbana, O.
New Orleans, La.
New Orleans, La.
Cary, Miss.
Seguin, Tex.
Nashville, Tenn.
Denver, Col.
Nashville, Tenn.
Frankfort, Ky.
Louisville, Ky.
Louisville, Ky.
Washington, D. C.
Columbia, S. C.
Pittsburg, Pa.
Fernandina, Fla.
122
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
As to the general character of the churches and preachers the follow¬
ing statement, made by the Home Missionary Society about five years
ago, seems a fair presentation :
In the few large cities and towns of the South, a minister usually serves one
church; in the rural districts and small villages, where three-fourths of the Negro
population are found, he has from two to four churches, and preaching "once't a
month" is customary. Of the 12,000 churches in 1895, probably not 1,000 have
preaching every Sunday. Except in the larger and more progressive churches
ministers do very little pastoral work.
About fifteen ministers receive $1,500 or more ; one per cent, about $1,000 each;
fifteen per cent, from $500 to $700. The great majority get only $200 to $400; while
many never see $100 in money yearly. These eke out their scanty salaries by man¬
ual labor. The people, generally, are very poor.
Many are noble, high-minded, upright, God-fearing, unselfish, sincere, self-sacri¬
ficing, who honor their high calling. Of a great number, however, it must be said
in sorrow, that their moral standards are not at all in accord with those of the
New Testament for the ministry. They have grown up in an environment unfav¬
orable to the production of a high type of character. The development of a Chris¬
tian conscience is a fundamental need. In some states and localities it is more
difficult than formerly for unworthy men to be ordained.
Forty years ago, the minister who could read was the exception; now, the excep¬
tion is one who cannot. Many, however, were too old to learn easily and made
egregious blunders and understood what they read most imperfectly. Little could
they learn in the very inferior country schools, maintained for only three or four
months each year. Their knowledge was "picked up." There are sixty per cent,
of the ministers whose libraries do not average a dozen volumes. Many, however,
take a cheap religious paper. Yet among these are preachers of much native
ability.
About 25 per cent, have had approximately a fair common school education.
Some spent a year or more at an academy or other higher school, where they also
had a little instruction in the Bible and in preaching. A few got a start that led
to intellectual and spiritual growth and power.
Possibly 20 per cent, have had something like an ordinary academic course.
Full college graduates are rare; not 100 Negro Baptist ministers have had a full
collegiate and theological course.
There are able preachers, whose sermons compare favorably with the average
sermons of white preachers, in substance, diction and delivery. Most of these are
the products of our Home Mission schools. They are an uplifting influence to
their churches, and to their less favored brethren in the ministry.
But it may be safely said that two-thirds of the preaching is of the crudest
character, emotional, hortatory, imaginative, visionary, abounding in misconcep¬
tions of scripture, the close of the sermon being delivered with powerful intona¬
tions and gesticulations to arouse the audience to a high pitch of excitement,
which both preacher and people regard as indispensable to a "good meeting."
Two members of a ministers' class recently made these statements to their colored
instructor: one had preached that Joshua never had father or mother, because
he was "the son of Nun," (none); the other wrought up his congregation mightily
by repeatedly shouting: "Mesopotamia." Such instances can be multiplied indefi¬
nitely.
THE NEGRO CHURCH
123
The religious phenomenon of this land, if not of this age, is in the fact that while
our Negro population increased slightly more than twofold in forty years, the
Baptist increase among them was over fourfold. Negro preachers are remarkable
evangelists in their way. Converts with weird and rapturous experiences are
quickly baptized. With the survival of old-time notions concerning conversion,
probably two-thirds of the churches are made up largely of "wood, hay and stub¬
ble." Nevertheless, in these are sincere, devout souls, in whom the Spirit of God
seems to have wrought a genuine work and to whom he has given singularly clear
views of truth. The process of emancipation from the old order of things is going
on, largely under the leadership of men from our schools. Numerous churches
maintain most orderly services, have good Sunday-schools, and young people's
societies, and are interested in missions. Thousands of church edifices, some well
equipped and very costly, bear witness to the zeal and devotion of the people, and
to the persuasive power of their religious leaders.
23. The African Methodists. The greatest voluntary organization of
Negroes in the world is probably the African Methodist Church. Its
beginning had a tinge of romance, and this is the story : *
Between 1790 and 1800 the Negro population of Philadelphia County increased
from 2,489 to 6,880, or 176 per cent., against an increase of 43 per cent, among the
whites. The first result of this contact with city life was to stimulate the talented
and aspiring freedmen; and this was the easier because the freedman had in Phila¬
delphia at that time a secure economic foothold; he performed all kinds of do¬
mestic service, all common labor and much of the skilled labor. The group being
thus secure in its daily bread needed only leadership to make some advance in
general culture and social effectiveness. Some sporadic cases of talent occur, as
Derham, the Negro physician, whom Dr. Benjamin Rush, in 1788, found "very
learned." Especially, however, to be noted are Richard Allen, a former slave of
the Chew family, and Absalom Jones, a Delaware Negro. These two were real
leaders and actually succeeded to a remarkable degree in organizing the freedmen
for group action. Both had bought their own freedom and that of their families
by hiring their time—Allen being a blacksmith by trade, and Jones also having a
trade. When, in 1792, the terrible epidemic drove Philadelphians away so quickly
that many did not remain to bury the dead, Jones and Allen quietly took the work
in hand, spending some of their own funds, and doing so well that they were pub¬
licly commended by Mayor Clarkson in 1794.
The great work of these men, however, lay among their own race and arose
from religious difficulties. As in other colonies, the process by which the Negro
slaves learned the English tongue and were converted to Christianity is not clear.
The subject of the moral instruction of the slaves had early troubled Penn, and he
urged Friends to provide meetings for them. The newly organized Methodists
soon attracted a number of the more intelligent, though the masses seem at the end
of the last century not to have been church-goers or Christians to any considerable
extent. The smaller number that went to church were wont to worship at St.
George's, Fourth and Vine. For years both free Negroes and slaves worshipped
here, and were made welcome. Soon, however, the church began to be alarmed at
* Taken in part from " The Philadelphia Negro."
124
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
the increase in its black communicants which the immigration from the country
was bringing, and attempted to force them into the gallery. The crisis came one
Sunday morning during prayer, when Jones and Allen, with a crowd of followers,
refused to worship except in their accustomed places, and finally left the church
in a body.
Allen himself tells of the incident as follows:
"A number of us usually sat on seats placed around the wall, and on Sabbath
morning we went to church and the sexton stood at the door and told us to go to
the gallery. He told us to go and we would see where to sit. We expected to take
the seats over the ones we formerly occupied below not knowing any better. We
took these seats; meeting had begun and they were nearly done singing, and just
as we got to the seats, the elder said: 'Let us pray.' We had not been long upon
our knees before I heard considerable scuffling and loud talking. I raised my
head and saw one of the trustees—H. M.—having hold of Absalom Jones, pulling
him up off his knees and saying, 'You must get up, you must not kneel here.' Mr.
Jones replied, 'Wait until prayer is over and I will get up and trouble you no more.'
With that he beckoned to one of the other trustees—Mr. L. S.—to come to his
assistance. He came and went to William White to pull him up. By this time
the prayer was over and we all went out of the church in a body, and they were no
more plagued by us in the church. This raised a great excitement and inquiry
among the citizens, insomuch that I believe they were ashamed of their conduct.
But my dear Lord was with us, and we were filled with fresh vigor to get a house
erected to worship God in."
This band immediately met together and on April 12, 1787, formed a curious sort
of ethical and beneficial brotherhood called the Free African Society. How great
a step this was, we of to-day scarcely realize. We must remind ourselves that it
was the first wavering step of a people toward organized social life. This society
was more than a mere club: Jones and Allen were its leaders and recognized chief
officers; a certain parental discipline was exercised over its members and mutual
financial aid given. The preamble of the articles of association says:
"Whereas, Absalom Jones and Richard Allen, two men of the African race, who
for their religious life and conversation, have obtained a good report among men,
these persons, from a love to the people of their own complexion whom they beheld
with sorrow, because of their irreligious and uncivilized state, often communed
together upon this painful and important subject in order to form some kind of
religious body; but there being too few to be found under the like concern, and
those who were, differed in their religious sentiments; with these circumstances
they labored for some time, till it was proposed after a serious communication of
sentiments that a socie.y should be formed without regard to religious tenets, pro¬
vided the persons lived an orderly and sober life, in order to support one another
in sickness, and for the benefit of their widows and fatherless children."
The society met first at private houses, then at the Friends' Negro school-house.
For a time they leaned toward Quakerism; each month three monitors were ap¬
pointed to have oversight over the members; loose marriage customs were attacked
by condemning cohabitation, expelling offenders, and providing a simple Quaker¬
like marriage ceremony. A fifteen-minute pause for silent prayer opened the
meetings. As the representative body of the free Negroes of the city, this society
opened communication with free Negroes in Boston, Newport, and other places.
THE NEGRO CHURCH
125
The Negro Union of Newport, R. I., proposed, in 1788, a general exodus to Africa,
but the Free African Society soberly replied: "With regard to the emigration to
Africa you mention, we have at present but little to communicate on that head,
apprehending every pious man a good citizen of the whole world." The society
co-operated with the Abolition Society in studying the condition of the free blacks
in 1790. At all times they seem to have taken good care of their sick and dead,
and helped the widows and orphans to some extent. Their methods of relief were
simple: they agreed "for the benefit of each other to advance one shilling in sil¬
ver, Pennsylvania currency, a month; and after one year's subscription, from the
dole thereof then to hand forth to the needy of the society, if any should require,
the sum of three shillings and nine pence per week of the said money; provided
the necessity is not brought on by their own imprudence." In 1790 the society had
£42 9s. Id. on deposit in the bank of North America, and had applied for a grant of
the potter's field, to be set aside as a burial ground for them, in a petition signed
by Dr. Rush, Tench Coxe, and others.
It was, however, becoming clearer to the leaders that only a strong religious
bond could keep this untrained group together. They would probably have
become a sort of institutional church at first if the question of religious denomi¬
nation had been settled among them; but it had not been, and for about six years
the question was still pending. The tentative experiment in Quakerism had
failed, being ill-suited to the low condition of the rank and file of the society. Both
Jones and Allen believed that Methodism was best suited to the needs of the
Negro, but the majority of the society, still nursing the memory of St. George's,
inclined toward the Episcopal church. Here came the parting of the ways: Jones
was a slow introspective man, with a thirst for knowledge, with high aspirations
for his people; Allen was a shrewd, quick, popular leader, positive and dogged,
and yet far-seeing in his knowledge of Negro character. Jones, therefore,
acquiesced in the judgment of the majority, served and led them conscientiously
and worthily, and eventually became the first Negro rector in the Episcopal
church in America. About 1790 Allen and a few followers withdrew from the
Free African Society, formed an independent Methodist Church, which first wor¬
shipped in his blacksmith's shop on Sixth street, near Lombard. Eventually this
leader became the founder and first bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal
Church of America.
Full figures as to the growth of this institution are not available, but
there are enough to show its striking advance in a century from a dozen
or more to three-quarters of a million members :
Growth of the African Methodist Episcopal Church
to
cs
Bishops
General officers
Presiding Elders
Annual Conferences
Itinerant preachers
Local preachers
Members
Total members
Churches
Value of property
Parsonages
Value of total property
Schools
Raised for support of schools.
Total money raised
1816.
3,000
me.
7,927
$ 1,151.75
7,270
$43,000.00
$ 1,385.88
18U6.
40
$90,000.00
$ 7,231.03
1866.
10
$843,000
$ 91,593(?)
1876.
25
1,418
3,168
172,806
213,469
1,833
$3,064,911
218
$3,203,711
$ 447,624
1880.
40
1,837
9,760
391,044
402,638
2,051
402
$ 2,448,671
13
561,550
663,746
5,630
$ 8,718,456
1,390
$ 9,309,973
1901.
13
12
264
6,079
9,749
688,354
762,580
5,715
10,360,131
2,075
11,044,663
41
125,650
G>
H
rt
W
i>
t-i
>•
*
O
O
W
w
*
o
Detailed figures showing the operations of seven fairly typical Annual Conferences follows :
Annual Conference Reports
Virginia.
Illinois.
Indiana.
Iowa.
Ontario.
Michigan.
So. Carolina.
Ministers
Members
Churches
Parsonages
Value churches and parsonages.
Indebtedness
Pastors1 support
Total raised
102
9,116
38
35
8 161,215.00
64.739.61
18.378.62
70,514.07
51
4,085
74
35
I 83,190.00
23,304.44
17,964 16
31,707.00
74
4,196
60
$ 159,058.50
15,493.77
17,704.32
39,608.95
68
4,237
52
26
$ 246,265.00
61,006.42
22,252.89
76,426.85
7
877
9
4
$ 15,300.00
5,737.90
1,922.67
4,217.52
22
1,345
24
17
$ 280,032.89
8,467.29
11,251.19
17,688.40
100
18,787
196
52
$ 14,147.00
10,212.14
31,883.16
47,883.38
THE NEGRO CHURCH
127
In 1818 a publishing department was added to the work of the church, but its
efficiency was impaired on account of the great mass of its members being in slave
states or the District of Columbia, where the laws prohibited them from attend¬
ing school, and deprived them of reading books or papers. In 1817 Rev. Richard
Allen published a book of discipline; and shortly after this a church hymn-book
was published also. Beyond this there was little done in this department until
1841, when the New York Conference passed a resolution providing for the publica¬
tion of a monthly magazine. But the lack of funds compelled the projectors to is¬
sue it as a quarterly. For nearly eight years this magazine exerted an excellent
influence upon the ministers with a strong interest. It contained the news in each
of the conferences; its editorials breathed a spirit of love and fellowship; and
thus the members were brought to a knowledge of the work being accomplished.
At length the prosperity of the magazine seemed to justify the publication of
a weekly paper. Accordingly a weekly journal, named the "Christian Herald,"
made its appearance and ran its course for the space of four years. In 1852, by order
of the General Conference, the paper was enlarged and issued as the "Christian
Recorder", which has continued to be published up to the present time.
The department now publishes the Recorder, the African Methodist
Episcopal Review, and various books.
The financing of so large an organization is a matter of great interest.
In the quadrennium, 1896-1900, there was raised for the purposes of the
general church organization on the average:
The bishops receive $2,000 a year; the general officers, $1,200. In 1826
the pastors averaged $50 and $60 a year in salary, and often had other
work for a livelihood. In 1900 the average salary of presiding elders
was $663.72; of preachers $204.18. There is a system of pensions for the
widowed and superannuated partially in force. The funds of the
church are of two sorts: local monies, raised for the local churches,
and "Dollar" money (i. e., one dollar per member), for the general
church. The dollar money, which amounts to over $100,000 a year, is
divided as follows :
Each year —
Each month
Each day
Each minute
.$ 236,194.79
19,682.89
656.09
.45
Forty-six per cent, to general financial department.
Thirty-six per cent, to the annual conferences.
Ten per cent, to church extension.
Eight per cent, to education.
128
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
The total amount raised by the church in the four years, 1896-1900, was:
Dollar money $ 403,401.62
Church extension 64,474.00
Publishing Department 71,5318.83
Education 270,988.54
Sunday-school Union 77,159.46
Preacher's aid 2,605.25
Missions 64,836.39
Total 5 954,779.09
Salaries of presiding elders I 139,735.37
Salaries of ministers 735,796.21
Traveling expenses 29,594.00
Salaries of bishops 18,000.00
Salaries of general officers 12,300.00
Total* $ 935,425.58
Total raised in quadrennium, 1896-1900 $ 1,777,948.20
Total raised in quadrennium, 1892-1896 1,533,414.01
Total raised in quadrennium, 1888-1892 1,064,569.50
Turning to the various departments, we have first the Publishing
Department. The Review is an octavo publication of about 100 pages,
and is now in its twentieth year. It has a circulation of perhaps 1,000
copies. The contents of the New Year's number, 1903, were:
The Mission of the African Methodist Episcopal Church to the Darker Races of the
World—By C. J. Powell.
Publications and Literature of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.—John E.
Hagins.
The Flight of Hagar.—J. A. Adams.
The South Mountain Reservation.—Ralph Elwood Brock.
The Leadership of the Church and the Opportunity of the Ministry.—George W. Hen¬
derson.
The Opportunity of the Colored Young Men's Christian Association in the Work of
Education.—F. D. Wheelock.
The Preacher at Hill Station.—Katherine D. Tillman.
St. Cecilia.
A New Year—Looking Before and After.—H. T. Kealing.
Joseph Parker's Prophecy.
Women—Life's Mirror; Character in Eyes; Foes to Embonpoint; Tennyson's
Egotism.
Sociological.—Loves the Game; Alone in Paris; Indian Territory.
Religious.—Some Questions and Answers.
Miscellaneous.—Christmas; Christmas in the Orient; Who is Santa Claus? Keep
Old Santa Claus; Winter; Music and Old Age; T.Thomas Fortune; The Strength
of New England; Things to take to Church.
Editorial.—The Review for 1903; President Roosevelt; Thomas B. Reed; Dr.
Joseph Parker; You Count for One; The Stars for Us; The Good Old Times Worse
than Our Times.
* Some of the items iu this table are paid wholly or in part from the dollar money abo^e.
THE NEGRO CHURCH
129
The Recorder is a weekly, eight-page paper, and is the oldest Negro
periodical in the United States. It is taken up largely with church
announcements and reports.
The Philadelphia house received $65,687.98 in the four years, 1896-
1900. It is not self-supporting at present, although it has been at
various periods in the past. The outfit, including building and land,
is valued at $45,500, on which there is a debt of $15,000. The branch
establishment in Atlanta publishes the Southern Christian Recorder, a
small weekly, at an annual cost of about $1,400.
In Nashville there is located the Sunday-school Union, a publishing
house for Sunday-school literature. It has valuable real estate and
had an income of $77,159.46 during the quadrennium, or a little less
than $20,000 a year.
The mission work at home and abroad has been vigorously pushed in
recent years, and in the thirty-six years from 1864 to 1900 this church
has spent $2,102,150.75 in mission work. It has to-day in Africa 180
missions and over 12,000 members, beside missions in Canada and the
"West Indies. Over $60,000 was raised for missions in the last four
years.
There is some indebtedness on the general church property. The
total value of churches and parsonages was $9,309,937 in 1900, on which
there was a debt of $1,068,995.
The African Methodist Episcopal Church began in 1844 to start
schools for Negroes. A committee was appointed and founded Union
Seminary. Later this institution was united with Wilberforce Univer¬
sity, which was bought by the church from the white Methodist
Church. Thus "Wilberforce, dating from 1856, is the oldest Negro insti¬
tution in the land. The church has now about twenty-five schools in
all. They are supported from three sources: 1. Tuition, etc., paid by
students; 2. Donations and bequests; 3. Appropriations from the
general fund of the church. From these sources about $275,000 was
raised in the four years, 1896-1900; and since 1884, when the general
educational department was organized, there has been raised $1,250,000
for education. The figures are :
Teachers .
Average attendance, four years .
Acres of land
Schools
25
140
3,693
Buildings . . . .
Value of property
1,482
51
$ 535,000.00
Raised and appropriated 1896-1900
Raised and appropriated 1884-1900
270,988.54
1,140,013.31
130
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
The schools are:
African Methodist Episcopal Schools
SCHOOLS.
Payne Theological Seminary, Wilberforce, O...
Wllberforce University, Wilberforce, Ohio
Morris Brown College, Atlanta, Ga
Kittrel College, Kittrel, N. C
Paul Qulnn College, Waco. Tex
Allen university, Columbia, S. C
Western University, Quindan, Kan
Edward Waters College, Jacksonville, Fla
Shorter University, North Little Bock, Ark —
Payne University, Selma, Ala
Campbell-Stringer College, Jackson, Mo
Wayman Institute, Harrodsburg, Ky
Turner Normal Institute, Shelbyville, Tenn....
Flagler High School, Marion, S. C
Delhi Institute, Delhi, La
Sission's High School, South McAllster, I. T —
Blue Creek and Muscogee High School, I. T
Morsell Institute, Havti
Bermuda Institute, Bermuda
Zion Institute, Sierra Leone, Africa
Eliza Turner School, Monrovia, Africa
Cape Town Institute, Cape Town, Africa
W
1891
1856
1880
1886
1881
1880
1883
1887
1891
1887
87
311
850
136
203
285
90
172
110
233
100
50
79
161
57
35
3
20
17
8
8
8
10
8
4
9
2
1
3
3
3
2
$13,000
158,000
75,000
30,000
80,000
35,000
75,000
25.000
10,250
3,000
10,800
2,7fiO
8,500
1,500
3,000
Pi®
© W
$ 15,360.48
85,923.23
35,248.69
31,872.46
28,510.56
19,365.05
15,637.53
12,873.85
11,929.44
5,981.00
4.272.85
2,618.08
2.080.86
700.00
332.78
In 1901 there were 175 teachers, 6,725 students and 6,696 graduates
from forty-one schools, valued at $865,574.
The church extension work received $64,474 during the quadrennium,
and there was $1,742.25 paid to preachers' widows. The total ministerial
insurance in force amounted to $80,000.
The African Methodist Episcopal Church, however, is chiefly note¬
worthy on account of its Board of Bishops. A board of thirteen men
more or less wield the power directly over 750,000 American Negroes,
and indirectly over two or more millions, administer $10,000,000 worth
of property and an annual budget of $500,000. These bishops are elected
for life by a General Conference meeting every four years. The mem¬
bership of the General Conference consists of ministerial and lay dele¬
gates: the clerical delegates are elected from the Annual Conferences,
one for every thirty ministers. Two lay delegates for each Annual Con¬
ference are selected by the representatives of the official church boards
in the Conference. Thus we have a peculiar case of Negro government,
with elaborate machinery and the experience of a hundred years. How
has it succeeded ? Its financial and numerical success has been remark¬
able as has been shown. Moreover, the bishops elected form a remarka¬
ble series of personalities. Together the assembled bishops are per¬
haps the most striking body of Negroes in the world in personal
appearance: men of massive physique, clear cut faces and undoubted
intelligence. Altogether the church has elected about thirty bishops.
THE NEGRO CHURCH
131
These men fall into about five classes. First, there were those who
represented the old type of Negro preacher—men of little learning,
honest and of fair character, capable of following other leaders. Per¬
haps five or six of the African Methodist Episcopal bishops have been
of this type, but they have nearly all passed away. From them de¬
veloped, on the one hand, four men of aggressive, almost riotous
energy, who by their personality thrust the church forward. While
such men did much for the physical growth of the church they were
often men of questionable character, and in one or two instances ought
never to have been raised to the bishopric. On the other hand, in the
case of four other bishops, the goodness of the older class developed
toward intense, almost ascetic piety, represented pre-eminently in the
late Daniel Payne, a man of almost fanatic enthusiasm, of simple and
pure life and unstained reputation, and of great intellectual ability.
The African Methodist Episcopal Church owes more to him than to any
single man, and the class of bishops he represents is the salt of the
organization. Such a business plant naturally has called to the front
many men of business ability, and perhaps five bishops may be classed
as financiers and overseers. The rest of the men who have sat on the
bench rose for various reasons as popular leaders—by powerful preach¬
ing, by pleasing manners, by impressive personal appearance. They
have usually been men of ordinary attainment, with characters neither
better nor worse than the middle classes of their race. Once in office
they have usually grown in efficiency and character. On the whole,
then, this experiment in Negro government has been distinctly encour¬
aging. It has brought forward men varying in character, some good
and some bad, but on the whole decency and ability have been decidedly
in the ascendency, and the church has prospered.
25. The Zion Methodists. The history of the African Methodist
Episcopal Zion Church has already been given.* From the 1,500 mem¬
bers of 1821 it has grown until it claimed, in 1904, 551.591 adherents..
Some facts about the church, as given at the twenty-first quadrennial
session, are:
"In May, 1896, the ordained ministry of the church numbered 2,473; this has in¬
creased in four years to 2,902, an addition of 429. The number of church edifices,
which were 8,612, has increased to 4,841, an addition of 229. The membership of
409,441 has swollen to 528,461, an increase of 119,020. These, with an approximate
transient membership of 12,000, and denominational adherents of 125,000, will give
the church a following of nearly 668,000. The increase has been well proportioned
in each department of the church. The average increase per year for the ministry
is 107; of increase in church buildings, 57, and members, 29,755.
"The valuation of church property, including real estate of every description,
church, parsonages, schools, general departments, and other buildings, is estimated
at $4,865,372, on which rests a total indebtedness of only $758,400. The rate of
*P. 45.
132
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
reduction of property indebtedness slightly exceeds its increase, the financial
wave of 1899 contributing largely to this pleasing result. The African Methodist
Episcopal Zion is the least debt-encumbered of any of the large Negro denomina¬
tions. The growth in material interests has been rapid, while the denominational
indebtedness has fallen thirty per cent. A number of magnificent churches have
been erected, completed, or extensively rebuilt or remodeled.
"The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church ranks fourth in the family of
Methodism; second in Negro Methodism, and thirteenth in denominational
standing in the United States. Beginning in 1896 without a single denominational
Christian Endeavor Society, we have to-day more than 600, with a membership of
about 30,000. We are happy to say our number of societies and members is con¬
stantly increasing.
"Current expenses were per annum, $158,700; for the quadrennium, $614,800; on
church debt and building new churches, per annum, $940,999; for the quadrennium,
$3,768,996. This, with the general fund, missionary and other revenue to the
church, will aggregate for the four years $11,449,800."
The amounts of money for general purposes raised by this connection
during four years is as follows, made up of the following items:
Bishops $ 64,878.78
Livingstone College 11,421.53
General Secretary 1,516.09
General Steward 1,162.11
Star of Zion ; . . . . 2,462.65
Book Concern 1,770.62
Quarterly Review 881.10
Sunday-school Department .... 1,077.91
Expenses General Secretary .... 1,230.55
Expenses General Steward 1,148.34
Mrs. J. C. Price 1,669.16
Bishop Jones' estate 417.19
Bishop Moore's estate 1,175.02
Bishop Thompson's estate 1,159.03
Funeral expenses 75.00
Superannuated ministers 1,746.99
Total « 93,292.07
The following sums were raised for education:
School and College Statistics
(Several of the schools had not reported when this report was read.)
NAME OF SCHOOL.
No. of
Teachers.
No. of
Students.
Amount Collected
per Quadrennium.
Value of Plant.
Livingstone College
Clinton Institute
Lancaster Institute
Greenville College
Hannon and Lomax
Walters Institute
14
5
6
3
2
2
267
202
277
125
80
72
$57,193.05
3,450.00
5,038.00
2,705.66
300.00
800.00
1,500.00
530.00
568.50
$ 117,950
5,000
4,500
3,000
1,500
1,000
2,000
Money raised by Secre-
Totals
32
1,023
$71,585.21
$ 134,950
THE NEGRO CHURCH 133
There were the following additional schools:
Atkinson College, Madisonville, Ky.
Palmetto Institute, Union, S. 0.
Edenton Industrial High School, Edenton, N. C
Lloyd Academy, Elizabethtown, N. C.
Hemphill High School, Crockett, Ga.
Pettey Academy, Newburn, N. C.
Lomax and Rutler Academy, Tampa, Ma.
Carr Academy, North Carolina.
Lee Institute, Amite City, La.
Pettey Institute, Calvert, Tex.
African Methodist Episcopal Zion High School, Norfolk, Va.
The publishing house had an income of $30,949 in the last four
years, and publishes the Star of Zion, a weekly paper, the African
Methodist Episcopal Zion Review, a quarterly, and other literature.
The church extension department raised but $1,400, and $2,103 was spent
for missions.
26. The Colored Methodists. The Colored Methodist Episcopal
Church* started with 80,000 members and two bishops in 1866, and has
grown as follows:
Bishops
Itinerant preachers
Local preachers
Members
1872.
3
635
583
67,889
5
1,400
2,500
200,000
The church collected $145,707 during the four years, 1898-1902. The
bishops receive $2,000 a year, and the church supports the following
educational institutions:
TSTnrnp Expenditures,
Jyame- Four Years.
Lane College $ 11,718
Payne Ins titute + 7,466
Haygood Seminary 1,794
Homer Seminary 1,927
Texas College 3,157
The Publishing Department expended $12,960 in the quadrennium,
and has a plant worth $20,000. This church is often put on the defen¬
sive by reason of its origin, but it accepts the challenge boldly:
"The Colored Methodist Episcopal Church, organized in 1870, is, as you well
know, the daughter of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. We are not
ashamed of our origin; nor do we regret the relation which we sustain to that
church. We are not forgetful of the fact that the Christianity and Methodism
which our fathers enjoyed were largely due to the zeal and labors of Southern
Methodist pioneers. The first labors of Bishop John Early were among the slaves
of Thomas Jefferson, in Bedford County, Va. Bishop Capers deserves to be called
the'Founder of Missions to the Slaves'; James 0. Andrew, ninth bishop of the
Methodist Episcopal Church, whose history is pretty well known to these two
* Cf. page 47.
f The Methodist Church, South, helps support this school.
134 EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
great bodies of Methodism, frequently rose to superhuman heights of eloquence
when pleading for the religious training of the enslaved Negro. Since emancipa¬
tion no Southerner has done more to ameliorate the condition of the freedman
than the author of 'Our Brother in Black.' Bishop Haygood, by his unselfish labors,
reflected himself upon the current of the ages as the mountain mirrors itself in
the gentle stream which flows at its base. These men, and many others whom I
could mention, will ever live upon the tablets of our memory." *
27. The Methodists. All of the above represent branches of Meth¬
odism and agree in doctrine and discipline save in a few minor points.
There was in earlier times talk of some of them rejoining the parent
body; later there have been negotiations looking to the union of the
African Methodists and Zionists, and negotiations are pending for a
union of the Colored Methodists and Zionists. The chances are that
some union will eventually take place, but how soon it is difficult to
say. Meantime large numbers of Negroes have remained in the Metho¬
dist Episcopal Church, and this colored membership increases. In
1902 we have the following figures :
Methodist Episcopal Church—Negro Membership
CONFERENCES.
Full
Membership.
Valuation.
Central Missouri.
Delaware
Florida
Liberia
Little Rock
Louisiana
Lexington
Mississippi
Upper Mississippi
Washington
Atlanta
Central Alabama.
East Tennessee ..
Mobile
North Carolina...
Savannah
South Carolina...
Tennessee
Texas
West Texas
Total
19,288
4,490
2,832
5,048
14,178
9,558
18,042
19,721
26,980
13,028
5,149
4,700
5,546
9,912
7,648
39,490
8,598
13,045
11,792
200,606
552,251
79,943
75,520
85,148
344,820
301,775
181,070
161,149
988,193
181,138
65,700
111,380
71,235
116,170
77,442
408,834
97,622
273,700
193,255
245,954
$4,566,951
It is of interest to know how much this element contributes to the
church. (1) From 1900 to 1903, inclusive, the society appropriated to
colored schools $449,119. (2) The colored membership of the church
gave of this amount $227,321.53, and beside this they gave as a special
contribution towards buildings and debts $55,601.69. Add to this amount
their other contribution for Student Help for the same period of
* Bishop Phillips, in Fraternal Address to the African Methodist Episcopal Church.
THE NEGRO CHURCH
135
$12,599.40 and you have a grand total of $292,522.62 contributed by the
colored people in this church towards their education for four years.
It must be remembered, however, that the Student Help money passes
through the Board of Education. (3) We raised for missions during
the same period $83,131.23. The Church Extension Board spent $591,132
in aiding colored churches, 1864-1901, and has collected $81,514 from
these churches. The Freedman's Aid Society has spent over $7,000,000
in Negro education. It maintains the following schools:
INSTITUTIONS.
THEOLOGICAL.
Gammon Theological Seminary, Atlanta, Ga.
COLLEGIATE.
Bennett College, Greensboro, N. C
Claflin University, Orangeburg, S. C
Clark University, Atlanta, Ga
George R. Smith College, Sedalla, Mo
Morgan College, Baltimore, Md
New Orleans University, New Orleans, La —
Philander Smith College, Little Rock, Ark...
Rust University, Holly Springs.Miss
Walden University, Nashville, Tenn
Wiley University, Marshall, Tex
Total.
ACADEMIC.
Alexandria Academy, Alexandria, La
Central Alabama Academy, Huntsville, Ala
Cookman Academy, Jacksonville, Fla
Delaware Academy, Princess Anne, Md
Gilbert Academy, Baldwin, La
Haven Academy, Waynesboro, Ga
La Grange Academy, La Grange, Ga
Meridian Academy, Meridian, Miss
Morristown Academy, Morristown, Tenn
Sam Houston College, Austin, Tex
Virginia Collegiate and Industrial Inst., Lynchburg, Va.
Total
Meharry Medical School, Walden University *
Flint Medical College, New Orleans, La
Sarah Goodridge Nurse-training School and Hospital,
New Orleans, La
Total
Total
Teachers
Past Year.
011 a
a ®
Estimated
Value of
Property.
4
48
$ 100,000
16
68
35
15
24
25
17
40
56
30
205
609
603
144
286
503
521
334
1,104
501
60,000
110,000
350,000
50,000
85,000
125,000
30,000
125,000
125,000
64,000
820
4,858
$1,174,000
2
5
6
122
148
104
18,000
8,000
21,000
11
3
3
8
27
16
219
241
154
404
871
252
60,000
5,000
8,000
8,000
75,000
48,000
35,000
81
2,105
339
$ 286,000
% 20,000
13
72
18,000
13
411
$ 38,000
414
7,874
1,498,000
* Faculty included inWalden University.
The history of the Negro in the Methodist Episcopal Church is, how¬
ever, of far-reaching interest in any study of the relation of the races.
This is the one church with a centralized episcopal government which
has a large Negro membership^ and the efforts to adjust the races in
136
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
this organization throw light on the problem in the whole country.
This history may be graphically illustrated as follows:
We have clearly discussed the secession of the African Methodist
Episcopal, African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church and the setting off
of the Colored Methodist Episcopal. These churches, by their indi¬
vidual development, have settled the question of the ability of the
Negro in self-organization and self-direction of his religious life. But
it was left to the Methodist Church to struggle with the more baffling
problem of the relation of the races in one organization. Something
THE NEGRO CHURCH
137
has already been said of the Methodists and slavery and the split of
1844.* Even before that serious questions of color had arisen outside
the slavery problem. The General Conference of 1800 settled the first
of these questions by enacting that bishops could '''"ordain deacons of out
African brethren in places where they have built a house or houses for
the worship of God," the only limitation being the possibility of finding
suitable men. The next question arose after the secession of 1844 had
left many Negro congregations in the border states without their usual
white pastors; they petitioned the General Conference of 1848 for col¬
ored ministers and colored Annual Conferences; the Conference de¬
clared "that the organization of such (separate) Conferences" was "at
present inexpedient," but it authorized the employment of itinerant
colored ministers at the discretion of the bishops. No regular appoint¬
ment was usually made to these congregations, but they were left "to
be supplied" by the colored itinerants. In 1852, however, the General
Conference directed "that the colored local preachers now employed
within the bounds of the Philadelphia and New Jersey Annual Con¬
ferences be assembled together once each year by the bishop or bishops
for the purpose of conferring with the said colored local preachers with
respect to the best means of promoting their work and also for the pur¬
pose of assigning their work respectively." This was virtually a
Colored Annual Conference in all but name, and meant the dividing of
identical territory with separate Conferences along the color line.
Four years later the color question rose in a different guise. The
church had been working in Africa, especially Liberia, and now the
members there asked for a missionary bishop. The General Conference
assented and ordained Francis Burns, a Negro, to the bishopric of
Liberia, October 14,1856; in 1866 the Rev. John W. Roberts, another
Negro, was ordained to this same bishopric. These were the first and,
so far, the only Negro bishops in the Methodist Episcopal Church. The
same Conference of 1856 recognized further the principle of colored
Annual Conferences all over the land whenever "the holding of said
Conference or Conferences shall be recommended by an Annual Con¬
ference, and the bishops upon due inquiry, shall deem it practicable
and expedient." At the same time it was declared that, "Our colored
preachers and official members shall have all the privileges which are
usual to others in Quarterly Conferences, where the usages of the
comity do not forbid it," otherwise separate Quarterly Conferences
could be held. The General Conference also secured Wilberforce Uni¬
versity as a seat of Negro education, but afterward sold it to the
African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1863 for a nominal sum.
In 1860 the General Conference raised the colored Annual Conferences
to full powers and that of 1864 urged the extension of the system to the
South, and began to organize the great work of aiding the freedmen.
*P. 21, ff.
138
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
Negroes first sat as delegates in a General Conference in 1868 in Chicago.
The church spread among the Negroes of the South, many preachers
were ordained, and when the General Conference of 1872 met they were
faced by a demand for a Negro bishop. The question was shelved by de¬
claring the eligibility of Negroes to the office but the absence of
any obvious candidate. In 1876 the demand came again, but the
General Conference escaped the dilemma by deciding to elect no new
bishops. The committee on episcopacy at the Conference of 1880 after
considerable deliberation recommended "that this General Conference
elect one bishop of African descent," but the Conference postponed
the matter by a vote of 228 to 137. Since this time Negroes have been
elected to seven general offices,* involving the superintendence of
matters concerning the Negroes, and while a Negro candidate for
bishop has received a large vote, no Negro has been elected. In all
probability the matter will eventually be settled by electing one or
more Negroes as suffragan bishops, with special charge of Negro Con¬
ferences and churches.
This evolution has been of great interest and will be in the future as
showing a peculiar process of adjustment between two groups of people
in spite of strong centrifugal forces. May it not in a way prefigure the
national struggle ?
28. The Episcopalians. We now come to the churches where the
Negro forms but a small percentage of the membership. Archdeacon
Pollard gives the following facts concerning Negro Episcopalians in
1903:
The field of the work among the colored people covers twenty-one Dioceses and
three Missionary Districts—all in the Southern States—and ministering specifically
to 20,000 persons, of whom 8,000 are communicants, worshipping in 200 churches
and chapels, and in charge of more than 100 clergymen. The workers actually
number 108 clergymen, 65 laymen and 145 women, or 318 persons in all.
In the entire country to-day there are eighty-five colored clergymen engaged in
the work of the church, about 15,000 communicants, and upwards of $50,000 placed
annually as an offering upon the altar. As far as I have been able to trace with
certainty, 146 colored men have been admitted to Holy Orders in this church, and
two consecrated bishops. The Et. Rev. James Theodore Holly, D. D., the first
bishop of Haiti, was born in Washington, D. C., and consecrated bishop in the year
1874. The Rt. Rev. Samuel David Ferguson, D. D., D. C. L., the fourth missionary
bishop of Cape Palmas and parts adjacent, West Africa, was born near Charleston,
S. C., and consecrated in the year 1885. Forty-two (42) colored clergymen ordained
in this church served their day and generation faithfully and then passed into the
paradise of God. Seven (7) felt called to other lands and are now out of the coun-
* These officers are: Eev. M. C. B. Mason, D. D., Corresponding Secretary Freedman's Aid
Society; Rev. I. B. Scott, D. D., Editor Southwestern Christian Advocate; Professor I. Garland
Penn. Assistant General Secretary Epworth League; Rev. G. G. Logan, D. D., Field Secretary
Missionary Society ; Rev. Robert E. Jones, D. D., and Rev. C. C. Jacobs, D. D., Field Secretaries
Sunday-school Union; Mr. W. F. Waters, Assistant Business Manager Southwestern Christian Ad¬
vocate. The last five of these men were elected by the General Boards, the other two by the
General Conference: all are official.
THE NEGRO CHURCH
139
try, but still engaged in ministerial work, while twelve (12), for various causes,
were deposed. Some of these last are to-day among the most active, learned and
honorable men in the denominations around us.
Although the Episcopal Church was the first American church to
receive Negro members, the growth of that membership has been
small. This was the one great church that did not split on the slavery-
question, and the result is that its Negro membership before and since
the war has been a delicate subject, and the church has probably done
less for black people than any other aggregation of Christians.
What colored churchmen think of their treatment is best shown in
this extract from the Church Advocate, one of their organs :
The Church Commission for Work among the Colored People at a late meeting
decided to request the various rectors of parishes throughout the South to insti¬
tute Sunday-schools and special services for the colored population "such as were
frequently found in the South before the war." The Commission hope for "real
advance" among the colored people in so doing. We do not agree with the Com¬
mission with respect to either the wisdom or the efficiency of the plan suggested.
In the first place, this "before the war" plan was a complete failure so far as church
extension was concerned, in the past when white churchmen had complete bodily
control of their slaves. We are going to quote from the Journals of Conventions
of the Diocese of Virginia, since Virginia is a fair type of Southern States.
The Journals of Virginia will verify the contention, that during the "before the
war" period, while the bishops and a large number of the clergy were always inter¬
ested in the religious training of the slaves, yet as matter of fact there was general
apathy and indifference upon the part of the laity with respect to this matter.
At various intervals resolutions were presented in the Annual Conventions with
the avowed purpose of stimulating an interest in the religious welfare of the
slaves. But despite all these efforts the Journals fail to record any great achieve¬
ments along that line.
In the Convention of 1840, a preamble recited the great and urgent need for such
work, and after appealing to the final reckoning as an occasion of condemnation
to the master class who have neglected the members of this "degraded race," cer¬
tain resolutions were presented and adopted: a committee of seven was appointed
to consider and report upon the matter. This committee consisted of the two
bishops, two clergymen and three laymen. Among other things they were to
report to the Convention "the most efficient system of oral religious instruction,
both public and private," and further, they were to give such information as
would determine the "proper subjects of baptism, both infant and adult."
In the Convention of 1841 the committee was continued.
In the Convention of 1856 the committee reported as follows:
"We commend the establishment of Sunday-schools in our bounds, by the
masters and mistresses in our church for colored children, where the instruction
would be exclusively oral and governed by the standards of our church:
"In connection with these, and as perhaps more important and auxiliary, the
catechetical instruction of young servants by their masters and mistresses of our
church, in their families, is strongly recommended. And we further distinctly
approve of the plan of making such domestic arrangements as will allow and
encourage servants to attend upon the public services of the sanctuary, as well
as at family prayers."
140
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
Two years later, in 1858, the following action was taken :
"Resolved, That a special committee be appointed to ascertain from the par¬
ishes, and to report to the next Convention whether any, and if any, what pro¬
vision is made for the instruction of the colored population of their limits."
In the Convention of 1859 resolutions were adopted looking to the maintenance
of "missionary services with the slaves," and for building houses of worship for
them.
In the Convention of 1860, which met at Charlottesville, a somewhat more elab¬
orate plan of operation was presented and adopted, which in brief may be de¬
scribed as follows: 1. Separate and distinct congregations. 2. Provision of
suitable place of worship; trustees chosen by contributors and appointed by the
court. 3. A certain number to be taken from the communicants, to assist the
minister in the affairs of the congregation, with special reference to the admis¬
sion, supervision and discipline of church members. In the first place these were
to be appointed by the minister. Vacancies to be filled by the communicants,
subject to the approval of the minister. 4. The minister always to be a clergy¬
man of the Diocese, either a rector within the bounds, or a missionary appointed
by the executive committee of the Diocesan Missionary Society, with the approval
of the bishop.
At this same Convention in 1860 a committee was appointed to consider the
importance of more generally procuring baptism for children of slaves of mem¬
bers of the church.
So much for ante-bellum relations. So faithful had been the work under such
conditions that as late as 1879 there were less than 200 colored communicants
reported in the whole state of Virginia. The next ten years in Virginia, 1879-
1889, constituted the most glorious period, so far as church extension is concerned,
among colored people in the entire history of the Diocese. God richly blessed
the efforts put forth so that the list of communicants was increased to nearly
1,000, a native Negro ministry of some ten clergymen raised up. With this auspi¬
cious blessing of the Almighty, on the part of some of the white brethren came
the "color" question, and the work has never since advanced as before.
At the Convention of 1856, embracing the territory now included in the states
of Virginia and West Virginia, there were reported, of colored people, forty-three
adult baptisms, 244 infant baptisms, and forty-seven confirmed; the whole num¬
ber of communicants in this territory being only 235. And four years later, 1860,
instead of an increase there was a decided decrease, the figures being as follows:
Adult baptisms, 12; infants, 166; confirmed, 22; total number of communicants,
114.
Bishop Johns, in his Convention address of 1860, in his Journal notes in connec¬
tion with his attendance upon the General Convention which met in Richmond,
Va., in 1859, says :
"October 3-23d—During the session of the Convention I was privileged, in com¬
mon with several of the bishops and other clergy, to address the large and inter¬
esting congregations of colored people assembled in the Baptist and Methodist
African Churches. We have no such congregations there or elsewhere in the
Diocese, and for our delinquency in this I should find it hard to furnish a satisfac¬
tory excuse."
What a significant statement! The Episcopal Church, when its white members
commanded even the bodies of their slaves, backed by all the prestige and influ¬
ence of the church in Virginia, failed to any degree to get hold of the colored
people.
THE NEGRO CHURCH
141
In South Carolina the complete failure of ante-bellum instruction to result in
definite church extension among the Negroes was even more disastrous.
The Journal of the Convention of South Carolina for 1856 shows 424 white bap¬
tisms against 975 colored baptisms, and 210 white persons confirmed against 414
colored persons confirmed. There were reported 2,971 white communicants,
against 3,022 colored communicants.
In spite of this faithful ante-bellum instruction, when the colored people became
free they left the church. They preferred, as they do now, the ministrations of
their own, in leadership as well. We might ask the question how well has Arch¬
deacon Joyner of South Carolina succeeded in bringing them back into the church
in later days ? Let us answer by a few statistics. We take these statistics from
official sources, directly from the Journals of the Convention of South Carolina.
In 1892 the total of colored communicants in that Diocese was 745. Ten years
later, 1902, the total is 859. But of this 859, 356 belong to St. Mark's, Charleston,
leaving a balance of 503 pertaining to the Archdeaconry of South Carolina. By this
we fail to see any actual gain whatever. But taking the figures of 1903 we have in
South Carolina 638 communicants exclusive of St. Mark's congregation. Hence,
after deducting 237 communicants of St. Mark's from the total of 745 in 1892, we
have as Archdeacon Joyner's portion then 508 communicants. Eleven years later
this 508 has become 638.
The auditor who examined the accounts of the Archdeacon for 1892, certified
of expenditures amounting to $11,330.25, and for the year 1903 the auditor certifies
of expenditures in the neighborhood of $20,000. For the eleven years we have an
increase of 130 communicants.
The method of special services for colored people, "colored Sunday-school," not
only failed in ante-bellum days, but it has also failed in later years since the
war. It is very far from us to contend that these efforts were in vain and without
substantial good. Much good was the outcome of such efforts. They helped to
mould and build solid characters. But they helped scarcely one iota in church
extension or in making churchmen of colored people. The people got the instruc¬
tion and the material help, and went off to the Baptists or Methodists.
Take an illustration of this same idea in the city of Baltimore. Twelve or fif¬
teen years ago there were large and enthusiastic "colored" Sunday-schools in
connection with the following white parishes in Baltimore: St. Peter's Church
of the Ascension, St. Michael's and All Angels, and Emanuel Church. At Tow-
son there was both a parish and Sunday-school; also a similar condition obtained
at Claggett Chapel, Anne Arundel County, and at West Eiver.
And yet to-day there is no indication whatever that such Sunday-schools were
ever in existence, save here and there a communicant in the two exclusively
colored congregations of churchmen in this city. So far as doing good is con¬
cerned, a great deal of good was done by these several schools, for many of their
former pupils have become reliable and reputable men and women, Christian
workers in Baptist and Methodist Churches. But with respect to church exten¬
sion the idea has been a failure. Twenty years ago the late Rev. Dr. Dashiell,
Secretary of the Virginia Council, said:
"In consideration, therefore, of the church's duty to the Negro, we are not de¬
liberating concerning one who will be entirely quiescent. The colored people
have the right to speak in the matter, and they will assert that right. . . . Again,
I say, remember that they are human beings, and it is not in human nature to
be content with subordination to those who do not thoroughly understand us,
and, therefore, are not capable of complete sympathy with us."
142
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
What the church should do. Meeting the issue fairly, honestly and frankly, the
church should recognize the fact that whatever may be in the future, at present
it is hopelessly impossible to bring together, under one bishop, the white and
colored people in Diocesan Conventions in the South. That being a fact, without
crimination or recrimination, the church should practically say to the colored
clergy and laity, "Organize your own jurisdictional Convention with a bishop of
your own race at the head. The bishops and church people in the bounds of
your jurisdictional territory are your friends, and they will help and assist you.
It may be, in the distant future, when all of us on both sides have advanced
more nearly to the true ideal, that this tentative arrangement may lapse, and all
of us will be comprehended in one Diocesan system. Until then, although some¬
what separated, let us love one another and work for the glory of God. We have
confidence in you. "We believe that you will accept this as a Providential
opportunity and will demonstrate by your successful work in more largely and
effectively reaching your race, the wisdom of the arrangement."
The church has lost so many opportunities that we are fearful lest she let slip
the present one.
St. Thomas' Church, Philadelphia, was started just before the organic rise of
African Methodism. If Bishop White, instead of making Absalom Jones a priest,
had consecrated him bishop, to work among his African brethren in this country,
the great African Methodist Church to-day would have been Episcopal and in
full communion with the church. The church lost that opportunity. After
the late Civil war, if the church had consecrated a colored priest as bishop to work
among the African race in this country, following up the "ante-bellum" instruc¬
tion given the slaves in church families, with the nucleus of former slave com¬
municants, the church of to-day among the Negroes would be numerically large,
vigorous and strong. The church lost that opportunity. For years some of us
who have been branded as "up-starts," "heady," "not humble" and "ambitious,"
for the love that we have in our hearts for our dear Lord and His church, have
been content to endure such things while we unfailingly and unflinchingly kept
before the church the duty of the hour.
That the church is moving in the direction of this demand is shown
by the fact that there are now three annual Diocesan convocations of
colored clergy and laity: Southern Virginia, South Carolina and North
Carolina. One has already been arranged for Arkansas, which will be
effective just so soon as there are sufficient colored clergy and laity.
29. The Presbyterians.
The Presbyterian Church, North, began missionary work among the Negroes of
the South fully a year before the close of the Civil war. Two committees were at
work under the direction of the General Assembly (0. S.) as early as 1864—one
with headquarters at Indianapolis, and the other at Philadelphia. The work of
these two committees from necessity was confined by military lines, and was
chiefly in connection with military and "contraband" camps and hospitals. In
May, 1865, the General Assembly meeting in Pittsburg united these committees
under one general committee, entitled "The General Assembly's Committee on
Freedmen." It met by order of the Assembly in the lecture room of the First
Church, Pittsburg, and was organized June 22d, 1865.
Before the re-union there was another work similar in character and purpose
with headquarters in New York, carried on as a"Freedmen's Department," in
THE NEGRO CHURCH
143
connection with the Presbyterian Committee of Home Missions (N. S.). This
Freedmen s Department" existed only two years, making its second annual re¬
port in 1870. When the two Assemblies united in 1870, the work among the Freed¬
men as carried on from New York and Pittsburg was consolidated and a new
committee appointed. This new committee was organized by direction of the
Reunited General Assembly, June 10th, 1870, in Pittsburg, Pa.
This committee continued to work without change of plan or reorganization
for twelve years; but the question of the ownership of property, necessary to the
work, and the handling of bequests made it evident that it would be better to
have the committee incorporated. In 1882 the Assembly at Springfield, 111., sanc¬
tioned the change and the committee obtained a charter September 16th, 1882, and
became a corporate body under the name of "The Board of Missions for Freedmen
of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America."
This board educates preachers and teachers; maintains ministers in their work
and teachers in their schools; builds churches, school-houses, seminaries, acade¬
mies, colleges and dormitories; prescribes courses of study; looks after the condi¬
tion of buildings, and orders all repairs and extensions; elects professors and
trustees; provides for boarding department all necessary utensils and furnish¬
ings; controls the various institutions of learning; receives monthly financial
statements from all schools and audits all bills.
Out of confusion, ignorance and poverty there has arisen a system of educa¬
tional and evangelistic work that commands the attention and demands the sup¬
port of the entire church.
Schools, academies, seminaries and one large university have gathered within
their walls young men and young women to the number of 11,000, who are brought
under religious influence, and are being trained in the ways of the Presbyterian
Church.
Congregations have been gathered and churches have been organized until now
the board has under its watch and care 350 churches and missions containing
21,000 members. Church buildings have been erected and property secured for the
use of churches valued at $350,000. School property owned and used by the board
in its work is estimated to be worth $500,000. Funds permanently invested for the
use of the work amount to $100,000, making almost $1,000,000 invested in property
and permanent funds. This property, while absolutely necessary to the work of
the board, entails a heavy annual expense in the way of repairs and insurance.
As the work has been a matter of growth, and its influence operative from the
time it began, the power for good must not be measured alone by this year's work
or last year's work, but by all the work that has been done through all these years.
Probably 50,000 people have professed their faith in Christ under the preaching of
our ministers. The enrollment in our Sabbath schools, adding year to year, must
have reached 400,000, and the total enrollment of students in our day schools from
the time we began would count up to 250,000.
The indirect influence of our work upon the communities in which our churches
and schools have been established is hard to calculate, but the lives of thousands
of our quiet, intelligent and order-loving citizens that are the product of our
schools and churches must be included in the calculation, if we want to form an
estimate of the amount of good that has been accomplished by the Presbyterian
Church in its work among these people.
In Virginia there is one colored Presbytery; in North Carolina there are three;
in South Carolina three; in Georgia two; in Arkansas one, and in Alabama and
Mississippi one. In these eleven Presbyteries, containing 209 ministers, there are
144
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
Ministers who preach only 149
Ministers who preach and teach 49
Ministers who teach only 11
Laymen who teach 24
Women who teach 188
only seven white men and of these all are teachers except two. In Florida we
have four colored ministers; in Tennessee fourteen; in Kentucky four; in Missouri
one; in Indian Territory five ministers, two of whom are white. The larger
part of our work lies in North Carolina, South Carolina and Southern Virginia.
In view of the past history of the work, and of the great good that is being ac¬
complished, the board feels justified in saying that the Presbyterian Church has
not yet given annually of its means an amount commensurate with the importance
of this cause. The board has received from all sources (including legacies) for the
last year about $160,000, whereas $250,000 would hardly begin to meet the reasona¬
ble demands of the work.
In 1902 the work of the Presbyterians was reported as follows :
Ministers 209
Churches and missions 353
Added on examination 1,737
Added on certificate 206
Whole number 21,341
Sunday-schools 350
Sunday-school scholars 21,299
Number of schools 88
Number of teachers 272
Number of pupils 10,715 421
SCHOOLS.
BOARDING SCHOOLS.
Biddle University, Charlotte, N. C.
Scotia Seminary, Concord, N. C.
Mary Allen Seminary, Crockett, Tex.
Ingleside Seminary, Burkeville, Ya.
Mary Holmes Seminary, West Point, Miss.
Barber Memorial Seminary, Anniston, Ala.
CO-EDUCATIONAL.
Albion Academy, Franklinton, N. C.
Brainerd Institute, Chester, S. C.
Cotton Plant Academy, Cotton Plant, Ark.
Dayton Academy, Carthage, N. C.
Harbison College, Abbeville, S. C.
Haines Industrial School, Augusta, Ga.
Immanuel Training School, Aiken, S. C.
Mary Potter Memorial, Oxford, N. C.
Monticello Academy, Monticello, Ark.
Swift Memorial Institute, Rogersville, Tenn.
Oak Hill Industrial, Clear Creek P. 0., I. T.
Richard Allen Institute, Pine Bluff. Ark.
And seventy-one academies and parochials.
To this must be added Lincoln University in Pennsylvania.
"The schools during this year have, almost without exception, done excellent
work. Nearly 11,000 pupils have come under, not only Christian, but Presbyterian
instruction. Over 1,800 young men and young women have been sheltered in our
boarding schools, and have thus been given all the advantages of a Christian home
training, as well as daily instruction in the ordinary branches of education."
There are the following Presbyterian churches in the North outside
the Mission Board's work :
THE NEGRO CHURCH
145
Fifteenth Street,'Washington, D.
Madison Street, Baltimore, Md.
Grace, Baltimore, Md,
Knox, Baltimore, Md.
Gilbert, Wilmington, Del.
Pomfret Street, Carlisle, Pa.
Hope, Chambersburg, Pa.
Second, Oxford, Pa
Fifth, Chester, Pa.
Central, Philadelphia, Pa.
Berean, Philadelphia, Pa.
First African, Philadelphia, Pa.
O.
Washington Street, Reading, Pa.
Grace, Pittsburg, Pa.
Fourth, York, Pa.
Siloam, Elizabeth, N. J.
Mission, Goshen, N. Y.
Mission, Washingtonville, N. Y.
St. James, New York, N. Y.
Mt. Tabor, New York, N. Y.
Liberty Street, Troy, N. Y.
St. James, Rochester, N. Y.
Ninth, Indianapolis, Ind.
Grace, Chicago, 111.
"There are supposed to be from 10,000 to 12,000 Negro communicants who are
members of white churches."
Beside the work of the Northern Presbyterians there is considerable
work done by the United Presbyterians through the school at Knoxville,
Tenn., and various missions, and the Southern Presbyterians do some¬
thing. The General Assembly of 1899 of the church declared :
The Assembly is gratified at the evidence of a fresh interest on the part of our
people in the religious instruction of the Negroes, as shown in the increased num¬
ber of Sabbath schools for this race taught by the white people, and commends this
work to all pastors and sessions.
In the judgment of this Assembly the time has come for a great forward move¬
ment in the work of colored evangelization, and in confirmation of this judgment
it calls the attention of our people to the following considerations:
The work has perhaps a wider range than any other to which God has called us.
"It includes the entering of a mission field, the erection of churches and manses,
establishing and maintaining schools, the support of evangelists and pastors, the
selection and training of a ministry—in short, every detail connected with the
elevation of a race."
Statistics show the prevalence of immorality and crime among the Negroes. If we
are not moved by considerations of pity for them and sympathy with our Lord in his
love for the souls of all, we ought at least to remember that the temporal and spiritu¬
al welfare of our posterity is at stake. Are our children and children's children to
inherit a land crying aloud to heaven because of violence and murder, and lynch
law?
The Presbyterian Church believes that it is peculiarly fitted to give the Negro
what he needs. His needs are, in our judgment, a soundly educated ministry,
sober instruction, simple and quiet rather than ritualistic or emotional modes of
worship, a simple and orderly system of church government and discipline, and a
"home life in which the children will be carefully trained and instructed in the
Word of God and in the faith of the church."
God has opened to us a wide door in Africa. The story of our mission on the
Congo may be classed among the wonders of modern missionary annals. How
are we to enlarge the work in Africa, so signally blessed with God's favor, except
by enlarging the work for the Negroes at home? And how assuredly inconsistent
to send missionaries to Africa while we neglect the Africans at our door.
The work of the Southern Presbyterian Church for the Negro has reached the
gravest crisis in its history. The few, feeble, and widely-scattered Negro churches,
heretofore in organic union with the white churches, have been organized, in
accordance with our long-cherished plan, into an Independent African Presbyte¬
rian Church. The charge has been brought against us that we have taken this
146
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
action because of race prejudice, and with the purpose to rid ourselves of the bur¬
den of colored evangelization.
Those who bring the charge ignore the fact that it was at the request of the
colored ministers and elders in convention assembled that this step was taken.
Our critics, too, wherever they are brought into ecclesiastical proximity to the
Negroes, manifest the very race prejudice they charge against us. These facts
serve as missiles to hurl at those who censure us, but they will not relieve us of the
odium in the sight of God and man, if we allow the new-born African Presbyterian
Church to perish for want of sympathy and support; we shall be made "a spectacle
unto the world, and to angels and to men."
The Afro-American Presbyterian thus comments on the development of
the church in the South :
The writer and his people were connected with the old Sion Presbyterian Church
at Winnsboro, S. C. The very next Sabbath after Sherman's army had swept
through that community like a besom of destruction, the pulpit was occupied by
the then Rev. W. E. Boggs, now of Jacksonville, Fla., who had unexpectedly ap¬
peared on the scene from Virginia. His text was, "God hath spoken once; twice
have I heard this; that power belongeth unto God."—Psalms 62:11. He sought to
comfort the people by setting forth the superior power of God. From that Sabbath
and for months the colored people occupied their accustomed place in the gallery
of the church, the minister for the most part being* a Rev. G. R. Brackett.
Then the Federal garrison came. The old Methodist Church building was taken
possession of Sunday afternoon by a large number of Negroes who had been con¬
nected with it. They had been allowed this privilege formerly, some white man
being present. Now the meetings became large and noisy. The whites became
alarmed. A few Sabbaths later when we approached the entrance to the yard of
the Sion Church we were confronted by a Federal soldier, who ordered all Negroes
away. It was afterwards learned that the church had applied to the commanding
officer for this guard to keep out the Negroes. We all turned away never to feel
at home in the old church any more. It was under somewhat similar conditions
that the Negroes went out from the white Presbyterian Churches generally. A few
hung on, but most of them drifted away.
The Methodist and Baptist Churches among the colored people at the North
were already old and strong organizations. The bishops and leaders pushed into
the South and gathered in the people by the wholesale, and perhaps 70 per cent, of
the Negroes who had been connected with the Southern Presbyterian Church went
into these churches. Many of the intelligent and capable were made preachers
and leaders. Exceptions may be pointed out, but the above describes the general
condition.
This was the situation when the white Presbyterian missionaries came among
the colored people of the Carolinas, Virginia, and Georgia, where nearly all the
colored Presbyterians are now found. They came within reach of the scattered
fragments which had either gone out or were freezing within Southern churches.
They began in a small way by planting a few schools and organizing churches.
The schools became centers of influence. Naturally the growth of the churches
under the new conditions was rapid to a certain stage.
THE NEGRO CHURCH
147
30. The Congregationalists. The work of the Congregationalists has
been done through the American Missionary Association. The fifty-
sixth annual report of that Association (1902) gives the following history
of the work :
The American Missionary Association was formed in 1846. It is distinctly a
Christian missionary society to spread the gospel of Christ wherever it has oppor¬
tunity. It was organized with pronounced opposition to slavery, which then ex¬
isted, and against all race and caste prejudice, which still exists. It was preceded
by four recently established missionary organizations, which were subsequently
merged into it. They were the Amistad Committee, the Union Missionary Society,
the Committee for West India Missions among the recently emancipated slaves of
Jamaica, and the Western Evangelical Missionary Society for work among the
American Indians.
In the foreign field, 1854, its laborers numbered seventy-nine, located in West
Africa, Jamaica, the Sandwich Islands, Siam, Egypt among the Copts, Canada
among the colored refugees and in North America among the Indians.
The home department embraced two distinct fields, the West and tbe South.
There were 112 home missionaries employed by the Association in 1860, fifteen of
them being located in the slave states and in Kansas.
The missions in the slave states gave rise to some of the most stirring events in
the history of the Association, which has the distinction of beginning the first de¬
cided efforts, while slavery existed, to organize churches and schools in the South
on an avowedly anti-slavery basis.
The crisis so long impending came at length, and the Union armies, entering
the South in 1861, opened the way for the instruction and elevation of the colored
people. The Association felt itself providentially prepared to engage in this work,
and the first systematic effort for their relief was made by it. Large numbers of
"contrabands," or escaping fugitive slaves, were gathered at Fortress Monroe and
Hampton, Va., and were homeless and destitute. The Association, on the 17th of
September, 1861, established the first day school among the freedmen. That little
school laid the foundation for the Hampton Institute which the Association
founded later, and was the forerunner of the hundreds that have followed.
The Proclamation of Emancipation, dated January 1,1863, insured the permanent
freedom of Negroes who reached the Union lines. The American Missionary As¬
sociation rapidly extended its work. At Norfolk the school of the previous year
now numbered 1,200 pupils. Teachers were also sent to Newbern and Roanoke
Island, N. C., to Beaufort, Hilton Head, St. Helena and Ladies' Island, S. C., and to
St. Louis, Mo.; and its force was scattered over the field held by our armies in the
District of Columbia,Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Louisiana,
Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, Missouri, and Kansas.
The year 1865 was marked by the close of the Civil war, by the establishment, by
act of Congress, of the Freedmen's Bureau, and by tbe holding of a National Coun¬
cil of Congregational Churches in Boston, which recommended to the churches to
raise $250,000 for the work among the freedmen, and designated this Association as
the organization providentially fitted to carry it forward. The Association ac¬
cepted the responsibility, appointed district secretaries at Chicago, Cincinnati and
Boston, and collecting agents in other portions of the Northern states. It also
solicited funds in Great Britain, and succeeded in securing that year a little more
than the $250,000 recommended by the Council. Its receipts from all sources ran
up from .$47,828 in 1861, to $253,045 in 1866, and $420,769 in 1870.
148
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
But in the South there came a reign of terror under the infamous Ku-Klux-
Klans—the Thugs of America. The colored people were often assaulted by mobs,
dragged from their homes at midnight, and shot down in the streets. But there
was no want of courage on the part of our teachers to enter or remain in the field;
the number of teachers, which was 320 in 1865, was enlarged to 528 in 1867, 532 in
1868, and 533 in 1870. It was during this very period that the beginnings were
made for most of our permanent educational institutions. The Association must
train the teachers and preachers for this people.
The Association now sustains as higher institutions Fisk University, Tennessee;
Talladega College, Alabama; Tougaloo University, Mississippi; Straight Univer¬
sity, Louisiana; Tillotson College, Texas; and J. S. Green College, Georgia, together
with forty-three normal and graded schools and thirty common schools scattered
over the South and among the mountains, six schools among the Indians, twenty
among the Chinese on the Pacific coast, one in Alaska and two in Porto Rico.
Theological departments have also been established in Howard University, Fisk
University, Talladega College and Straight University. Industrial instruction first
began in Southern mission schools in Talladega, Ala., and was early introduced
into many of our schools and has been constantly extended. Talladega College
and Tougaloo University have large farms. In all the larger institutions and nor¬
mal schools mechanical arts are taught to the boys, and household work, cooking,
sewing, washing, nursing, etc., to the girls. From these schools go forth annually
hundreds of well-qualified teachers and ministers.
Simultaneously with the founding of these permanent institutions the Associa¬
tion began the planting of churches among the freedmen. They were formed
mainly in connection with the educational institutions, and were intended to be
models of true church life. The work of church-planting has been pressed forward
with a steady hand until the churches now number 254, located in nearly all the
states of the South, among the Negroes, the mountaineers and the Indians, with
most fruitful results. Sunday-schools, temperance efforts and revivals of religion
have been marked features in the work. Christian Endeavor Societies were
promptly organized and have been rapidly multiplied.
Conferences or Associations have been formed, and of these there are now nine,
designated as the Conferences of North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mis¬
sissippi, Louisiana, Texas, South Carolina and Tennessee.
As to the churches, one of the corresponding secretaries writes:
"The Congregational Churches, aided by the American Missionary Association,
are both few and small in comparison with the great number of Negro churches,
but I am happy to say that they are experiencing rapid growth and development.
"Within the last ten years the number of our churches has increased over 60 per
cent. Within the last few years the growth has been even more manifest. The
peculiarity of this growth is the up-springing of these churches in a great many
of the back country regions. Formerly our churches were almost entirely in the
immediate neighborhood and under the shelter of our schools. But in different
states new movements have arisen spontaneously towards free churches which
shall be in fellowship with one another at the same time, while they are not under
any centralized ecclesiastical control. Naturally these churches turn to the Con¬
gregational fellowship. The indications are that within the next twenty years
the number of them will be very largely increased. In many cases they are the
natural result of our educational forces. They are not 'Congregational' in any
sectarian sense, but they are largely of the nature of 'Union' Churches, except that
THE NEGRO CHURCH 149
they do not submit themselves to any centralized church government. Thus they
fall within what might be called 'The Congregational Ellipse,' with its two foci of
independence on the one side and fellowship on the other."
The Rev. W. N. De Berry of St. John's Church, Springfield, Mass.,
made an interesting study of these churches in 1901, and has placed the
results in our hands.* Reports were received by him from thirty-three
representative colored Congregational churches, in seventeen states,
both North and South. They were asked the following questions and
made these replies:
1. About what per cent, of the membership of your church is above forty years
of age ?
answers:
Less than 10% 3
10%-19% 5
20%~29% 7
7
50% 3
60% 1
Not known 1
2. What proportion of your members came from churches of other denomina¬
tions?
answers:
None 2
Less than 10% 7
40% 1
50% 1
75% 1
95% 1
Not stated 4
3. Do these persons continue to hold and assert doctrines or beliefs peculiar to
the churches from which they came ?
answers:
Yes 2 I To some extent 4
No 20 | May hold, but do not assert 6
Unanswered 1
4. What is the state of feeling on the part of other denominations in your town
toward your church ?
answers:
Friendly 19 i Jealous and antagonistic 4
Hostile 6 Unity of denominations, save
Growing friendly 2 | Baptists 2
5. Are the Congregationalists regarded as exclusive or "stuck up" ? If so, what
reasons do you assign for this ?
answers:
Yes 22 | No 6
To some extent 5
Some reasons:
(a) Absence of emotionalism.
(b) 1. Lack of information on part of those who regard us as exclusive, and
failure to seek that information.
2. Ignorance, which always condemns the intelligent as "stuck up."
8. The lack of Christian grace on our part which would lead us to treat
with special cordiality these people that we might win them.
4. The large proportion of educated people among us who naturally seek
companionship and association among people of like education.
* For Mr. De Berry's report see the Congregationalist, January 11, 1902.
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EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
(c) Intelligence and mode of worship.
(d) Intelligence and education.
(e) High religious, moral, and intellectual standard required of our ministers
and aimed at in our churches.
(/) Superiority in education and wealth.
(g) Because we condemn ignorance and superstition in pulpit and pew.
(h) Because we sometimes think and act as though we are better than others.
6. What per cent, of the money required for the current expenses of your church
is raised in your own parish ?
answers:
Less than ]
2
2
2
7
Pay all expenses,save pastor's sal¬
ary, and pay part of that 2
Unanswered 1
7. Do you regard the amount thus raised as in sufficient proportion to the finan¬
cial ability of your parish ?
answers:
Yes.
No..
9 ! Almost yes 2
19 I Unanswered 3
8. In your opinion, has the progress of Congregationalism among the colored
people any peculiar hindrances ? If so, name them.
Yes.
No..
answers :
27 I Yes, and no 1
4 Unanswered 1
Among the peculiar hindrances the following are mentioned: Lack of denomina¬
tional knowledge, enthusiasm, loyalty, literature, and effort to increase the mem¬
bership, the high standards, mental and otherwise, the mode of conducting service,
the lack of emotionalism, the lack of denominational emphasis, the low average in¬
telligence of Negro masses, lack of spiritual activity on the part of pastors, and
newness of the work.
9. In your opinion, are the prospects for the growth of Congregationalism among
the colored people encouraging ? If so, upon what do you base your opinion ?
Yes
answers:
... 30 I Unanswered 1
The prospects are reported encouraging for the following reasons : The in¬
creased interest in, and desire for, education, the activity of the ministers, the
discontent with the old order of things, the regard for the church and its methods.
Other answers are:
(а) Congregationalism must grow slowly. There is no reason to hope for phe¬
nomenal growth in the immediate future.
(б) It depends upon what we mean to do. If the denomination will make the
preaching of the gospel and the planting of Congregational Churches on
this Southern field its first and main work and put a reasonable portion of
missionary money and many more men and women into church work
directly, then the prospects are most encouraging and indeed all we can
ask. Rapid growth is a foregone conclusion.
THE NEGRO CHURCH
151
10. Suggestions:
The work is new, needs much attention and encouragement; the American Mis¬
sionary Association schools need to care more about emphasizing the church;
the pastors need concentrated organization. It will succeed or fail as interest in
education goes.
The statistics of Congregationalism are as follows (1902):
Number of churches 230 Added on profession 1190
Ministers and missionaries 139 Benevolent contributions $ 2,813.68
Church members 12,155 Raised for church purposes 39,397.82
Total additions 1,429 Sunday-school scholars 17,311
"Last year we enrolled a larger number of new churches than for any year since
1895. The present year has not been marked either by great advances or regressions.
There has been steady progress in individual churches, especially in the increased
responsibility about management of their own work. The general increase in the
number of churches is manifest from the fact that ten years ago our Southern
churches numbered 140; they now number 230.
"The improvement of the four-fifths of the Negro population who live in the
rural regions is often exaggerated. It is still shadowed with an ignorance which
has barely been touched by the light of a scanty school training for a few weeks of
the year and with a church life peculiarly infiltrated with superstition. In vast
plantation populations the old slave church still stands. Honesty, truth and purity
are not taught, because neither people nor preacher have come to realize that
these virtues are essential to the religious life. The ethical power of Christianity
is scarcely felt, and 'the plantation preacher is the curse of the people.' The time
is ripe for a forward gospel campaign in this great, needy black South of the back
country."
The figures above include a few white members.
EDUCATIONAL "WORK.
SUMMARY.
Instructors
Boarding pupils
480
14,048
2,055
PUPILS CLASSIFIED.
Theological
Collegiate
College preparatory
Normal
Grammar
Intermediate
Primary
Music
Night
95
271
365
1,597
2,916
3,245
5,465
292
Counted twice
66=14,312
264
Total
14,048
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EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
HIGHER INSTITUTIONS.
Attendance.
Fisk University, Nashville, Tenn 498
Talladega College, Talladega, Ala 534
Tougaloo University, Tougaloo, Miss 502
Straight University, New Orleans, La 709
Tillotson College, Austin, Tex 148
J. S. Green College, Demorest, Ga 498= 6
NORMAL AND GRADED.
Gloucester School. Cappahosic, Va 113
Gregory Institute, Wilmington, N. O 310
"Washburn Seminary, Beaufort, N.C 156
Lincoln Academy, All Healing, N. C 251
Skyland Institute, Blowing Rock, N. C 83
Saluda Seminary, Saluda, N.C 123
Joseph K. Brick Agricultural, Industrial and Normal School,
Enfield. N.C 211
Bethany School. McLeansville, N. C 90
Peabody Academy, Troy, N.C 135
Whittier, N. C 96
Avery Institute, Charleston, S. C 352
Brewer Normal School. Greenwood, S. C 264
Beach Institute, Savannah, Ga 285
Dorchester Academy, Mcintosh, Ga 357
Storrs School, Atlanta, Ga 326
Ballard Normal Institute, Macon, Ga 519
Allen Normal and Industrial School, Thomasville, Ga 210
Knox Institute, Athens, Ga 291
Normal Institute, Albany, Ga 349
Lamson School, Marshallville, Ga 259
Cuthbert, Ga 224
Normal School, Orange Park, Fla 139
Fessenden School, Martin, Fla 250
Trinity School, Athens, Ala 210
Lincoln Normal School, Marion, Ala 304
Emerson Institute, Mobile, Ala 266
Green Academy, Nat, Ala 83
Normal and Industrial Collegiate Institute, Joppa, Ala 191
Cotton Valley, Ala 234
Kowaliga, Ala 195
Helena, Ark 165
Le Moyne Institute, Memphis, Tenn 612
Slater Training School, Knoxville, Tenn 172
"Warner Institute, Jonesboro, Tenn 120
Grand View Academy, Grand View, Tenn 219
Pleasant Hill Academy, Pleasant Hill, Tenn 325
Big Creek Gap, Tenn 188
Chandler Normal School, Lexington, Ky 270
"Williamsburg Academy, "Williamsburg, Ky 277
Black Mountain Academy, Evarts, Ky 115
Lincoln School. Meridian, Miss 320
Girls' Industrial School, Moorhead, Miss 106
Mound Bayou, Miss 87=43
Common Schools =30
The American Missionary Association has stood firmly from the first
for unlimited opportunity in education. It was a pioneer in industrial
training and at the same time it has refused to abandon higher educa¬
tion.
"Too much emphasis cannot be laid on the work of our higher institutions, in¬
cluding the normal schools, which contain over 1,500 pupils. We believe in the
higher education for those who show ability and aptitude. This is the most im¬
portant part of the work of this Association. We utterly protest against the posi¬
tion that primary studies and industrial work are all that should be taught the
Negro. This Association must not swerve from its object; better facilities and
more advanced courses of study should be the aim. An examination of the
courses of study in a large number of the educational institutions of the American
THE NEGRO CHURCH
153
Missionary Association shows that many of them are abreast of our best Northern
schools in modern methods."
31. Summary of Negro Churches 1900=1903. Dr. H. K. Carroll reports
the following membership of Negro church bodies in the United States,
not including foreign mission membership, for the year 1903:
DENOMINATIONS.
Ministers.
Churches.
Communicants.
10,729
180
6,600
68
8,386
2,159
450
15,614
205
5,800
68
3,042
5
1,497
400
1,625,330
16,500
785,000
2,930
551,591
319
207,723
39,000
Union American Methodists
African Methodists
African Union Methodist Protestants..
African Zion Methodists
Congregational Methodists
Colored Methodists
Cumberland Presbyterians
23,477
26,631
3,228,393
To these may be added the following figures as already given :
DENOMINATIONS.
Ministers.
Churches.
Membership.
245,954
12,155
15,000
21,341
Congregationalists
Episcopalians
Presbyterians ♦
i.39
85
209
230
200
353
* Not including twenty-four Northern colored churches.
This would make an approximate total of 3,522,843 communicants in
Negro churches not including colored members of white congregations.
The study of the different sects brings out striking facts.
1. Early tendencies toward race segregation.
This is shown in the history of the secessions from Methodism. It
had the advantage of showing the capabilities of the race, but the dis¬
advantage of separating friends, helpers and co-religionists.
2. Later tendencies toward race co-operation.
This has taken several forms. Among the Baptists there has been
simple co-operation among independent churches. Some friction has
arisen: the white Baptist mission societies have failed to understand
the Negro desire for home rule and autonomy, and the Negro recipients
have not fully appreciated the help they have received from without;
the Episcopalians have insisted on treating the Negroes as wards under
age, while the Presbyterians have made them a department in the
church.
3. The failure of mere charity.
Nothing is more striking or hopeful for the Negroes than the manifest
fact that mere charity or patronage, however bountiful, has not satisfied
154
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
them. The richest church has nearly the smallest Negro membership,
not because it does not give to them, but because it does not treat them
as equals. The church with the largest Negro membership is confronted
by the strange fact that its black members have actually refused its
alms, while the Methodist Episcopal Church has a hard time to keep its
colored membership from secession despite pecuniary advantages.
4. Negro ability to organize and control.
Can Negroes rule? The experience of Hayti is not encouraging,
but the experience of the African churches in America is pretty em¬
phatic proof of the affirmative. What causes the difference ? The
African church is the oldest Negro organization, dating in part from
Africa itself, and here Negroes have had the most liberty and experience.
Political experience, on the other hand, they almost entirely lacked,
and instead of teachers they had hindrances and detraction.
In fact, we have in the history of Negro churches one of the most
important examples of the meaning and working of Social Heredity as
distinguished from Physical Heredity that the modern world affords.
32. Negro Laymen and the Church. Some 200 Negro laymen of aver¬
age intelligence, in all parts of the country, were asked a schedule of
questions and answered as follows. The states represented are Geor¬
gia, Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, North Carolina,
South Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Colorado,
Illinois and Pennsylvania. The answers of a few ministers are in¬
cluded :
So far as you have observed what is the present condition of our
churches in your community ?
Very good 23
Good 49
Progressing, improving, prosperous 16
Heavy financial burdens hindering spiritual conditions 9
Fair financially, low spiritually; more intelligent 3
Not so well attended as formerly, but attendants more devoted 2
Good, bad and indifferent 6
Fair, with vast room for improvement 13
Well attended, but mostly in financial straights 12
Poor, bad; not what they should be 12
Here and there a sign of improvement 1
Too much involved with financial efforts 5
Lack of piety and true missionary spirit; need of earnest preachers. 2
At a standstill spirtually; not influential enough among the young. 2
As far as general improvement is concerned, would say, Congrega-
tionalists, the Methodists, then Baptists 1
Retrograding spiritually 4
Can't say, don't know; not answered 5
Is their influence, on the whole, toward pure, honest, upright living
on the part of the members ?
THE NEGRO CHURCH 155
Yes 71
To a very large extent
To some extent yj
Room for improvement 5
Not so on account of preacher 1
Belief and doctrine advocated too much to have influence for good
upright living ' \
Purport simply to bear good influence over the people 1
Not sufficient emphasis laid on Christian living 2
Influence good, but members do not live as they should 2
Cannot say positively yes, though there are exceptions 3
No 17
Generally so; much advancement 6
Not answered 5
Are the ministers usually good men ? If not, what are their chief
faults ? Cite some specific cases, with or without names :
Yes 37
Generally good men 10
Majority good; some exceptions. Faults: Intemperance, dishones¬
ty, careless living, selfish ambition, sexual impurity 31
Some good, some bad 9
Some good, majority bad 4
Few good, majority bad 3
Not intelligent 6
Fairly good 3
Chief faults: Selfishness and dogmatism 4
Fault of some: Immorality 8
Fault of some: Deceptiveness 1
Fault of some: Too great love for money 3
Moral status low 1
Faults: Lack of earnestness, sexual impurity, intemperance, love
of worldly things 6
Proportion of good ones is increasing 2
Fault of some: Bigamy 1
Only a few whom I have not heard rumors about 1
Appear good, but do not know how to influence the young 1
"No better than they ought to be" 2
Some good, but among others the chief faults are sexual impurity,
improper attention to women, and selfishness 4
No, not generally so 6
Miscellaneous 7
Unanswered 5
Of the ministers whom you know, how many are notoriously immoral ?
What direction does their immorality take: sexual impurity, dishonesty
in money matters, drunkenness, or what ? Cite some particular in¬
stances, with or without names:
None immoral; all good men 28
Very few immoral 2
Some few are not what they should be; do not come up to the true
standard 4
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EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
One or more are lax in financial matters
Some few are sexually impure and dishonest in money matters; ma¬
jority good 12
Intemperate 3
Some intemperate; some cannot be trusted in money matters 1
Chief faults of some: Sexual impurity and intemperance 8
Chief fault: Sexual impurity 12
Many guilty of all 6
Not answered 17
Some of the answers are :
Alabama
I can name a few who are said to be immoral, but cannot say from personal
knowledge that they are notoriously immoral.—Girard.
I believe we have some ministers who are guilty of every fault named in question
four, but I think that one of their worst habits is in their tearing down good
church buildings; and in their rebuilding they don't seem to have any care for the
strain they place upon their members.—Mobile.
I think proselyting and exaggerating minor doctrinal differences a real hin¬
drance. Also the loose methods in vogue of conducting church finances—both in
collecting and expending—a serious drawback.—Mobile.
Two at present in the city. I know others, but they are not preaching here now.
Sexual impurity. They are the only ones in the city with the degree of D. D.—one
a Methodist, the other Baptist. They both ruined the good names of two young
women.—Mobile.
Colorado
I know some 500 ministers. Of that number probably about 100 are immoral;
10 per cent, of the 100 are sexually immoral, 20 per cent, dishonest, 70 per cent,
drink.—Colorado Springs.
Florida
I know of no minister who is notoriously immoral. Yet occasionally there
comes a little confusion in the churches here because when money is collected for
one purpose, through the minister's influence it is used for another. Such actions
always do cause church fusses which last for some time.—Gainesville.
I know of five around this city who are grossly immoral. Their immorality
takes these directions: intemperance, sexual immorality, and dishonesty in money
matters. Two cases of gross immorality came to light recently on two preachers.
One preacher has recently been dropped for dishonesty in money matters.—Jack¬
sonville.
Georgia
I cannot say how many; perhaps twenty. "Women and unfair dealings in money
matters. I have known comparatively few who drink, and still fewer who drink
to excess.—Atlanta.
About one-tenth of all the ministers in that community (Perry, Ga.,) are noto¬
riously immoral, especially in the direction of sexual impurity, dishonesty and
drunkenness.—Atlanta.
One of the most common and general faults against preachers is their failure to
pay promptly financial obligations. I know a few who are said to be guilty of
sexual impurity, some others who get drunk.—Atlanta.
THE NEGRO CHURCH
157
I regret that I know some ministers who are immoral and they are publicly
known to be immoral, but they manage to hold congregations and preach (?) to
them.—Augusta.
The doubtful three might be classified as follows' Two for sexual impurity,
one for general looseness, insincerity, questionable methods, etc.—Augusta.
I know ten and could name more if I would strain my memory who are noto¬
riously immoral. Some of these are sexual impurity, dishonesty in money matters
and drunkenness. I have seen this on the streets of Albany. I have not seen any
preacher drunk on the streets here in Brunswick.—Brunswick.
By common report, yes. Sexual impurity, dishonesty in money matters lead in
order given. I know ministers who drink, but they never to my knowledge become
intoxicated.—College.
I could name as many as ten who drink whiskey and are untruthful. Many are
dishonest in money matters. There is a preacher near my home who is a down¬
right drunkard. He first led his members astray by indulging them in this evil
habit, so that now it is a corrupt church.—Jewells.
About one-third of them are either sexually impure (these being perhaps in the
majority), dishonest in money matters and (given to) drunkenness. These are
distributed equally.—Macon.
I do not know many who are grossly immoral. I have in mind three, two of
whom are sexually impure; the other a drunkard, thief, and he was also sexually
impure. They say all Baptist preachers in country drink.—Newnan.
Six: (1) three are dishonest in money matters, and are liars; (2) three, whose
immorality seems to take almost every direction. I would add that nearly all of
the ministers of my acquaintance in the rural districts are distrusted more or less
from a moral standpoint.—Powelton.
I know several who do not even try to conceal their habits of drink and sexual
impurity, as well as being dishonest in money matters.—Savannah.
Mississippi
About 10 per cent, are notoriously immoral; about 2 per cent, are sexually im¬
pure, 2 per cent, dishonest in money matters, and about 6 per cent, are liquor
drinkers to a very great extent.—Coffeeville.
In a radius of five miles of us there are twelve ministers. Five are exceedingly
immoral in sexual impurity and drunkenness.— Westside.
North Carolina
Confining my answer to this community and to the present time, I know only
one man of bad report. He is charged with stealing church funds.—Charlotte.
Comparatively few. The Central North Carolina Conference is the largest one
that I have—about 100 pastors. During the last ten years we have had an average
of not more than one case a year, about equally divided between sexual impurity,
drunkenness, and dishonesty in money matters.—Fayetteville.
South Carolina
About 10 per cent, are notoriously immoral. Immorality takes to sexual im¬
purity, drunkenness, and dishonesty in money matters.—Hartsville.
Tennessee
Three or four. Their immorality takes all these directions.—Memphis.
They drink a great deal, but do not get drunk.—Memphis.
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EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFEKENCE
Texas
Fifteen notoriously immoral: nine sexually impure, four are drunkards, and two
are dishonest in money matters.—Dallas.
There are but few notoriously immoral. Some are sexually impure, some dis¬
honest in money matters, still fewer drunkards. The great deficiency in the min¬
ister's estimated salary causes failure upon their part to meet honest obligations,
which places them in an awkward shape.—Littig.
About one-fifth. The greatest number belong to the class of sexually impure; a
few dishonest in money matters, and there are a few drunkards.—Paris.
Virginia
To the first, I say not one. While our ministers do not preach temperance as
they should, yet I never heard of one being drunk.—Frederick's Hall.
Two of whom I know are immoral. One is not an active minister, but a kind of
missionary secretary in North Carolina. The other one was in our community,
but is now in Kentucky, in jail, I am informed.—Lynchburg.
I know a large number of ministers in this and other states. One out of every
four I would regard as being morally bad. In the order named, I would say that
sexual impurity holds the first place, drunkenness the next, and money matters
third.—Petersburg.
None. Some are not careful in the use of other people's money. Some abhor
total abstainence and even temperance, while some others are by no means trust¬
worthy.—Richmond.
Four: Sexual impurity, 2; dishonesty in regard to money, I; drunkenness, 1.
One was excluded for over-exaction of money in connection with his mother-in-
law.—Rappahannock.
Is the Sunday-school effective in teaching good manners and sound
morals ?
Yes; it is effective 66
Fairly so. To some extent partially so 29
Not as effective as it should be; vast room for improvement 11
The teaching is tending more and more in that direction 9
These ends are sought for 5
Not generally in manners, but they teach effectively sound morals.. 1
The Sunday-schools are doing a good work ; greatest hindrance
lack of attendance 1
To some extent; depends greatly on the home training 2
Where we have teachers and preachers of this stamp they are 1
In part at least too many fail, but on the whole much good is done. 1
Sunday-school not so effective, but does much good 2
My own exceptionally good in this. Can not speak definitely of
others. I think they are good 2
Depends on teachers and officials 2
These subjects generally neglected 2
Cannot say definitely 3
No; it is not 17
Some answers were :
I fear that it is not. I think its ineffectiveness, however, is due to the lack of
these in the home more than to the teaching. The hour, or hour and a half, out
THE NEGRO CHURCH 159
of 108 does not do effectively what the 167 or 166^ hours have failed to do, or undo
what they have done.—Houston, Tex.
Most Sunday-schools in the West are merely playing at teaching. They lack
purpose and thoroughness, interest and soundness.—Denver, Col.
It is not generally used for that purpose, but to instil sectarian animosity.
There are, however, some blessed exceptions.—Jackson, Miss.
With but one exception, the Sunday-schools do not take up questions of morals
and manners.—Troy, JV. C.
Real good manners, an almost obsolete term. Children are catching the spirit
of the age. Some schools seem effective towards good manners and good morals.—
Atlanta, Ga.
Do the churches you are acquainted with do much charitable and
reformatory work among the poor in slums and jails or elsewhere ? Cite
instances.
Yes, some are quite active 11
They aid the sick and the poor 17
To a certain extent. Fairly well 10
Not very much 29
Only one church here can claim any share in the charitable work of
the community 17
They help the poor 2
They are attentive to the sick, and this is about as far as it goes 8
Not generally, but the number engaged in such work is constantly
increasing 1
As much as they can according to their intelligence and ability... 1
No, they do not 40
Do not know; cannot say definitely 3
Unanswered 4
Some answers follow:
Some of them do creditable work along this line. One pastor preaches in a
tobacco factory every Saturday.—Richmond, Fa.
Yes. First Congregational Church, poor-house and jail; Episcopal Church,
Orphan's Home.—Memphis, Tenn.
Until the meeting of the "Young People's Congress" very little of such work was
accomplished, but a goodly number are now actively engaged in such work.—
Memphis, Tenn.
Yes. When we consider their small means, I think it can fairly be said that
they do, in various ways, a large part of the charitable work. Aside from taking
contributions, from time to time, for what is usually called missionary work, the
churches, as a whole or body, are not doing much, I think, but individual mem¬
bers of churches are doing much individual charitable work in various ways.
They feed, clothe, warm and pay house rent for the needy. Twelve persons paid a
girl's expenses at Fisk University last year, or half of that expense. The Negro s
charity, for the present, consists more in his doing for the needy than it does in his
giving.—Chattanooga, Tenn.
They have no systematized methods nor regular general organizations for this
kind of work. Pastors and individual churches, however, take up such work. We
160
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
have a Home for Aged Women and an Orphan's Home which we support.—Alle¬
gheny City, Pa.
There is an Old Polk's Home supported by the Methodist Episcopal Churches,
and another supported by the Baptist Churches. I know individuals who do
prison work.—New Orleans, La.
We have a notable instance in a Baptist colored clergyman, who for twenty
years has solicited and distributed some $500 or more in the interests of a Thanks¬
giving dinner for the white and colored poor in jails and asylums, and has funds
left to repeat for both Christmas and New Year's dinners. Funds are given
mostly by the whites, if not wholly—a marked instance of general confidence.—
Mobile, Ala.
In one church a day nursery, a kindergarten, a gymnasium, a kitchen garden,
and reading room for boys are carried on with more or less persistence and suc¬
cess. In another church there is a kindergarten.—Chicago, III.
Do the young people join the church and support it ?
Yes; they do 48
The young join, but do not do much supporting; chief support from
the older members 28
Usually. In the majority of cases they do 3
Some do, others do not 4
Many young people help to support. Many recently joined 2
Depends on the church and the minister. Some churches have
large numbers of them 1
Many join, but few remain in the church. The support is meagre.. 1
About one-fourth 1
Only a few young members, but they support as best they can 1
Very few, a small proportion. Majority of them do not 2
They do not support the church 1
Not as much as they did a few years ago 1
To some degree. To a limited extent 4
The accessions from among the young people are increasing rap¬
idly 1
The young are too much bent on pleasure 3
No; they do not 2
Unanswered 4
Some answers are:
The great masses who come into the church are young people. They make the
best members, all things considered.—Richmond, Va.
I think the young people need to be disciplined a great deal along that line.—
Richmond, Va.
They do to a degree commensurate with their home training.—Lynchburg, Va.
They are being trained toward supporting churches and schools.—Bowling Green,
Va.
Not as I would wish, but more than is generally thought. About two-thirds of
the girls and boys who come to our school are members of churches and support
the church in a fairly good manner.—Austin, Tex.
Many of them join the churches and make big promises but, as a rule, do but
little. Some will pray, but won't pay; others will pay, but won't pray; a large
THE NEGRO CHURCH
161
number won't pay nor pray, and a blessed few who both pray and pay.—Chatta¬
nooga,, Tenn.
They join during revivals and leave at the close. They contribute often because
they like to go up to the table. If this were stopped our churches would suffer
financially.—Darlington, S. C.
The young people when they have attained the ages of fifteen or twenty join
the church, but as to supporting the church, I think those of the less aristocratic
churches do more in the line of support for the church. In the aristocratic
churches the older folks support the church.—Charleston, S. C.
They delight in Sunday-school, Christian Endeavor, Young People's Union and
church work. Are enthusiastic over it. The churches are largely made up of
young people.—Allegheny City, Pa.
Fairly well, but they are hindered by the old members and often caused to
become discouraged and indifferent by the actions of the leaders and influential
members.—High Point, N. C.
Not generally among the men; more among the women. Church-going has de¬
generated into a fashion.—Jackson, Miss.
In those churches where the organization and training have been carefully done
they do. In others I fear they do not systematically nor to the proper extent.—
Augusta, Ga.
Not to the desired end, but there is being more and more thought and said con¬
cerning this very important duty.—Atlanta, Ga.
What is the greatest need of our churches ?
An earnest, consecrated, educated, wide-awake, intelligent minis¬
try 24
An educated, well-trained Christian ministry 25
A good, pure ministry 6
True conversion, practical religion, true Christianity 4
Honest, upright leaders, both preachers and officers 9
Earnest, educated, consecrated Christian workers 5
Consecrated ministers and faithful members 5
More money and better preachers 5
The spirit of Christ and the Holy Ghost 2
Finance 3
Unity and practical Christian living — 1
Do not know 1
Some answers are :
I think there is need of improvement in intellect and in a financial way.—Vin¬
cent, Ark.
A practical knowledge of right and wrong.—Mobile, Ala.
Regard for spiritual ideals.—Mobile, Ala.
A more perfect knowledge of the requirement of Jesus upon his followers.—Col¬
orado Springs, Col.
Downright seriousness and actual missionary spirit and efforts.—Denver, Col.
High-toned Christian ministers in the pulpits and teachers of the same kind in
Sunday-schools.—Atlanta, Ga.
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EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
Able and pure men as pastors and a warm oratory to reach and hold the masses.—
Atlanta, Ga.
I should say more spiritual life. This lack is very general in our churches of
to-day.—Atlanta, Ga.
First of all, better men in the ministry. It would follow that the members
would be better.—Augusta, Ga.
They need so many things it is hard to say dogmatically what is the greatest
need.—Augusta, Ga.
The greatest need is to live up to what we preach. Do away with so much emo¬
tion and do practical work. " If ye love me keep my commandments."—Brunswick,
Ga.
1. Properly trained ministers. 2. Upright, cultured and Christian officers who
possess business knowledge. 3. Bibles for congregational reading. 4 Song books
for congregational singing.—Macon, Ga.
Decidedly, an educated ministry and a higher standard of morality.—Rome, Ga.
1. Pure ministry. 2. Less costly edifices. 3. More charitable work. 4. Practical
sermons, i. e., how to live, etc.—Savannah, Ga.
Thoughtful workers.—Thomasville, Ga.
Moral ministers who are able to chastise immorality.—Princeton, Ky.
1. The Holy Spirit's power. 2. Clean, heroic, unselfish pastors who love God,
righteousness and souls. 3. Deacons who fill the scripture standard. 4. Members
who fear God because they are really new creatures in Christ.—Jackson, Miss.
The continued emphasizing of intelligent worship, spirituality instead of form¬
ality, and efforts to keep them from substituting respectability and high social
forms for Christian piety.—Allegheny City, Pa.
Good preachers, who read, study, and can apply what they read. Thinkers who
will make the churches attractive. Church boards composed of those who are not
afraid to hold their preacher to a certain standard or get rid of him.—Darlington,
S. C.
Less emphasis on financial matters and more practical preaching as to economy
in living and home-getting.—Florence, S. C.
A broad, able and educated ministry, capable of entertaining the congregation,
from the most illiterate to the most scholarly, with practical, common-sense doc¬
trine.—Houston, Tex.
Punctuality, business sense, stability, devotion, ideals and tact, a faithful, a well-
enli'ghtened, and a religious pew.—Littig, Tex.
Men of high intellectual, moral ahd religious standings.—Paris, Tex.
A pure ministry rather than an educated one. Spirituality. The abolition of
questionable methods of raising money, such as festivals, entertainments, excur¬
sions, etc.—Paris, Tex.
A large membership of solid, sensible, exemplary men, who will take a lively in¬
terest in the religious life of the church as well as its business matters.—Prairie
Vieii), Tex.
More liberal support on the part of the church members.—Achilles, Fa.
Money to support pastors, and the . Holy Spirit to enlighten the inner man.—
Bowling Gre6n,Va.'
THE NEGRO CHURCH
163
Better learned ministers and punctuality.—Chula Depot, Va.
Possibly education.—Frederick's Hall, Va.
I am of the opinion that the greatest need is morally and intellectually
trained leaders, especially pastors; and when I say "morally and intellectually," I
mean all that those terms can imply in the highest institutions of learning and
under the best influence. Nothing that is really good for a white person is too
good for a Negro. I am of the opinion that when this is recognized and the Negroes
have leaders accordingly, we shall be a long distance on the way to the solution of
the so-called "problem."—Richmond, Va.
Co-operation and sympathy with each other. This would make the work more
effective and extend it more widely among the people.—New Orleans, La.
Are the standards of morality in your community being raised or low¬
ered in respect to sexual morals, home-life, honesty, etc. ?
They are being raised 81
They are being raised gradually 8
Raised to some extent, yet room for improvement 14
Lowered in respect to sexual morals; raised as to the other quali¬
ties 7
Cannot speak encouragingly on this line 8
The standards are being lowered 14
Do not believe they are 2
Cannot say 7
Unanswered 9
Some answers follow:
I think the standard is being raised, which is due mainly to increase in good
schools.—Augusta, Ga.
There is less intemperance in the new-made homes than formerly existed in the
old homes. This is largely the work of the school teacher.—Augusta, Ga.
To this question I must sadly admit it is not what it was twenty-five years ago.—
Brunswick, Ga.
It is being raised. Young men and women coming from our colleges are mar¬
rying and are setting the standard in their communities for higher moral living.
Their home life and honest dealing in the community are helpful, and are being
diffused in all the homes to some degree.—Brunswick, Ga.
We have several homes that are models of purity and good morals.—La Grange,
Ga.
There is some effort being made toward a higher standard which, if supported
and encouraged, will result in much good in that direction.—Rome, Ga.
The church has influence on its members and they all live uprightly— Prince¬
ton, Ky.
A good condition generally obtains in the churches, and where suspicion rests
the parties are made to feel uncomfortable owing to the popular sentiment.—Al¬
legheny, Pa.
As to the lower classes I do not know, but the educated few are being raised.
Charleston is not as great an educational center as it ought to be and for this rea¬
son I think, for the masses it is not doing as much in respect to sexual morals and
home life as it might.—Charleston, S. C.
164
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
It is being raised. The church and the schools are the levers.—Hartsville, S. C.
The very best sign we have of the Negro's substantial progress is his rapidly
increasing respect for the marriage vow, and the many living, beautiful, happy
illustrations of his determination to keep that vow. There are hundreds and
thousands of pure homes and beautiful, well-ordered families among us now,
whereas, thirty-five years ago there were but few.—Chattanooga, Term.
Yes, positively. An able, eloquent minister was forced to leave one of our
churches here recently because there were "rumors" and a "belief" that he was
immoral.—Austin, Tex.
Yes, I think so—perhaps more through the influence of the schools than other¬
wise.—Prairie View, Tex.
Under conditions our people compare favorably with any other people.—Peters¬
burg, Va.
33. Southern Whites and the Negro Church. The difficulty of getting
valuable expressions on the Negro churches from Southern white peo¬
ple is that so few of them know anything about these churches. No
human beings live further apart than separate social classes, especially
when lines of race and color and historic antipathies intervene. Few
white people visit Negro churches and those who do go usually for
curiosity or "fun," and consequently seek only certain types. The
endeavor was made in this case, however, to get the opinion of white
people whose business relations or sympathies have brought them into
actual contact with these churches. A few of the names in this list are
of Northern people, but the great majority are white Southerners. The
circular sent out was as follows:
Your name has been handed to us as that of a person interested in the Negroes
of your community and having some knowledge of their churches. We are mak¬
ing a study of Negro churches and would particularly like to have your opinion on
the following matters:
1. What is the present condition of the Negro churches in your community?
2. Is their influence, on the whole, toward pure, honest life ?
3. Are the Negro ministers in your community good men ?
4. Are the standards of Negro morality being raised ?
We would esteem it a great favor if you would give us your opinion on these
points.
Some of the answers follow :
J. M. Wilkinson, President Valdosta Southern Railway Company,
Valdosta, Ga.:
1. In fair condition.
2. Good.
3. Most are.
4. Yes, I think so.
Alfred D. Mason, Memphis, Tenn.:
1. Good. I believe they are doing good, faithful work.
2. Yes.
THE NEGRO CHURCH
165
3. Yes, all that I know are.
4. Yes, I am quite sure they are.
W. W. Dexter, Houston, Tex., publisher :
1. Yery good.
2. Yes, among better elass; but the greater influence is "fear of the law."
3. Many good ones; but as a class are of questionable repute.
4. Yes, possibly, on the whole.
W. T. Jordan, Colorado:
1. Fair. They average with the white churches.
2. Yes.
3. So far as I know.
4. Yes.
Rev. J. E. Ford, pastor of Zion Baptist Church, is president of the Denver Bap¬
tist Ministers' Conference, and is a first-class pastor, preacher and manager. Rev.
Mr. Peck of the Methodist Episcopal Church is another minister of the same type.
The Negro churches in the whole state are doing fully as well as the white
churches, and many of them a great deal better.
Rev. J. M. Filcher, Corresponding Secretary Baptist General Associa¬
tion of Virginia, Petersburg, Ya.:
1. Excellent.
2. Yes.
3. Yes.
4. No.
R. A. Morris, Austin, Tex.:
1. Fair.
2. In part.
3. Some are.
4. Not much.
The most of them voted the anti-(Prohibitionist?) ticket which, I think, is bad.
P. W. Meldrim, Savannah, Ga.:
I answer all of the foregoing questions in the affirmative, so far as a general
answer may be given. To the first question I beg to say that it is too vague to
enable me to reply.
James B. Gregg, minister First Congregational Church, Colorado
Springs, Col.:
1. Yery fair.
2. Yes.
3. Yes.
4. I can't say very definitely. There has been of late years an influx of
Negroes into our town and there are more signs of immorality among
them than when that population was small. But the ministers are de¬
cidedly above the earlier ministers of that race here and that, I should
say, indicates a higher tone in the Negro churches, if not in the Negro
population, as a whole.
R. B. Smith, County School Commissioner of Greene County, Wood-
ville, Ga.:
1. Not good.
2. No.
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EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
3. No.
4. No.
I have given you my candid opinion of such, churches and ministers that I know.
There are some exceptions to the above. 1. There is a Presbyterian Church in
Greensboro that has an intelligent pastor who is a good, true man. 2. I also think
that the Methodist Church of same place is also doing pretty good work. A large
portion of the ministers are ignorant and in some instances are bad men. I am
truly sorry to have to write the above, but it is too true.
W. J. Groom, Princeton, Ky.:
1. Very slow, if any advancement.
2. No.
3. Very few.
4. No.
I regret to say, in my opinion, the Negro race has not advanced religiously, mor¬
ally or financially. They have some few commendable ministers, but the majority
are immoral and dishonest.
J. H. Icosh, Nashville, Tenn.:
1. They are making advancement, slowly but surely.
2. I think so.
3. So far as I know.
4. Yes.
It is not easy to give satisfactory answers to such questions without going into
detail. I have answered, as seems to me, in accordance with the facts in the case.
But information given in this way is not sufficient to furnish a basis for an intel¬
ligent view. Am glad to work in any way to help the Negro brothers.
James C. Stanley, Houston, Tex.:
1. Upward tendency for education, morality, and mutual advancement on
American protective lines.
2. .
3. All I know, yes.
4. Considerably.
I have lived and been in newspaper business here for thirteen years. I have
attached my answers to your questions above as to impressions made by expe¬
rience. The memberships of churches are larger, the number of churches more;
the schools are having greater attendance and teachers are of higher education
and practical plane than when I first came here. There are 100 to one in business
also. The careless pull all to a common level in race prejudice. I know of none
seeking social equality, but many educational and legal and property rights
equality.
J. H. Kilpatrick, White Plains, Ga.:
1. Lack of discipline and not harmonious.
2. I think so.
3. Some are and some are not.
4. I think not. I see no decisive evidence of it.
Geo. Wm. Walker, President Paine College, Augusta, Ga.:
1. A healthy spiritual condition.
2. Yes.
THE NEGRO CHURCH 167
3. Yes.
4. Yes.
Prof. Burnell, Emerson Institute, Mobile, Ala.:
1. Improving, as I believe.
2. Yes.
3. The majority are; many notably so.
4 Yes.
Geo. Standing, South Atlanta, Ga.:
1. Their influence is, on the whole, good.
2. The ministers are good men.
3. The morality of the people generally is very good.
Wm. N. Sheats, State Superintendent Public Instruction, Tallahassee,
Fla.:
1. Buildings fair, some good, some neglected and some poor. The propor¬
tion of really pious members is about on average of white churches.
2. Certainly, but like other churches, the black sheep are too numerous.
3. Some are, and some are the greatest drawback to real piety and the spread
of the gospel.
4 Yes, I think so, but entirely too slow for their good and the good of all.
John D. Jordan, Pastor First Baptist Church, Savannah, Ga.:
1. Medium to good.
2. Yes.
3. Most of them; I really know no exceptions.
4 I think so.
I take pleasure in sending favorable answers to all your questions. I wish well
for our Brother in Black.
J. Eeese Blair, Troy, N. C.:
1. They are on the upgrade, but in need of better leaders.
2. Good.
3. Some not what they should be.
4. I think so.
In this county I consider the Negroes very much improved in the work of their
teachers and churches.
J. W. Newman, Pastor Methodist Episcopal Church, South, Tallade¬
ga, Ala.:
1. Fairly good.
2. Yes.
3. Generally.
4 Yes.
T. C. Moody, Marion, S. C.:
1. Good.
2. Yes.
3. Yes.
4. Very much.
I hope the above answers will satisfy you, as they are the true condition of the
churches here. The Negro race is improving in every way.
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EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
J. W. Kein, Richmond, Va.:
1. Good and membership increasing.
2. Yes.
3. They are.
4. Yes.
W. Li. Tillman, Columbus, Ga.:
1. They bring about idleness among the Negroes.
2. No.
3. Some may be.
4. No, getting worse.
In many churches are too many so-called preachers. They demoralize the
Negroes and keep them from regular work by their constant preaching night and
day, and require them to give up the last coin they have. Some of the preachers
are very good, but a large portion of them are bad men. The Negroes morally are
growing worse.
W. G. Bradshaw, High Point, N. C.:
1. Fairly good.
2. Yes.
3. Yes.
4. Doubtful.
E. H. Leidy, Memphis, Tenn.:
1. Good.
2. Yes.
3. Yes.
4. Yes.
On the whole, I think our Negroes will compare with those of any section in
this country.
J. M. Collman, County School Commissioner, Putnam, Ga.:
1. There are too many—about three churches to one school. Buildings gen¬
erally poor; creeds bitter against each other. Some churches established
seemingly by local authority for "revenue only," the wandering priest
dropping in and preaching and then a collection.
2. Not as a whole, but in part.
3. Some are, numbers are not.
4. Yes, but much too slow.
In my opinion, here,, where the teachers are selected by the County Board of
Education, they are doing more for the race than the preachers. They are far
better educated and, as a whole, better men and women.
Sam Smitherman, Troy, N. C.:
1. They are, as a whole, bad.
2. No.
3. No.
4. No.
We have one good, honest and reliable Negro preacher in our community, and
he is trying to raise the standard of living among his race. But he has an up-hill
business to do so. The old Negroes, as a whole, are a long ways better than the
young ones. The Negro preacher that I refer to is 0. Faduma. Everyone that is
acquainted with the Negro race knows that a Negro is better off without an edu-
THE NEGRO CHURCH
169
cation than he is with one, for when he has an education he begins then to want
to do some mischief. He will either go to preaching or stealing or both. Of course
there are some better than others.
John N. Rogers, Professor of Agriculture, Dahlonega, Ga.:
A large majority of the church buildings have been much improved in the past
five or six years.
The good sufficiently dominates to warrant their encouragement. The majority
are good men and exert an elevating influence on the people among whom they
labor. A few are a disgrace to the church and to their race.
In answer to question No. 4, I would say that there is quite a noticeable im¬
provement among the females, but among the males, young and old, there is quite
a lack of regard for a high standard of virtue, either among themselves or for the
opposite sex with whom they associate. The average colored man does not regard
it as anything against him to be seen in company with the lowest woman of his
acquaintance. In my seven years experience as school superintendent of the
county, I had only two complaints of immorality of female teachers. I had four
or five of male teachers.
The lowest state of morals is found on the large plantations where the houses
throw the families in as close contact as is usually the case in cities. The greatest
improvement is noted in families living on small farms (either rented or owned by
them) where only one or two families live in close contact.
J. G. Collinsworth, Eatonton, Ga.:
I do not believe any race with the same environments could have made more
progress since their emancipation. They deserve great credit for what they have
accomplished, intellectually and educationally. They have two churches in
Eatonton that are good buildings and in fair repair. These churches have mar¬
velous influence for good. It is characteristic of the Negro to be scrupulous con¬
cerning his church vows. Their ministers, from external appearances, are capa¬
ble, God-fearing, consecrated men.
J. J. Lawless, Richmond, Va.:
We have in our town two colored churches and they are fairly well supported
by their members. They are gaining in numbers and getting stronger financially
from year to year. They have in them some members whose lives are such as to
impress outsiders with the sincerity of their Christian professions, but unfortu¬
nately they allow members to remain in their churches who ought to be turned
out, and thus cause reproach to fall upon the whole body.
My opinion is that both of the Negro ministers in our town are good men.
The President of the City National Bank, Austin, Tex.:
I have deliberately delayed answering until now that I might more fully prepare
myself to answer intelligently the several questions you ask me in your said favor
of March 19th. What I write is principally the result of my own observation and
reflection, but partly after conference with several intelligent colored and white
men, in whose judgment and candor I have confidence. I will answer your ques¬
tions in the order in which they are asked.
"1. What is the present condition of the Negro churches in your community ?"
To this I answer, in the main the church buildings of this community are in
every way reputable. They are principally rock or brick buildings, of good archi¬
tecture, and neatly, comfortably and tastily finished and furnished. As to the
membership in the main it is clean and self-respecting. Most of the colored
170
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
churches here are either out of debt or are paying their debts with reasonable
promptness. Some of the colored churches are in debt and poorly administered,
but as a rule the membership and physical condition and supervision of the Negro
churches are good.
"2. Is their influence, on the whole, towards pure, honest life ?" In answer to
this question I will say that, on the whole, their influence is decidedly towards
pure and honest life.
"3. Are the Negro ministers in your community good men ?" To this I will say
that, in the main, they are, but some of them are very sorry men. They are dead-
beats, and have no regard for their word nor for their obligations, and they are
low in their moral instincts and acts. They have neither regard for truth nor
honesty. They are particularly unscrupulous in politics. But speaking of this
community, I sincerely believe that this character of colored preachers is de¬
creasing. They are greatly better men, and more intelligent men than they were
ten or twenty years ago. Speaking of this community, again, I should say that
the unworthy colored ministers are rather the exception than the rule, and I think
I know what I am talking about.
"4. Are the standards of Negro morality being raised ?" To this I will say that,
in my opinion, they certainly are. I think there is a higher standard of morality
amongst colored men as well as colored women.
A Real Estate Agent, Florence, S. C.:
The Methodist Episcopal Church, North, and the Baptist Church: these churches
were well attended, and one reason was that the ministers were their political
leaders. Of late years a good many men who have learned to read and write have
been going about preaching, some I know of no character. The consequence has
been that many new congregations have been started, and although not large, the
tendency has been to do more harm than good. These Negro ministers (so-
called) are too lazy to work, and make their money in an easy way, principally from
the most ignorant Negro women. At present, I think the Negro ministers at the
established Methodist Episcopal Church, North, the African Methodist Episcopal
Church and Baptist Church are very good men; have not heard anything against
their characters. But my opinion is that for real religious training of the Negro the
Episcopal Church and Roman Catholic Church would be the best for the Negro,
the first named from the example and training, and the latter the confession they
would have to make to the priest—the latter more from fear. My opinion, again,
is that the Negroes are more immoral, as they read and know what has been done
and is being done by the immoral, unreligious white men of the country, and I
believe that the example set by the white men of low character has been the
greatest cause for the immorality of the Negro. Take for example that crime of
rape. I don't know of a section where the whites are refined, nice people and treat
the Negroes nicely, but let them know their places, where such an attempt has
occurred. How can you expect the Negro women to be virtuous when the white
men will continue to have intercourse with them? How can you blame the Negroes
for committing murder when the example is set them by the white man ?
We must face the truth. If any dirty work is to be done a white man hires a
Negro to do it for him. If a member of a church does not wish to be seen going
to buy whisky he sends a Negro. If these are facts, what an example to set to an
inferior race! And they are facts and a shame on our white race. It seems to me
that the Negroes are more immoral here than they used to be and the fault is due
mostly to the example set them by the white men.
THE NEGRO CHURCH 171
A. C. Kaufman, Charleston, S. C.:
1. There are a number of Negro churches in Charleston that are prospering.
The great trouble, I apprehend, is in the multiplicity of churches with the colored
as the whites. In my judgment, a church should not be established until there is
actual need for it.
2. This is a difficult question for me to answer, but as far as I know their influ¬
ence is for the betterment of the race.
3. I believe that the Negro ministers here are generally good men. I have no
reason to state to the contrary.
4. The standard of Negro morality I am sure is being raised. The young men
and women, under proper environments, are being raised along these lines. In
the lower strata of society things may be different.
H. M. Willcox, Willcox Hardware Co., Marion, S. C.:
Your letter received. In answer to your questions will state:
I. That the Negro churches are in good condition here.
2. That the moral and religious trend is upward.
3. That the present colored ministers are above the average in every way, both
in relation to intelligence and as to morals. I have had business with them all,
and the present incumbents seem to be a very reputable set of men. I will state
that several who preceded them in the last ten years cast a moral blight by their
lives while here upon their church community.
4. I think we have a very good class of colored people and that from a moral
standpoint they are improving.
J. E. Woodcox, High Point, N. C. :
Replying to your favor of 22d, beg to say that the condition of the Negro
churches in this community, in my opinion, is improving.
The influence of their churches is much better than formerly,with less sectarian¬
ism.
We have some Negro ministers in our town who are splendid, good men.
The standard of morality among the Negroes here is much better than formerly.
The fact is, I have often remarked, that High Point is blessed with the best Negro
population of any place I have seen in my life. Many of them own their own
homes and have some credit and standing in the community.
A. E. Owen, Portsmouth, Ya.:
1. The present condition of the Negro churches in this community is fairly good.
2. I do not hesitate to say that the influence of nearly all the Negro churches is
toward a purer, honest life. Of course in many instances their teaching is above
their practice.
3. The Negro preachers are fairly good men. Sometimes some suspicions rest
upon them.
4. I am sure that the standards of morality, especially among the church mem¬
bers, are being raised.
The Negroes are doing well. I think if people who speak and write about Negroes
would keep in mind the fact that Negroes are Negroes, it would keep them from
being led astray. Negroes are religious, and many of them are faithful church
members. Negroes should not be compared with the best conditions of the white
race. But still the Negroes are improving. They are getting clearer ideas of
purity and honesty, and I believe the Negro race, as Negroes, will rise to a higher
plane of religion and integrity.
172
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFEKENCE
J. R. Peppers, Memphis, Tenn.:
1. The Negro churches in Memphis, so far as the buildings are concerned, are
considerably better than five or ten years ago, which shows that more attention is
being given to the houses of worship used by them, and their gifts are liberal.
2. My observation is that their influence is toward pure and honest lives and
I think the pastors of the churches, as a rule, strive towards this end.
3. So far as I know the ministers in our community are good men. I know of
no irregularities at present among them.
4. I think the standards of morality among the Negroes are being raised,
though, of course, in no such degree as their friends would be glad to see.
W. H. Banks, Merchant, Hartsboro, Ala.:
In answer to your first question, will say that their houses of worship are not
in very good condition. They are manifesting some spirit of improvement in
this respect however, and have done what they could to improve their church
buildings. The religious life of their churches is not of a high order. They are
emotional and demonstrative and, I feel sure, are generally sincere. Many of them
are really religious people, but they have standards of their own, and they are low
standards. For instance, the average Negro Christian would consider it a grievous
sin to play the "fiddle" or dance, but would regard it as a small offense to drink
too much whiskey or to cover up a theft committed by some one of his race, or
to do many other things that you would regard as grave violations of the moral
law.
Question 2. I hope so. Progress in this direction is slow, and the Negro is not
wholly to blame. Public sentiment among his own race and among his white
neighbors,and the non-enforcement of law against inchastity, are great hindrances
to his progress toward pure living. The laws against bigamy, seduction and adult¬
ery, are a dead letter so far as the Negro is concerned. The Negroes' religion
does act more as a restraint upon them in their business dealings. Many of them
pay their debts and meet their financial obligations well. In these respects the
Negro has the support and stimulus of law and public sentiment.
Question 3. A few of them are, I think, but many of them I am afraid are not.
Question 4. In some respects I am sure that they are, and in all respects I hope
there is some improvement.
Wm. Hayne Leavell, Minister, Houston, Tex.:
I am sorry to have to answer you that since coming to Texas I have not been
able to know anything of the Negroes or their churches. Out here they seem to
be a very different sort from those among whom I was brought up, and in whom I
have always been interested, and by whom always been well received. Here they
are altogether to themselves, and I do not think I know personally a solitary
Negro minister. It is true I have for ten years been a man busily driven, but
the one or two attempts I have made to help the Negroes have not encouraged
me to try again. I know only that there are very many church organizations of
the various denominations, but of their quality I know nothing.
W. J. Neel, Attorney at Law, Rome, Ga. :
I doubt if I am sufficiently informed on this subject to give you any definite
or satisfactory information. It is a matter in which I am interested and I
occasionally attend service at Negro churches, but I cannot say that I have
information sufficient to meet your inquiry. However, I will undertake to answer
the four questions submitted by you in their order.
THE NEGRO CHURCH
173
1. As to the present condition of the Negro churches in Rome: It does not seem
to me to be quite satisfactory. It has not been long since there was a serious
split m the leading colored Baptist Church of Rome, resulting from differences
between the pastor and a majority of his congregation; and within the recent
past one of the leading colored Methodist Churches in this city was greatly dis¬
turbed on account of the conduct of its pastor, who was charged with misap¬
propriating church funds. It resulted in an indictment and prosecution in the
courts. So I cannot think the condition of the Negro churches here is what it
should be.
2. To this question I would answer: Yes, but with a mental reservation as to
individual instances.
3. For the most part, I believe the Negro ministers in our community are
fairly good men but there are exceptions, and the exceptions are rather too
numerous to be reassuring. Some of our Negro preachers, especially those of the
cheaper sort, are too much inclined to drift into local politics, which seems to
be always more or less corrupting and to leave a stain on their good name. A
Negro-preacher-politic-hoss is not a very wholesome or helpful citizen in any
community. But, happily, I believe his shadow is growing less.
4. To your fourth question, as to the standards of Negro morality, I would ans¬
wer: Yes and no. In individual instances, I believe Negro men and women
are rising in the moral scale and setting their faces firmly and hopefully to bet¬
ter things; but, if I am to be entirely candid, I will be compelled to say that
the standards of morality among the Negroes in this section, and especially
among the younger generation, do not seem to be rising. I regret to have to
admit that the tendency appears to be in the other direction. I wish it were
not so. The Negro is in the South, as I believe, to stay, and we of the South
are mightily interested in his elevation and betterment as a citizen. He is here
either to hinder or to help in the general progress and prosperity of our country,
and his progress, up or down, necessarily affecls us all.
A White Layman, Cuckoo, Va.:
In most of the churches the membership is very large, but, on a whole, I think
they have very little conception of what true religion is. I think a number are
trying to lead honest lives, but the majority do not know the meaning of true
religion.
I think some of the ministers are by no means what preachers ought to be.
I think a few are trying to do the best they can. I have attended the church
nearest me occasionally and I regard the pastor as a man of ability and fine
character and calculated to do much good. I wish I could say this for them all.
Answer 4. I am afraid not.
Clarence Cusley, Houston, Tex.:
1. The present condition of Negro churches in this state is altogether encour¬
aging, though there is vast room for improvement in the character and educa¬
tion of many of the preachers.
2. Their influence, on the whole, is toward a better life, but the preaching is
still too much emotional and too little addressed to the practical problems of
living.
3. Of the Negro ministers of my acquaintance many are earnest and godly
men, some are ignorant, and a few I fear are insincere.
4. The standards of Negro morality are being raised in many respects and
being lowered in others. Among the more intelligent class, there is decidedly a
174
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
tendency toward purer domestic life. Many Negroes whom I know I believe to
be thoroughly virtuous and honest. On the other hand, among the less intelli¬
gent class there is a very dangerous, not to say fatal, drift towards the worst forms
of domestic vice.
On the whole, I believe that on this account the race is not multiplying at a
normal rate.
A. J. McKelway, Editor, Charlotte, N. C.:
I am interested in the welfare of the Negro race, and know somewhat of their
churches. The Presbyterian Churches in Charlotte, and Mecklenburg county, I
commend most highly, not because I am a Presbyterian, but Charlotte is located
in a Presbyterian section, and the old families were largely Presbyterian, and
the best Negro stock is the same. Biddle University, near by, is a helpful influence,
too, in training educated ministers. I can also commend the Congregational
Church here, but the Methodist Episcopal and Baptist Churches are the average
emotional congregations, with but little connection between morality and religion.
Some ministers among them are good men, some are not. I think the standard
of Negro morality is being raised; that is, the standard to which the best are
trying to attain; at the same time there is a great tendency in the other direc¬
tion among the worst element.
Rev. G. Lyle Smith, Paris, Tex.:
1. A considerable majority of adult Negroes are church members, a fair con¬
dition of peace prevails in the congregations, but denominational prejudices and
wranglings are too frequent and violent, and a petty contentiousness is too com¬
mon in individual organizations.
2. Yet, all in all, it may be said truly that their influence, on the whole, is
toward a good, pure, honest Christian life.
3. Yes, with comparatively rare exceptions, the Negro preachers are good men
so far as known to me. They certainly get into serious trouble far more frequently
than white ministers, yet the general statement would stand that Negro preachers
are good men.
4 Yes, it is manifest that the standards of morality are being steadily raised,
especially if we take into view any considerable period of time. Advancement is
as rapid as could reasonably be expected, all things considered.
E. C. Moncure, Judge County Court, Bowling Green, Va.
First, I have great sympathy with the Negro race and my opinion if anything,
I fear, will be a little biased in their favor.
The Negro seems to be naturally a very religious person, full of emotion and
human sympathy, mixed up with some superstition and suspicion.
The Negroes are devoted to their churches and will undergo many privations to
contribute to church building. They have great pride in their churches, and to
be turned out of church is the most humiliating condition in their minds. A Negro
convicted of larceny will suffer under the burden of his humiliation from being
"turned out of the church" much more than from his disgrace of criminal con¬
viction. Of course that remark does not apply to those who are the leaders of the
church. Twenty-five years ago the Negro churches were controlled by much infe¬
rior men than to-day. The Negro churches in any community of to-day are quite
well organized, with well-attended Sunday-schools, and are progressing. They
have an over-zeal in building church houses, and are striving to emulate the white
people in having good and neat houses. Their church discipline is rather loose.
THE NEGRO CHURCH 175
This, in a measure, comes from the great number of unconverted persons in their
churches, for all Negroes must belong to the church; and a great many of their
preachers are not educated and not of the highest character, so that they are not
particular enough in receiving candidates into their communion. But, in my
opinion, the Negroes are gradually improving along many lines. The trouble is
with us white people, who, setting a judgment on their progress, expect and demand
too much in a small space of time. But the influence toward pure, honest lives,
upon the whole, is good; that is, the preponderating influence.
Of the colored registered vote lately voting on local option in my county, the
abridged electorate, consisting principally of the educated and owners of property,
nearly as a unit voted against whiskey.
Not all of the Negro ministers of my community are good men. In the main,
they are, but some are ignorant and superstitious. But with all this, I am clearly
of the opinion that the standards of Negro morality are being slowly and gradually
raised.
To sum up, I do not think that Negro education and evangelization are
failures by any means. In my acquaintance there are some noble examples of
progress, faithfulness and devotion to principle.
C. C. Brown, Pastor, Sumter, S. C.:
1. One of the four Negro churches in Sumter is doing a good work. I seriously
question whether the other three are accomplishing much. They suffer from
poor leadership and from having too many preachers, who are always hanging
around, seeking a pulpit in which they can preach.
2. I think the tendency is towards a better and more honest life. Too many
supposed converts go into their churches upon the basis of emotion, and hence
vital religion is to a large extent wanting.
3. Two Negro preachers here are unfit for their high place; four others are good
and honest men, as far as I have had an opportunity to judge them.
4. Yes, among a certain class of Negroes. Good Negroes are getting better, and
evil Negroes are getting worse. The great vice is adultery, which is winked at in
many cases, and the social atmosphere can never be clarified until the harlot is no
longer given a recognition by those whose lives are clean. The Negro needs les¬
sons about home life far more than he does lessons about church life. The fact
that Negroes have little or no confidence in each other lies at the bottom of many
evils. This lack of confidence is general, and even the preacher has to contend
against it. It weakens his power as a preacher and takes all authority away from
his preaching and teaching.
But, on the whole, I am inclined to believe the Negroes are making strides
towards a better condition. I am willing to be patient and live in hope. I am
also willing to condone some existing evils, and to charge these things to the long
years of history which lie in the past.
Edward S. Elliott, Savannah, Ga.:
1. The present condition of the Negro churches in this community is, on the
whole, improving.
2. The influence, on the whole, is towards pure and honest life.
8. In my judgment, some of the Negro ministers in this community are good
men and some are not.
4. The standards of Negro morality are being raised very slowly and among some.
I regret that I have not been able to give this matter a careful investigation, and
the above opinion is expressed merely from casual observation.
176
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
Rev. J. T. Plunket, D. D., Augusta, Ga.:
1. I am not fully advised, but from all that I can hear or see I think, in the
main, the present condition of the Negro churches here is very good.
2. I think the influence of the Negro churches is, on the whole, good and help¬
ful toward purity and honesty of life.
3. So far as I have heard with few exceptions.
4. The moral improvement of any race must necessarily be gradual and slow.
A fair judgment upon such an issue can only be made from broad and dispas¬
sionate observation rather than from a too narrow and prejudiced view. My
judgment is that the racial standard of morality is being raised.
34. The Moral Status of Negroes. As to the mass of Negroes in the
United States there is much confusion of evidence as to their moral con¬
dition. This is perfectly natural. Many of them are suffering from the
effects of well-known tendencies to decadence of the second gener¬
ation; at the same time their economic and educational advance is
undoubted. What has been the resultant? Two answers are usually given
to this question. One declares that the advance has been great and
uniform in all moral relationships; the other answer is typified by the
assertions of men like Thomas* that the Negro race is thoroughly cor¬
rupt and that "soberly speaking, Negro nature is so craven and sen¬
suous in every fiber of its being that a Negro manhood, with decent
respect for chaste womanhood, does not exist." For the purpose of
getting some valuable opinions on these points and especially on
Thomas's assertions, a committee of the Hampton Conference, in 1901,
under the chairmanship of the Rev. Francis J. Grrimke of the Fifteenth
Street Presbyterian Church, Washington, D. C., made an investigation,
a part of the results of which are here printed:
With a view of reaching those who were best qualified to give the desired
information, the committee sent out to the American Missionary Association, the
Presbyterian Board of Missions for Freedmen, the American Baptist Home Mission
Society, the Home Mission Board of the National Baptist Convention, the Freed-
man's Aid and Southern Education Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church,
and to many individuals of prominence in all the denominations, the following
request:
"Will you be kind enough to send us a list of the teachers and preachers of your
denomination laboring among the colored people in the South whose opinion
touching their moral condition would carry most weight ?"
The list of names thus secured was also supplemented by consultation with
others who were in a condition to know, and also by consulting the History of the
Medical Department of Howard University, recently published, which contains
a list of all of its graduates.
We sent out in all nearly a thousand circulars. These were sent to teachers,
preachers, lawyers, physicians and business men, both white and colored, located
in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia,
Flcida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas, Arkansas,
* W. H. Thomas: The American Negro.
THE NEGRO CHURCH 177
TWp™ ^lssouri-the I)istrJct of Columbia, and also in some of the Middle and
Eastern states. Of the replies received only two agree wholly with Mr. Thomas.
One Southern white man writes from Atlanta:
Your circular letter received and in reply to your request as to whether as far
S SkF0b^fe!eveeSesnadyS'A Z'ST °01>ied fron> ^ « &
The other is from a Northern white woman, who has lived for some time in the
South, and who has been working among the colored people for a number of years,
some dozen or more years in her present locality. She writes:
Your circular received as I am leaving for Denver. I have labored among the col¬
ored people for nearly twenty-two years in South Carolina and Tennessee. It is
with sincere sorrow that I have to admit that those statements are true and cor¬
rectly represent the present condition of the race.
Miss Sarah A. Collins, 110 East Center street, Baltimore, Md., writes:
Replying to you out of an experience of eighteen years among the humbler classes
of the race I have not, by observation, found those statements true. Human weak¬
ness, under the unfavorable conditions of poverty and ignorance, has furnished
examples of moral downfall, I must admit, but I have never considered them
peculiarly racial nor have I noted any such downfall that has not had an offset
under conditions equally unfavorable of noble, chaste womanhood.
Among the cultivated class my observation has had a more limited area, but
those with whom it has been my good fortune to come in close contact have furn¬
ished some of the most beautiful examples of dignified, unspotted womanhood,
whose lives might be read, page by page, without revealing one spot or blur. I
have known, and do know, of homes among both the cultivated and ignorant
whose sanctity is unbroken and whose atmosphere is as pure as true manhood,
faithful womanhood, and innocent, happy childhood can make it.
Miss Nannie E. Grooms, 523 West Lanvale street, Baltimore, Md., writes:
My work in a large city has covered a period of nearly fourteen years. Thousands
of girls have passed under my observation, many of them have already begun
their careers, several are teachers in the Baltimore city school system, and are
doing their part in life. The home life of all these individuals was not of the
best kind, but with this much to be deplored in their condition I believe the per
cent, of immorality to be low.
At this writing, my work is in a veritable slum. Degradation of every kind is
rampant. In the next block above us houses of ill fame line both sides of the
street. The occupants of these places are white. In a street parallel to this are
houses occupied Dy both white and colored. Many of our children come from
these places. The greatest per cent, of degradation I have ever witnessed exists
here. What the harvest shall be only Providence knows; but taken all in all, I
believe that 8 per cent, would cover the mathematical reckoning as far as figures
may be taken indicative of conditions of society.
I believe the statements made in the American Negro are false. William Hanni¬
bal Thomas must have spent his time entirely among the degraded, depraved and
vicious.
Dr. Lucy E. Moten, Principal of the Normal School, Washington, D. C., writes:
I have had eighteen years' experience, with the closest observation, with girls of
the race, average age eighteen, graduating not less than 400, and I am proud to say
that not one, so far as I know, has in any wise cast a shadow upon her Alma
Mater.
The Rev. Owen Waller, Washington, D. C., writes:
I was bred in England, during my most impressionable years, among the sturdy,
moral, upper middle class, and now after ten years' work among the colored peo¬
ple, I can truly say that, class for class, circumstances compared, except for differ¬
ences of complexion, one would not realize the change, certainly not in conduct
and morals., One is especially impressed with the real modesty of the colored
woman and' how she can be ingenuously assailed in this respect is both absolutely
and relatively inexplicable.
178 EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
Dr. H. B. Frissell, the Principal of the Hampton Normal and Industrial Insti¬
tute, Hampton, Va., writes:
I have had an experience of twenty-one years with colored people, during which
time I have been intimately acquainted with a large number of them at Hampton
Institute. I have gone into their homes and have had perhaps as much oppor¬
tunity as most any white man for knowing intimately their life.
I am glad to bear witness to my knowledge of the clean, pure lives of a large
number whom I have known. I have often said, what I believe to be true, that it
would be hard to find in any white institution in the North the freedom from
low talk and impure life as is to be found at Hampton, where 1,000 young people of
two races are brought together. The colored race is not degraded. Many of the
young people who came to me years ago had no conception of the wrong of certain
lines of conduct and who, since they have gained that knowledge, have lived up
to what they know. I have seen young people coming from one-room cabins,
where morality seems well nigh impossible, who sloughed that old life, and have
made good use of the cleared knowledge which they have gained at Hampton.
I have often said that my own boy would be less likely to hear low talk here than
in most Northern institutions for the whites. My own judgment in the matter is
confirmed in the experience of others. For a number of weeks an English gentle¬
man, who is making a most careful study of the race, has been staying at the
school. He has mingled with the boys in their play, in their workshops and in
their dormitories, and he confirms my impression and that of my disciplinarian,
who himself is a colored man, living in close contact with the young people of the
school.
I have seen in my years of work in the South a steady improvement in the whole
community in which I live. The standards are being raised, and there is a
marked improvement in the matter of purity of life.
The President of the State Normal School, Petersburg, Va., writes:
We have graduated 106 girls from our Seminary and following the lives of these
graduates with careful and constant interest, we have known of only one who
has gone astray.
Mr. W. McKirahan, Principal of Norfolk Mission College, Norfolk, Va., writes:
I have been laboring among the colored people for five years. The roll of our
school carries about 700 names yearly, about 450 of these being girls. To my knowl¬
edge about five or six go astray yearly, or about one in each hundred.
Mrs. Orra Langhorne, a Southern white woman, 710 Church street, Lynchburg,
Va., writes:
I was born among colored people, have always been surrounded by them and
believe this man Thomas grossly exaggerates the actual conditions. It was the
most sorrowful part of slavery that there could be no legal marriage for the slaves,
no protection for the virtue of women. Even now there are no laws to protect
the colored girl, such as have always existed for her white sisters. In discuss¬
ing any question that relates to the Negroes, regard should be given to the rapid
formation of classes among them. There is a respectable class, and this class is
increasing, where married parents live virtuous lives, guard the sanctity of their
homes, and strive to bring up their children in the path of virtue. I go among
the colored people of all classes and see many signs of encouragement. We
must all work and hope for the elevation of the race, and prove to the world
the falsity of Thomas's cruel and odious book.
Rev. D.Webster Davis, colored, of Richmond, Va., writes:
I recall ten cases coming under my personal observation where mothers, living
in vice, have put their children in boarding schools, Catholic homes, and in
good families, when they could succeed in doing so, and these girls in most cases
have been reared without having visited their mothers' homes since babyhood.
In fact, it is the rule rather than tne exception that mothers, leading lives of shame,
do all in their power to prevent their children leading the same lives.
Dr. Charles F. Meserve, white, President of Shaw University, Raleigh, N. C.,
writes:
THE NEGRO CHURCH 179
that?are as chlst^lnd *TTy c°m.munity iarge numbers of colored women
races. found in communities made up of other
I believe that a large percentage of colored boys and girls over fifteen vears of
age, who have been properly trained, are clean and pure niteen years ot
HP ' ,as a rule, that Negro fathers and mothers are more than anxious
that their offspring should lead pure lives. Whatever truth there is in this state¬
ment can apply only to the degraded tenth.
I ^av® over sev®n yea.rs in educational work among the colored people of
the bouth, have seen them m school and at home, and in practically all of the
bouthern states. When I consider that they have come from 250 years of enforced
slavery, with all the degradation and darkness that this means, the wonder to me
is that there is such a large number of pure, refined, industrious, intelligent men
and women as there is. There is, as every one knows, a dark picture, but it is only
what is to be expected. It is a picture that is growing brighter year by year, and
although there are discouragements and obstacles, from time to time, that come up,
on the whole, the race is making substantial and remarkable progress, and the
outlook ought to be considered by all careful observers and lovers of the human
race as hopeful and encouraging.
Dr. D. J. Satterfield, white, President of Scotia Seminary, Concord, N. C.,
writes:
When a Southern white man told my predecessor that all Negro women were
impure his reply was, "I suppose you know, I don't." I have seen Negro women
who I have good reason to believe are living virtuous lives under conditions of
trial such as our virtuous white women as a class know nothing about. Through
my sainted wife I know of examples of colored women whose firmness in resisting
temptation makes them worthy to represent any race.
Ot those same women I can speak without reserve on all these points. Their
modesty and genuine worth are conceded by white, as well as colored; their marital
fidelity is above question. Many of them have passed through the stage of court¬
ship and entered married life under my own personal observation, and even the
most fastidious could find nothing but what was proper and pure. We have Negro
women around us here who are for duty's sake remaining single, though sought by
the very best of our young men.
One of the most touching things to come under my notice has been the many
mothers who come to beg us to take their girls, saying, I know lam not what I
ought to be, but I don't want her to be like me. We could fill Scotia over and over
again every year with girls whose parents want them in a safe place, so that they
may grow into good women. In these nearly fifteen years we have not had the
basis of a scandal involving a member of this school inside of our grounds, and
we believe that our record as a school, both for honesty and purity, will bear
comparison with the female schools generally.
It would not be wise however in our zeal to refute the false assertions in Mr.
Thomas's book to overlook the fact that many of them are in a measure true. We
cannot do our duty to the Negro while we keep ourselves ignorant of his true con¬
dition, and no Thomas or any other man can overdraw the picture of the morals
of the uncared for masses of the Negro in the South, not because they are Negroes,
but because they are uncared for.
Prof. George A. Woodard, Principal of Gregory Normal Institute, Wilmington, N.
C., writes:
I have been laboring among the colored race for sixteen years, and we have had
three hundred colored youth in our Institution yearly. I cannot be made to think
that the majority of them are devoid of morality. We Would not keep a pupil
in school known to be unchaste. The expulsions for this cause have not averaged
one case per year.
Eev. A. B. Hunter of St. Augustine's School,Raleigh, N. C., writes:
I have no doubt that W. H. Thomas's picture is an overstatement and exaggera¬
tion of the facts, but the facts are such as to stimulate us all to secure a betterment.
Thirteen years' work here has convinced me of the truth of Prof. DuBois's state¬
ment (College-bred Negroes, page 57) that "without doubt the greatest social prob¬
lem of the American Negro at present is sexual purity, and the solving of this prob¬
lem lies peculiarly upon the homes established among them."
180 EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
Dr. L. M. Dunton, white, President of Claflin University, Orangeburg, S. C.,
writes:
In reply to your circular letter permit me to say that I have read W. H. Thomas's
book on "The American Negro". I have labored for nearly thirty years among
the colored people of South Carolina, and I believe that Mr. Thomas is either
wholly unacquainted with the Negro or else he has deliberately undertaken to get
up a sensation, and possibly a market for his book, by the wholesale denunciation
of the race. His statements cannot possibly be true.
Rev. A. C. Osborn, President of Benedict College, Columbia, S. C., writes:
I have been president of this college for six years, with hundreds of girls under
my care, and 1 have not the remotest reason to believe or even to suspect that a
single girl connected with this school has committed an act of immoralty or has
led either before coming here or while here, or afterwards, other than a virtuous
life.
Rev. Thomas H. Amos, D. D., Principal of Ferguson Academy, Abbeville, S. C.,
writes:
The statement with respect to Negro virtue cannot be true. "We have 113 boys
and girls in our boarding department. They range in age from fourteen to thir¬
ty years, and never have we Known of any indecent conduct on the part of either
sex toward the other. I frequently inspect the walls and fences that are marked
in crayon or pencil and not more than twice have I seen in eight years any writing
or drawing of an indecent nature. Our young men once thrashed a boy at their
building for introducing some reference to a girl's character, and when I asked
them about their conduct, said that they had only one rule in the whole building. It
was that no one should speak of the school-girls slightingly, and whoever did so
should be first, thrashed, second, reported to the faculty, and thirdly, expelled from
the building. The facts I have in hand release 75 per cent, of Negro women from
most of what Mr. Thomas says. At least 50 per cent, live above the slightest sus¬
picion, and I think it fair to say 50 per cent, of those who are suspicioned are not
guilty.
Miss Ellen Murray, of St. Helena Island, near Beaufort, S. C., one of the noblest
of white Christian women from the North who have consecrated their lives to the
upbuilding of this race, writes:
I have been for nearly forty years the Principal of the Penn School, Superinten¬
dent of a Sunday-school, President of a Temperance Society, Leader of a Woman's
Meeting among the Negroes of St. Helena Island, on the southern coast of South
Carolina. There are 6,000 Negroes on the island, who were called the lowest of all
the Negroes, and incapable of improvement.
In our school of 270 there are at least 100 young people from fifteen to twenty-two
and they are living lives as pure as any white people, however high or refined. The
age at which they marry has, since freedom, changed from fifteen to eighteen, on
an average. After marriage, the rule is fidelity. I scarcely know a case in which
the wife is unfaithful, and the more educated and intelligent the men grow, the
more moral they become. I have talked with numbers of teachers from many of
the colored schools of the freed people, and I do not believe that any such state of
things as Thomas asserts can be found in them. It would be impossible. There
are on this island 6,000 Negroes, thirty whites, one constable, one justice, and such
a thing as an attack on a white woman has not been known in all these forty years.
The mothers have steadily grown more and more careful of their daughters, pro¬
viding for them a separate room, seeing that they are not out late in the evening;
the churches are stricter on the matter; fathers are sterner with their sons. I do
not claim that they are perfect. They were treated as brutes by their owners,who
counted on their increase, as a Negro woman said to me bitterly, "just like we count
for our chickens." Girls and women were alike forced into sin by the whip. In
the two-roomed huts where three or four families crowded, there was no chance
for modesty or decency. Hampered by heredity, burdened with poverty and
contempt, and vexatious laws to oppose them, with many a stumble and many a
fall, they are, nevertheless, pressing up, longing for learning, desirous of respecta¬
bility, taking with eager gratitude all the help they can get. I wish those who
talk of the Negro deteriorating could see, in contrast with the floorless huts of
THE NEGRO CHURCH 181
SiX^,h=L0f,.theSe pe°ple hele: Five ^oms, floors with rugs, papered
a whl'tpHoth inrt m^'lewi-^S mu-chme' dresser with its china, table set with
cheap pSl'f lor"4" m°SqUit° net8'plaln indeed'
Miss Mary L. Deas, 83 Morris street, Charleston, S. C., a teacher in the Avery
Institute of that city, writes:
I think I may safely say that I am well acquainted with the school system of
South Carolina. My work for the past fourteen years has been in one of the best known
of the schools. 1 know nearly all of the educators of the colored people of the
state, but X do not know one who would knowingly allow a girl sustaining immoral
relations with any man to remain in the school, much less to have him pay her
expenses. White men pay the tuition of many students, but these students are
their children, not their mistresses, and many of these girls grow up honorable
and pure women, in spite of their home surroundings. The lessons of chastity
taught them in the schools bear fruit in their lives. Avery Institute, where I
teach, has over 300 graduates, but not one of whom is living a dissolute life. Dur¬
ing the past fourteen years there has been but one case of immorality known to
the school authorities. The girl was expelled. All the schools of which I know
anything make for purer lives.
Conditions are bad enough, but 90 per cent, is far too large an estimate for the
immoral class. Fearing that my position would cause me to have too optimistic
views, my associates being women pure in word and deed, I consulted two men
whose business brings them in contact with all classes. They both said that even
50 per cent, was too large for the vicious of this city. The large class of people
who move in good society here regard chastity in women as one of the essentials.
The women who have been proven guilty of a fall from sexual virtue are dropped
by their former friends. The men of this class show their respect for pure women
by seeking them for wives, and by guarding their sisters whenever possible. It is
true that fallen women sometimes marry, but they nearly always marry below
their rank.
Miss Harriet E. Giles, white, President of Spelman Seminary, of Atlanta, Ga.,
writes:
I have been laboring among the colored people for more than twenty years. I
am sure there is a steadily growing sentiment against immorality. I think of
the girls who have been trained in Christian schools at least 95 per cent, live moral
lives. By this, I mean those who have remained in the schools for several years.
Mr. Fred W. Foster, white, Principal of Dorchester Academy, Mcintosh, Ga.,
writes :
There are thousands of Negroes who would fight to the death to preserve the
purity of their own women or that of white women deserving their respect.
No doubt there are educated Negroes who "presume to be refined" who are licen¬
tious, but to say that education and refinement are no barriers against this evil,
that there is no refined class of colored people who maintain their marriage vows
unspotted, is too far-reaching and glaring a misstatement to go unchallenged.
I have lived and worked among the colored people twelve years, during which
time I have tried to get as fair and just an idea of the average Negro character as
possible, as well as to learn that which is best; and I have had opportunities of
seeing and knowing somewhat of the worst side.
The Negro is the product of generations of entire freedom from restraint, to
which has been added the effects of the unrestrained lust of a stronger race; but
despite these things there are multitudes of the colored race in America whose
lives are as pure, whose regard for the marriage vow as great, and "whose respect
for chaste womanhood" as strong as of any other race in our land.
Miss Lucy C. Laney, Principal of Haines Institute, Augusta, Ga., writes:
I have been interested a number of years in noting, as I have passed through the
country, to find what a large number of Negroes are true, and have been true, to
their marriage vows. It is not an unusual thing to find those who have lived
faithfully together for fifty, sixty and sixty-five years. Those of us who have
worked for twenty years among the colored people note marked improvement.
182 EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFEKENCE
Nothing cheers our hearts more than to see the large number of fathers who come
and enter their children in school, make constant inquiry as to their progress,
and who, accompanied by their wives and children, attend the public exercises of
the school. This interest is real; they want to know the moral status of their
children, they labor for and desire the best for their children, children of one wife.
In our kindergarten of forty-five children there were only three illegitimate chil¬
dren.
T. DeS. Tucker, President of Florida State Normal and Industrial College, Talla¬
hassee, Fla., writes:
I have been engaged for nearly thirty-five years, more or less, in duties which
have brought me m close contact with our people in every walk of life. When the
depths of depravity from which they emerged are taken into consideration the
marvel of their advance in morals is simply phenomenal. Specimens of pure
womanhood and exalted manhood are to be found among the race to-day in every
village and hamlet in the land. While we have much to struggle for in genera¬
tions to come, the assertion may be safely ventured that in the light of our past
attainments in virtue, our future is safely assured.
Rev. R. C. Bedford, white, who is connected with Tuskegee Institute, writes:
I have been working for colored people now nineteen years. For eight years,
1882 to 1890, I was pastor of a colored church in Montgomery, Ala. I have trav¬
eled in every Southern state among the graduates of Tuskegee and have taken
careful note of conditions everywhere I have gone, and instead of things being as
represented by this book, I have found myself wondering all the time how they
could be so good. Virtue, not vice, has been the characteristic most pronounced
everywhere. In the eight years I was in Montgomery I made a thorough study of
things in the city, and while there was much vice in certain localities, the marvel
was that there were so many absolutely pure homes. During all the time I was
there, we had not a single case of immorality connected with our church. I have
been intimately associated with the work here for nineteen years. I know every
graduate that has gone out of the school, and many of the 5,000 others who have
been students here, and I have been constantly delighted with the freedom from
anything like gross immorality on the part of a very large majority of these
people. Things mentioned in the circular are the least of our troubles here. I
have in mind one of our branch schools, located in a very dark county of Alabama,
with eighteen teachers and about 400 students. I have just come from the Com¬
mencement exercises there and during the whole year, though fifteen of the teach¬
ers are unmarried, there has not been even a breath of scandal.
Miss Charlotte R. Thorn, white, Principal of the Calhoun Colored School, Cal¬
houn, Ala., writes:
I have been for thirteen years working among, for and with, Negroes. The first
four years' work and life were at Hampton, and I will say nothing much about
that, for the Hampton teachers have a better and larger knowledge of students
and graduates than I have. I would say, however, that it was because I saw
such positive proof of high-mindedness and beauty of character among the
Negroes and because we saw, year after year, the coming in of earnest, self-respect¬
ing boys and girls, that Miss Dillingham and I felt we must go out and show the
way of light to some who lived in dark places and had never had a chance to
know what really was the right in any part of life.
It was because we had firm belief in the Negro that we came, and each year
but carries deeper conviction that we were then right. We came here (Calhoun)
in 1892. During the nine years since I have been constantly filled with admira¬
tion of the people who, with but little to work for and with constant and deep
temptations, are able to withstand the temptation and struggle on to get a pre¬
carious living, in the strength of high convictions and deep and ever-increasing
self-respect. When we came we felt that the free living represented sin, but in a
very few months we believed it represented the natural life of a group of people
who had never been shown or taught life on a higher plane. After a few months
of life among them they took hold, of what little we could do and began to recon¬
struct their lives. Of course we found many whom we then believed, and still
feel, were leading pure, good lives, merely from inborn instincts.
THE NEGRO CHURCH 183
mentrw^ic^|'Ck^winsr the^co^mmunity8 seem? toVe^ not.wa?t to ,orait a state-
last twelve months only two girls who' hlvf JZ K® °st mira£ulous. In the
toSn'S^eve^so^t00^^other' a^iri T® Stma11 ponder that she' died last week
trying to teach her for four years we founTshrknew6^?!^!1^^^0 th^n when
she started in school. These two cases had not been in school for several /ears
and are the only ones out of many hundreds who have attended who have gone
astray. &
Our boys and young men from sixteen to twenty-five years of age are upright
and self-respecting in the majority of cases. Of course, in this community one of
the worst in the whole South, when we came here we found all kinds, good and
bad, but there is daily evidence of desire and strivings for high standards of liv¬
ing, and victories over self that are marvelous.
The statement of William H. Thomas regarding the morals of the race, accord¬
ing to my knowledge, are false when applied to the Negro race as a whole. Of
course, no one claims that the race has not its low and bad—all races have these—
but the Negro's natural instincts are refined and sensitive.
Rev. H. N. Payne, D. D., white, President of Mary Holmes Seminary, West Point,
Miss., writes:
For the past sixteen years I have been continuously engaged in Christian work
for and among the colored people.
From that knowledge I say without hesitation that it is not true that "a Negro
manhood with decent respect for chaste womanhood does not exist." It is untrue
that "marriage is no barrier to illicit sexual indulgence."
That there is a great and saddening amount of immorality among the Negroes
is frequently admitted, but that it is universal is unhesitatingly and absolutely
denied. I glory in the purity of my own race, though there are some sad, yes,
monstrous cases of moral degradation among white women. It has been my
good fortune to be personally acquainted with many colored women who were
morally as pure as any white women I have ever known. This I say with tender
respect and reverence for some who have been very near and dear to me.
Rev. F. G. Woodworth,D. D., white, President of Tougaloo University, Tougaloo,
Miss., writes :
The trend and tendency are very decidedly towards better things in the moral
life, and it has been in existence long enough to have molded a very considera¬
ble portion of the Negro people to a nobler life than Thomas seems^ to know
about. The more I study the matter the more I am convinced that,"with all the
evils resultant from slavery and from the sudden freedom, the indictments brought
against the race now have never been fully true, and it is less true now than
formerly. _
I have had fourteen years of experience and observation in teaching m the
heart of the black belt of Mississippi.
There is an increasing number of men who have a high regard for chaste
womanhood, who are earnest in the desire to protect women from impurity of
every kind. They welcome and forward such agencies; for the promotion of purity
is the White Cross with its pledge of reverence for women.
The number of girls who would resent solicitations to evil is not a small one and
among those who have been carefully reared, who have had something of moral
training, the percentage of those who go astray is a small one. The number of
homes where the pure ideal of family life exists has increased constantly since
I have been in the South. There are some pure homes among the poor and illit¬
erate. Among those who are educated the dishonored homes are few.
Mrs. Sylvanie F. Williams, white, 1438 Euterpe street, New Orleans, La., writes :
I have been laboring among the colored people since 1870, and as far as my expe¬
rience goes I am prepared to say that there is a decided improvement in the mor¬
al status ali along the line. I have consulted with other teachers of experience
who have taught in public, private and prominent boarding schools, and none of
them have ever discovered conditions such as Mr. Thomas names in his explora-
184 EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
tionof "Negro training schools of prominence. " As to illegitimate motherhood of
Negro women, I will state that when I first began teaching among the freedmen, I
was much surprised to find that in a family of several children each had a differ¬
ent name. I have watched that phase of the situation, having an annual register to
make each year, and have been pleased to see how they have improved, until to¬
day I find, in my school, families of six or more children having the same father,
and the celebration of crystal and even silver weddings is quite common. I speak
of the lowly people who are laborers, whose children attend the public school up
to the fifth grade, because they are not financially able to remain at school beyond
that period. The school of which I speak numbers 900 pupils, ranging from six
to eighteen years of age. I do not pretend to say that the entire roll is virtuous,
although I have no reason to think otherwise, but I do say that the great majority
of them are a living refutation of every assertion made by Thomas.
Rev. M. R. Gaines, white, President of Tillotson College, Austin, Tex.,writes:
I have been nearly five years in my present position. We have had an average
of 200 students a year. There are about fourteen of us white teachers in pretty
close touch with this body of young people. Of course, they do not lay their secret
thoughts open to us. I do not believe they are so honeycombed with moral
depravity and sensuality as these extracts would lead us to suppose.
When I think over cases of known violation of laws of immorality and chastity, I
am free to say that the record here will not suffer in comparison with what I could
name of experience along similar lines elsewhere. My intimate acquaintance
with young people as teacher covers several decades.
Rev. P. B. Guernsey, white, President of Roger Williams University, Nashville,
Tenn., writes:
I personally know from letters received and conversations with parents of girls
entrusted to this school, that the mothers of our girls are as deeply concerned for
the morals and general reputation of their girls as any mothers could be. They
have never failed to sanction unreservedly any restrictions and precautions felt
to be desirable to protect the girls from even the appearance of evil. I am glad
to say that this institution, which has for more than thirty years educated young
men and young women side by side in the same classes and upon the same cam¬
pus, has been, I can safely say, as free from scandal along that line as any
co-educational institution that I know anywhere. I have worked in at least one
co-educational institution in the North attended entirely by white students,where I
saw more to criticise in the relation of the sexes than I have ever seen here. While
the moral standards of many colored people are sadly defective, the surprise to
me is that, considering all the circumstances and the institution of slavery, the
standards should be as high as they are.
Rev. C. A. Isbell, United States Jail Physician and Surgeon, 723 South Sixth
street, Paducah, Ky., writes:
I have been for the past ten or twelve years in contact with the Negro, and
have had direct dealings with him. The statements made by W. H. Thomas, to
my knowledge, are not true. The race is misrepresented. We have among us
men and women of the highest character. We are not as a race at the top of the
ladder in morals, but we are on the way to it.
Mr. W. H. Hunton, Secretary of the International Committee of Young Men's
Christian Associations, Colored Men's Department, writes:
After fourteen years of constant laboring among my people throughout the South,
especially among young men in the cities and students in boarding schools of all
grades, I am firmly convinced that a heroic and successful fight is being waged
against immoral tendencies inherited from centuries of debasing slavery. Of
course there is much dross yet to be burned away before we can have only pure
gold remaining.
I confess with great sorrow of heart that there are some members of my race,
and possibly a lar^e proportion, who could be put down as fitting one or more of
the foul characteristics of Mr.Thomas, nor do I seek to cover this acknowledgment
with the fact that in every other race on the earth, individuals can be found
equally low in life and character. But there are various classes among the freed¬
men as among other people.
THE NEGKRO CHURCH 185
. Bora and reared in Canada, and having spent three years just prior to my com¬
ing bouth in 1888 as a civil servant at Ottawa, where I mingled freely in church and
social lite with some of the best of white Canadians, I find myself greatly encour¬
aged. as 1 compare my experience of the past fourteen years with those of my
earlier life, and especially the three years referred to above. I have met in all
sections of the country hundreds of colored women whose bearing has been as
suggestive of good as that of the women of the fairer race in the North. I have
also come into close contact with thousands of young men whom I know to be
struggling against unfortunate inherited tendencies and unfavorable environment.
It is true that only a few of the Negro race have yet attained to the degree of
perfection possible among men, but between those few and the submerged masses
is a promising and inspiring host of men and women in various stages of moral,
intellectual and industrial evolution.
35. Children and the Church. We turn now to the two questions of
the training of pulpit and pew for the Negro church. Much might be
said of home training, but perhaps the testimony of children themselves
would be of some interest. In the colored public schools of Atlanta
last May, 1,339 children were asked questions as follows and wrote out
the following answers:
Are you a Christian?
Age.
Seven years
Eight years
Nine years
Ten years
Eleven years —
Twelve years
Thirteen years...
Fourteen years..
Fifteen years —
Sixteen years —
Seventeen years.
Eighteen years.
Total
Yes.
No.
7
10
15
31
27
50
42
124
40
140
78
156
87
142
89
105
62
57
36
28
10
2
1
494
845
One-third of the children were church members; of the more mature,
11-18 years of age, 60 per cent, belong to the church. Nearly all go to
church, however.
Do you go to church ?
Age.
Seven years
Eight years
Nine years
Ten years
Eleven years
Twelve years
Thirteen years ...
Fourteen years..
Fifteen years
Sixteen years....
Seventeen years
Eighteen years..
Not given
Yes.
14
45
78
156
172
135
224
192
138
59
12
1
10
No.
Some¬
times.
186 EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
Do you like to go to church ?
Age.
Seven years
Bight years
Nine years
Ten years
Eleven years
Twelve years —
Thirteen years ..
Fourteen years..
Fifteen years
Sixteen years —
Seventeen years
Eighteen years..
Not given
Yes.
16
45
75
159
174
247
227
197
187
62
12
1
10
No.
Some¬
times.
Nearly all like to go to church.
Nearly all go to Sunday-school and like it.
Their denominational affiliations were determined by all sorts of con¬
siderations :
Why do you like a certain church the best?
AGE.
On account of parents or rel¬
atives.
Because I am a member. |
1 Because I have never attend-
1 ed any other.
Because they treat me nicely
there.
Because I go there. |
?
Because it helps me. |
Because I think Christ was of
that denomination.
Because I believe in that de¬
nomination.
Because it is a good, nice
church, or very large.
Because they have good ser¬
vices.
Because it has the best
method.
| Because my girl goes there. |
| Because the people are good. |
Because I was converted
there.
Because I can do more good
there.
| Miscellaneous. i
13
35
54
91
113
131
121
99
67
23
8
1
4
2
5
6
15
7
28
32
17
11
5
2
2
2
7
26
22
26
17
19
14
4
i
3
11
13
17
19
8
6
1
3
5
4
3
2
2
1
1
4
5
4
3
1
3
7
10
4
8
3
3
1
1
2
2
8
8
6
3
10
5
19
14
16
23
19
3
6
8
5
2
2
1
2
5
2
1
"2
1
1
Eleven years
Twelve years
2
2
"i"
6
1
1
1
Fourteen years
Fifteen years
i
3
3
2
1
1
Seventeen years
2
2
1
1
The chief interest, however, lies in their conception of Christianity,
as there the answers showed plainly their training. The answers to the
question, "What does it mean to be a Christian?", fall into five chief
groups. First, then, are the answers which make Christianity simple,
moral goodness, such as a child easily comprehends. Such answers
were thirty-three in number:
THE NEGRO CHURCH
187
Age, in Years.
AJN » W ili K8.
7
8
9
10
11
H
IS
U
15
16
17
18
f
To he good
4
10
9
2
49
1
4
32
7
7
53
4
10
87
3
12
52
18
1
3
14
5
1
To he kind, honest, etc
To live a better life
5
19
1
6
1
2
4
10
11
54
46
67
22
Some others had the idea of goodness, but added the phrase, "and
live for Jesus," although it is not clear just what this addition meant
to them. The ages of these were :
Seven years 9
Eight years 19
Nine years 10
Ten years 8
Eleven years 7
Twelve years 5
Fourteen years 1
Total 59
Others considered Christianity as the obeying of the ten command¬
ments :
Eight years 1
Nine years 2
Ten years 1
Eleven years 1
Twelve years 1°
Thirteen years 4
Fourteen years 7
Fifteen years 3
Sixteen years 3
Total 32
The idea of love for persons as an expression of Christianity was men¬
tioned. Several said it meant "To love everybody"; two said, "To
save others."
Seven years 1
Eight years 1
Nine years 1
Ten years 3
Eleven years 1°
Twelve years 1®
Thirteen years 8
Fourteen years 9
Fifteen years 11
Sixteen years 2
? 1
Total
61
188
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
Others answered, "To serve God," but it is doubtful if they under¬
stood by this, ordinary work for anyone, although two said, "Work for
God." Most of them probably meant church service :
Eight years 4
Nine years 14
Ten years 80
Eleven years 43
Twelve years 36
Thirteen years 29
Fourteen years 26
Fifteen years 20
Sixteen years 6
Seventeen years 2
Total 210
From this point the answers became more mystical aud figurative.
Doubtless they had more or less meaning to the writers, but they
were repetitions of common phrases and had a certain vagueness:
Age, in Years.
ANSWERS.
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
U
15
16
17
18
Dhllrl of «nr1
1
5
4
6
6
4
1
26
32
5
10
5
11
6
10
12
2
15
10
3
6
3
1
1
I
4
7
1
9
9
7
1
14
18
6
1
10
7
26
44
1
18
43
3
7
31
1
4
18
1
7
"i"
n
l
Believe in Christ
1
Total
1
8
21
31
44
80
97
92
66
34
10
l
13
These were followed by phrases which were without doubt theologi¬
cal and understood by few who used them. Some of these phrases
were:
"To have true religion and honor God's word."
"To be a member in Christ."
"To be born again."
"To have the Love of God in your soul."
"To honor the Lord Jesus Christ."
"To keep the faith."
"To trust in the Lord."
"To honor God."
Those giving these answers were :
Nine years
2
Ten years
5
Eleven years
6
Twelve years
5
Thirteen years
13
Fourteen years
8
Fifteen years
5
Sixteen years ......
3
Total
47
THE NEGRO CHURCH 189
A few looked for certain signs of Christianity, as baptism, joining the
church, "getting religion," or "being changed:"
Seven years j
Ten years ! . 5
Eleven years 2
Twelve years ' 9
Thirteen years
Fourteen years [ 5
Fifteen years
Total
Few naturally spoke of the desire for happiness or reward: five men¬
tioned heaven, and one child of eleven, with unconscious socialism,
defined a Christian as "a poor man!"
Ten years 2
Eleven years 2
Fourteen years 2
Total 6
Thirty-seven children answered frankly that they did not know what
Christianity was, and seventy-six left the query unanswered for lack
of knowledge or time:
Age, in Years.
8
9
10
11
12
13
U
15
16
f
Don't know..
0
0
9
10
7
4
5
0
1
1
Unanswered.
4
4
12
9
16
7
9
7
6
0
Total
4
4
21
19
23
11
14
7
7
1
Analyzing these answers further they reveal some interesting facts.
ANSWERS.
7-12 years.
IS years and over.
Moral and altruistic . . .
296
148
Higher will and phrases . .
387
21
505
Miscellaneous
19
Unanswered, etc
123
97
The children of twelve and under had the clearer and simpler idea of
the direct connection of goodness and Christianity. The older children
tended more toward phrases which sought to express the fact that
religion had reference to some higher will. Indeed this was the more
popular idea, and 70 per cent, of the children spoke of Christianity as
"Love for God," "Belief in Christ," or some such phrase. Clear as
such phrases may be to some minds, they undoubtedly point to a lack
in the moral training of Negro children. They evidently are not im¬
pressed to a sufficiently large extent with the fact that moral goodness
is the first requirement of a Christian life.
190
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
A few typical answers, given verbatim, follow:
What does it mean to be a Christian ?
Age 13.
(a) It means that you love God, the church, and the people, and all good
things, but hate evil things.
(b) To be kind, honest, and trustworthy.
(c) To be a Christian means to live and die the same.
(d) It means to serve God in a true way and live above suspicion.
(e) To live as God would have you live.
(/) To give your heart to God.
(gr) To praise the Lord.
(h) Holy and happy.
Age 14.
(а) To believe in God and not only be called a Christian, but to live the life of
one.
(б) To tell the truth, to have a clean heart, and to keep the church laws,
(e) To change your mind to do right.
(d) To live for Christ and try to help others to come to Him.
(e) To live for Christ and obey the word of the Lord Jesus Christ, who died to
save us.
(/) To have your sins pardoned by God and to be washed in the blood of the
Lamb.
(g) When the Lord has forgiven you of your sins and you know it and you mean
to follow Him the balance of your days and do all you can to make others
come to Him.
(h) To keep in the right path.
(i) To obey the laws of the church.
(j) To hold love in your heart toward God and all mankind and work on earth
for the upbuilding of God's cause.
(fc) To believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and that all power is in His hand.
(I) A Christian means something more than praying.
Age 15.
(а) To be a holy person.
(б) To be truthful and never swear.
Age 16.
(а) To be true and honest.
(б) If I am not a Christian in the day of judgment my soul will be lost, because
Christ has said that if a man is not born again he cannot enter the kingdom
of God. Therefore, I serve and love the Lord.
36. The Training of Ministers. There are in the United States the
following theological schools designed especially for Negroes :
Atlanta Baptist College, Atlanta, Ga., Baptist 1867
Union University, Richmond, Va., Baptist ....... 1867
Biddle University, Charlotte, N. C., Presbyterian .... 1867
Howard, Washington, D. 0., non-sectarian ....... 1870
Lincoln University, Pennsylvania, Presbyterian 1871
Talladega, Talladega, Ala., Congregational 1872
Sfcillman, Tuscaloosa, Ala., Presbyterian 1876
Gammon, Atlanta, Ga., Methodist Episcopal 1883
Braden, Nashville, Tenn., Methodist Episcopal 1889
King Hall, Washington, D. C., Protestant Episcopal . . . 1890
Fisk University, Nashville, Tenn., Congregational .... 1892
Wilberforce, Wilberforce, Ohio, African Methodist Episco¬
pal ... * 1891
Straight University, New Orleans, La., Congregational . . ?
The detailed figures as to these schools are as follows
THE NEGrBO CHURCH
191
Length of course
Length of session
Teachers
Students
Students with A. B. andB. S. degrees.
Total number graduates
Prospective graduates of 1903
Value of grounds and buildings
Endowment fund
Total income
Volumes in library
3, 4
34
•4
61
1
199
7
$45,100
4,261
1,400
500
3
28
+3
61
38
330
16
$ 36,000
144,000
3 8-
3
26
2
28
0
48
0
75,000
1,000
2,500
2
18
0
60
4
$10,000
0
2,500
3,000
Length of course
Length of session
Teachers
Students
Students with A. B. and B. S. de¬
grees •
Total number graduates
Prospective graduates of 1903
Value of grounds and buildings.
Endowment fund
Total income
Volumes in library
2
16
0
17
1
$30,000
3,000
0
$30.00
4,033
1,000
§
Si So
-2 *■
S
►5 »
Q'2
g
3
33
5
62
0
150
5
300,000
70,000
6,000
7,000
40
812,000.00
3,731.89
2,800
3
35
J2
17
13
102
2
S 200,000
85,000
12,800
500
* Three others assist partially. f Five others teach partially. J Two others assist partially.
This shows thirty-three teachers and 368 theological students. Of
these students sixty are college graduates. The total number of
theological graduates is 1,196, and sixty-three more graduated in 1903.
The reported value of grounds and buildings was $797,500 and the
endowment amounted to $944,229, of which $562,096 belonged to one
institution. The income was reported only partially and amounted to
$39,307.89. The libraries held 49,000 books. In many cases of omitted
figures the items are not differentiated from the general figures relat¬
ing to the institution, of which the theological school is a part. The
reports from certain of the schools speak of their present condition and
work.
Atlanta Baptist College.—The great difficulty in theological training is, that
aspirants for the ministry, who have such literary training as would fit them to
pursue a theological course with profit, find themselves able to meet the demands
of most congregations without such training, and those who have not that literary
training can take only the most elementary course in theology. The result is,
speaking generally, that few of our students are able to complete a course in
theology, and the average ability of the students of that department is not high.
This means, of course, that the demand is for general culture and rhetorical ability
192
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
in the pulpit rather than theological training. I think there is an increasing
demand for more culture in the pulpit but not for specially theological training.
In view of the fact that so large a number of the Negro ministry are uneducated,
I am convinced of the fact that a most important class of theological training is
that given in local ministers' institutions, of short duration, and dealing with
exclusively Biblical topics.
Fisk University.—We have no regular Theological Department this year. Mr.
Morrow taught some college students who took a theological elective in the fall
term.
We have had no applications that we considered at all worth the considering.
Insufficient preparation and other circumstances have turned down all that we
have had.
Gammon.—Some of the students who come to us from other institutions of theo¬
logical training show that in some of them the instruction is of a very low grade.
From other evidences, I believe, however, that, considering all the circumstances,
a fair standard is maintained, but there should evidently be an effort made to
secure more college-prepared students, and a more advanced course for them.
Wide observation and reports from our students from nearly every part of the
nation convince me that the Negro's religious condition is steadily improving and
that there is still room for large advance.
Bkaden School of Theology.—I have been engaged in the work of the Chris¬
tian ministry for more than a quarter of a century, and will say without hesitation
that I have never seen a more hopeful outlook for the moral uplift of our people
than now. Better homes, higher appreciation of public instruction, the schools
and colleges established and fostered by various religious denominations, with the
constantly elevating standards of the Christian ministry are among the potential
factors in the marvelous change in the religious sentiment of the Negro.
To meet the increasing demand of this transitional church and to direct the
religious energies of this most emotional race, means an increasing output of our
theological seminaries or schools which devote their time to this special work.
But this preparation must be based upon the most enlarged views of the vast spir¬
itual needs of the race. It must be broader than a mere denominational predi¬
lection. It involves a world-wide preparation for a world-wide salvation. While
our theological schools are doing a magnificent work it must be admitted that the
supply is not equal to the demands. The facilities for the kind of work required
ought to be increased a hundredfold. Even then it would tax the energies of those
directing affairs to meet the imperative demands for a thoroughly trained minis¬
try.
Virginia Union University.—A very small proportion of those who are entering
the Negro ministry are receiving a broad, thorough training similar to that given
in any Northern theological seminary. The weak points in this training are the
same as in the training of Northern schools. I believe there is not enough atten¬
tion given to relating the truth which is learned to life and the conditions with
which the pastor will be surrounded. The theological student is not trained suffi¬
ciently in the problems of the community, the possibilities of increasing the welfare
of the people, in practical ethics, in the practical hand to hand use of the Bible in
effective public speaking. But, notwithstanding these failures, the record of our
school shows, at least, that men with ordinary ability and such training as has
been given have proved very useful in winning converts, in building up the char¬
acter of the church and in improving the conditions of the communities. I think
THE NEGRO CHURCH 193
eC#0+>! aS m^n^sters t^ie gospel would bear comparison with the
record of the graduates of any Northern theological seminary.
As for the demand for this kind of education, our students, if they have ability,
find no difficulty in securing wide fields of usefulness. We therefore feel that
there is a large demand for men trained in this way. I do not believe that the
character of the training should be changed, but I do believe that added emphasis
should be placed on some things. I cannot see how a preacher can be a specialist
in matters of religion without being able to get to the foundations of questions,
without knowing how to use his Greek and Hebrew Bible, without knowing church
history, theology and homiletics. I believe he needs these things, but with them
he needs more knowledge of modern conditions and methods and the possibilities
and ideals of individual and community life.
Walden.—This school was formerly known as Central Tennessee College. Rev.
John Braden, who was for nearly a quarter of a century its president, organized,
in 1889, a theological department which was continued under his supervision for
nearly ten years. His death occurred in 1899, which closed the department. It is
not possible to furnish you with correct data as to the school during the last three
or four years of the life of the late Dr. Braden.
The change in the name of the school from Central Tennessee College to Walden
University was followed by the election of Rev. Jay Benson Hamilton, D. D., as
president to succeed the lamented Dr. John Braden. The theological department
has been reorganized and is now known as the Braden School of Theology of
Walden University, thus perpetuating the name of its founder.
Straight University.—Most of our students take only a partial course, and for
this reason do not appear among our graduates The total attendance this year is
eleven. Seven of these are pursuing studies in other departments.
I am without assistance at present. Our work is not well developed, but much
good has been done and the future looks more hopeful.
My judgment is that hardly sufficient attention has been given to the education
of our ministry. Still good foundations have been laid, and the importance of the
subject is better understood. The demand is increasing. Churches which a few
years ago were satisfied with uneducated men now search the country for men of
high character and intelligence.
As to the success of the educated ministers that has been fully settled. The old
assertion oft repeated that educated ministers could not preach successfully to
churches of ignorant people has been thoroughly discredited in the city and the
country. As to the education itself, the conception of religion as including all life
within its scope and the duty of the minister to interest himself in sociology and
the material and educational progress of the people should be insisted on.
King Hall.—(a) The success of theological training in the past has been, consid¬
ering the conditions, unparalleled. I doubt if history records another instance of a
slave and subject population producing in so brief a space so many intelligent, pro¬
gressive and high-minded men as are to be found in the pulpits of the Negro church¬
es. It cannot be denied that there is still much ignorance and that a very lofty
standard of morality is not always upheld, yet in view of historical and social convic¬
tions, the dominant emotions may be pride and thanksgiving for past achievement.
(b) The present condition of theological training gives ground for hope that
conditions in the future will be superior to those in the past. The rule in former
years has been that any man who evinced a slight degree of rhetorical or oratorical
aptitude, or gave any promise of becoming useful to his denomination, was admit-
194
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
ted to the ministry with little or no regard to his academic or theological pre¬
paration, but that method is the exception rather than the rule today. All of the
religious denominations now demand some sort of intellectual preparation as a
preliminary to ordination or licensure, and the rapid multiplication in these latter
years of theological seminaries prophesies increase in the numbers of a well-trained
ministry. Moreover, the diffusion of popular intelligence and the educational
advance of the race will more and more demand an educated ministry, just as the
steady quickening and strengthening of the ethical sense in the race will more and
more demand moral purity and piety in those who minister at the altars.
(c) The direction it should take:
It should be dominantly and emphatically ethical and spiritual. The race must
have clean, pure, high-minded men in her ministry, or it is doomed. Like priest,
like people, and morality is the basis of the race's life. It must be soundly intellec¬
tual. There should be broad culture and a thorough scholarship. The bombastic
and pretentious must be barred, at any rate sternly discouraged. If the alternative
is broad and thorough academic, or merely theological training, I would say, choose
the former, for with that any deficiency in the latter can be easily remedied.
The tendency has been, and it is, to reverse this order. There is no training like
that of the college and there is no people who stand in so much need of it as Negroes,
and hence they must resist every effort to rob them of its advantages.
The training of the minister should also be practical. The race needs good,
educated men, but it needs, and needs sorely, leadership in all that pertains to
race development, and mere goodness and intelligence are not always guarantees
of practical power. The Negro minister needs to know and do more than merely
preach and pray. He must be possessed of public spirit and have the capacity to co¬
operate in educational and other social movements which promise present as well
as prospective salvation. He must fit himself to preach and also practice the scrip¬
ture that hath the promise of the life that now is as well as that which is to come.
The course of study at one school is subjoined as fairly typical of the
courses offered in all the schools:
Virginia Union University
Bachelor of Divinity Course
FIRST TEAR.
First Term.
Second Term.
Biblical Introduction.
Hebrew Language.
Greek Interpretation.
Sacred Rhetoric and Elocution.
Vocal Music.
Biblical Introduction.
Hebrew Language.
Greek Interpretation.
Sacred Rhetoric and Elocution.
Vocal Music.
SECOND TEAR.
Church History.
Hebrew Interpretation.
Greek Interpretation.
Sacred Rhetoric and Elocution.
Vocal Music.
Church History.
Homiletics.
Christian Theology.
Sacred Rhetoric and Elocution.
Vocal Music.
THIRD TEAR.
Biblical Introduction.
Homiletics and Church Polity.
Christian Theology.
Sacred Rhetoric and Elocution.
Pastoral Duties.
Theology and Ethics.
Electives.
Sacred Rhetoric and Elocution.
Candidates for the degree of Bachelor of Divinity, before entering upon the
theological course, must have completed in a satisfactory manner the common
school studies, namely: Reading, Spelling, Writing, Grammar, Geography, United
THE NEGRO CHURCH
195
States History, and Arithmetic. They must also have done faithful work for at
v?6 ^ear °t ei§>ht months, with five recitations a week in each of the follow-
an(i, groups of subjects and must pass a satisfactory examination in
at least eleven of these subjects before entering upon the theological course two
of which must be English Literature and Rhetoric and Composition The Jub'ie^ts
and groups of subjects are as follows: English Literature,Vetoric and Compo¬
sition, English History and General History, Physical Geography and Botanv, Phv-
sics and Physiology, Algebra, Geometry, Civil Government and Ethics, and Indus¬
trial Training. '
In addition to the required English studies, candidates for the degree of Bach¬
elor of Divinity, before entering the classes in Hebrew and Greek, must pursue a
course in Greek, which shall include Greek Grammar, Composition, and three
books of the Anabasis.
Candidates for the degree of Bachelor of Theology, before entering upon the
studies of the theological course, must possess the same English qualifications and
pass the same tests upon English subjects as are required of candidates for the
degree of Bachelor of Divinity.
Negroes have also attended theological schools in the North. It has
been impossible to get a full account of these, but some figures are
available :
INSTITUTION.
Christian Biblical Institute, Stanfordville, N. Y
Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Omaha, Neb
Rochester Theological Seminary, Rochester, N. Y
Tufts College, Divinity School, Tufts College, Mass
Episcopal Theological School, Cambridge, Mass
Chicago Theological Seminary, Chicago, 111
Seabury Divinity School, Faribault, Minn
New Church Theological School, Cambridge, Mass
Allegheny Theological Seminary, Allegheny, Pa
Ryder Divinity School, Lombard University, Galesburg, 111
Reade Theological Seminary, Taylor University, Upland, Ind
Lane Theological Seminary, Cincinnati, O
Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, N. J
St. Joseph's Seminary, Baltimore, Md
Union Biblical Seminary, Dayton, O
General Theological Seminary of Protestant Episcopal Church, New
York, N.Y
Eureka College, Bible Department, Eureka, 111
Union Theological Seminary, New York, N.Y
University of Chicago, Divinity School, Chicago, 111
Meadville Theological School, Meadville, Pa
Oberlin Theological Seminary, Oberlin, O
St. Mary's Seminary, Baltimore, Md
Shurtleff College, Theological Department, Upper Alton, 111
Yale Divinity School, New Haven. Conn
Hamilton Theological Seminary, Colgate University,Hamilton, N.Y.
Xenia Theological Seminary, Xenia, O
Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Allegheny, Pa
Moravian Theological Seminary, Bethlehem, Pa
Hillsdale College, Theological School, Hillsdale, Mich
Evangelical Theological Seminary, Gettysburg, Pa
Concordia, College, Springfield, 111
McCormick Theological Seminary, Chicago, 111
Union Christian College, Theological Department, Merom, Ind
Hartford Theological Seminary, Hartford, Conn
Newton Theological Institution, Newton Center, Mass ....
Divinity School of the Protestant Episcopal Church, Philadelphia,Pa.
Drew Theological Seminary, Madison, N. J
Auburn Theological Seminary, Auburn, N. Y
Drake University, Bible Department, Des Moines, la
Western Theological Seminary, Allegheny, Pa
Pacific Theological Seminary, Oakland, Cal
Nashotah House, Nashotah, Wis
Andover Theological Seminary, Andover, Mass
Boston University, School of Theology, Boston, Mass
Negro
Graduates.
Two.
Some.
One.
One.
Two.
Four.
Two.
One.
Four.
One.
Some.
Few.
Some.
Four.
Some.
Six.
One.
About twelve.
Eight.
One.
Twelve (?).
Three.
One.
Ten (?).
Two.
Three.
Two.
One.
Five.
One.
Two.
Three.
Seventeen.
Eight or ten.
Twenty-five.
Ten or twelve.
Some.
Three (?).
Ten.
196 EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
The following schools in addition have had Negro students, but so far
as known no graduates:
Theological Seminary of the Reformed Ohurch New Brunswick, N. J.
St. Vincent's Seminary Beatty, Pa.
Kenyon College, Divinity School Gambier, O.
Susquehanna University, Theological Department Selinsgrove, Pa.
Greenville College, School of Theology Greenville, 111.
Augustana Theological Seminary Rock Island, 111.
German Evangelical Lutheran Seminary,Capital University. .Columbus, O.
Crozier Theological Seminary Chester, Pa.
Theological Seminary of Reformed Church Lancaster, Pa.
Temple College of Philadelphia, Theological School Philadelphia, Pa.
The color line is, of course, evident in such institutions in spite of
religion. The schools above admit Negroes. The following schools
would admit them if they applied, but have never had applicants:
St. Paul Seminary St. Paul, Minn.
St. Lawrence University Canton, N. Y.
St. Joseph's Seminary Yonkers, N. Y.
St. Charles's Seminary Overbrook, Pa.
United Ohurch Seminary Minneapolis, Minn.
Augsburg Seminary Minneapolis, Minn.
Western Theological Seminary Holland, Mich.
Cobb Divinity School Lewiston, Me.
Bangor Theological Seminary Bangor, Me.
Wartburg Seminary Dubuque, la.
Charles City College Charles City, la.
Union Biblical Institute Naperville, 111.
Chicago Luthern Theological Seminary Chicago, 111.
Berkeley Divinity School Middletown, Conn.
San Francisco Theological Seminary San Anselmo, Cal.
Concordia Theological Seminary St. Louis, Mo.
Redemptorist College of Ilchester Ilchester, Mo.
In the following schools there have been no Negro applicants, and it
is not certain whether Negroes would be admitted:
Church Divinity School of the Pacific San Mateo, Cal.
Western Theological Seminary Atchison, Kan.
Mt. St. Mary's Theological School Mt. St. Mary's, Md.
St. John's University Collegeville, Minn.
Theological Seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church Philadelphia, Pa.
Erskine Theological Seminary Duewest, S. C.
Union Theological Seminary Richmond, Va.
German Lutheran Seminary St. Paul, Minn.
Heidelberg Theological Seminary Tiffin, O.
St. Bernard's Seminary Rochester, N. Y.
Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary Louisville, Ky.
Red Wing Seminary Red Wing, Minn.
Ursinus College School of Theology Philadelphia, Pa.
St. Paul's College St. Paul, Minn.
The following schools are non-committal on the question :
Hartwick Seminary Hartwick Seminary, N. Y.
Eugene Divinity School Eugene, Ore.
Kenrick Theological Seminary St. Louis, Mo.
The following schools do not receive Negroes for obvious reasons of
languages, etc.:
German Martin Luther Seminary Buffalo, N. Y.
Norwegian Danish Theological Seminary Evanston, Ind.
Jewish Theological Seminary New York, N. Y.
German Theological School of Newark Madison, N. J.
The following schools do not admit Negroes:
Denver Theological Seminary Denver, Ool.
St. Viateur's College Kankakee, 111.
St. Meinrad's Ecclesiastical Seminary St. Meinrad, Ind.
THE NEGRO CHURCH 197
Grand View College n m •
Presbyterian Theological SeminarV £es Ia'
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary ?^n7-n' %•
Westminster Theological Seminarv Louisville Ky
: : : : KSa&iS?-
'■ '■ '■ '• ■ ' |Sfct°N.J.
St. Charles's Seminary A
Presbyterian Theological Seminary Columbia It' o
Seminary ^ Mount Plefsant, S. C.
Southwestern Presbyterian uAiversity' ! ! Cla^vme^en8^11'
Vanderbilt University Nashville, Tenn
University of the South Sewanee, Tenn.
: : : : :
Evangelical Lutheran Theological Seminary Wauwatosa', Wis
Theological Seminary of Eden College St. Louis, Mo.
Mission House of the Reformed Church Franklin, Wis.
Evangelical Lutheran Theological Seminary Saginaw, Mich.
Christian University, Theological Department .... Canton, Mo.
St. Stanislaus Seminary Florisant, Mo.
St. Mary's Theological Seminary Cleveland, O.
St. Vincent's Seminary Philadelphia, Pa.
Rio Grande Congregational Training School El Paso, Tex.
Kansas City University, College of Theology Kansas City, Kan.
We have, therefore, a record of at least 185 Negro graduates of
Northern theological schools. They have not gone to these schools in
large enough number to allow any very valuable conclusions to be
drawn, but the authorities of the schools have returned answers to sev¬
eral questions :
How have your colored students compared with others in ability?
They have been quite average in ability. Mr. was quite scholarly. Mr.
did not take readily to accurate scholarship, but good in gaining general informa¬
tion. He used what he gained quite effectively.—Christian Biblical Institute.
The one student was of fair ability and compared with others in his class.—
Presbyterian Theological Seminary.
Those we have had are so few in number that no conclusions with regard to the
ability of the race can be drawn from them. If I were to judge only from those
who have come to the Seminary I should be obliged to say that they were far
below the average of our white students.—Rochester Theological Seminary.
We gave , a young Baptist minister, the B. D. since graduation. We felt that
we owed something to nis race.—Tufts College, Divinity School.
They have compared well. One was an excellent scholar, but no more than some
whites.—Episcopal Theological School.
About up to average. One was an African chief, was a man of force; a second
was weak as a scholar, but had unusual dramatic power; the third is a successful
pastor. One, a B. A., we dismissed because he could not keep up with the work.
Others left for similar reasons.—Chicago Theological Seminary.
Favorably.—Seabury Divinity School.
Favorably.—New Church Theological School.
Yery well.—Allegheny Theological Seminary.
Mr. was an excellent student, both in scholarship and character. He has been
for some years an influential member of the faculty of Guadalupe College, Seguin,
Texas.—Ryder Divinity School, Lombard University.
Nearly equal.—Reade Theological Seminary of Taylor University.
Equal in diligence and regularity, superior with average in memory; below
average in logical precision, and below average in orderly arrangement of knowl¬
edge.—Lane Theological Seminary.
Not unfavorably, although some of them have proved unable to pursue our
course owing to lack of preliminary education.—Princeton Theological Seminary.
198 EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
Two of our colored boys were among the best. The others were average students.
Remember that the students of this house attend the lectures at St. Mary's Sem¬
inary, the National Seminary of the United States, in which are about 240 students,
all whites.—St. Joseph's Seminary.
Their previous advantages were poor, and they themselves not of the best in
natural adaptation.—Union Biblical Seminary.
They have been quite equal to the average white student in ability.—General
Theological Seminary.
About average.—Eureka College, Bible Department.
This is a difficult question to answer and all the reply that is possible must be
based on the individual opinion of the one entertaining it. There is no one person
living who knows all of tne colored students who have attended this Seminary.
Personally I have known about six. Three of these were men of good ability, two
of them above rather than below the medium line. Three others were below the
average, two of them being distinctly inferior to the white low grade. But, on the
other hand, it should be added that one of the six graduated with the diploma of
the Seminary. He was above the ordinary average.—Union Theological Seminary.
Fairly well. Some of them have been able, some rather bright, but shallow, and
two or three weak. A greater diversity than among whites.—University of Chicago,
Divinity School.
Most of our colored students have been "specials," L e., not members of our regu¬
lar classes (Junior, Middle and Senior), but taking a partial course in connection
with their service of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in this place. Their
pastoral duties, of course, absorbed most 01 their time. Perhaps their average
ability, as manifested to us, was hardly equal to that of our other students as
scholars.—Meadville Theological School.
During the ten years of my teaching here the grade of men has been very good
indeed. W e get some of the best and very rarely any of the poorest. I mean that
they grade with our other students, though no colored man has ever led the Sem¬
inary in scholarship. They have taken second and third grade scholarships, but
not a first.—Oberlin Theological Seminary.
The three graduates have stood well up among the first third of their classes.—
St. Mary's Seminary.
Most not up to average. One very much excelled in ability.—Shurtleff College.
They have varied greatly. It has seemed to depend largely upon the school at
which they prepared.—Yale Divinity School.
They were not college men, as our students universally are, hence were at a dis¬
advantage. Notwithstanding, they worked honestly and did well.—Xenia Theo¬
logical Seminary.
These men were educated in the North; one, , was born in Allegheny, Pa.—
Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary.
He compared well; was their equal in many respects, only somewhat less logical
in thought and expression, and perhaps less logical and independent in ideas.—
Moravian Theological Seminary.
Not above the average.—Hillsdale College.
Four of these compared favorably with the other students in some respects; the
others were total failures.—Concordia College.
No difference appreciable.—McCormick Theological Seminary.
Somewhat below the average of white students.—Union Christian College, Theo¬
logical Seminary.
They have not equalled the average of our other students, except perhaps in two
cases, but they have not usually fallen far below.—Hartford Theological Seminary.
Their ability has been from fair to good. That of a few of the men may be called
very good.—Newton Theological Seminary.
Only a few have compared favorably. One alone, if I am rightly informed, can
be ranked among the very able men which this school has graduated.—Divinity
School of the Protestant Episcopal Church.
They have maintained a good average.—Drew Theological Seminary.
THE NEGRO CHURCH 199
o^^S-AitaSTSI5'ogSas?^fIJ^le,,,'hascertainly not beenM» «h«
As far as I can learn they have.—Drake University, Bible Department.
nected wit^the^ir^t^utio^wp Past six years while I have been con-
uaieuwimine institution, we have had two colored students One took a vptv
high stand in the class and was elected president of the class The other wis so
Theological1 Seminary P°WerS ^ he W&S dr°Pped after six week? teial -Western
This man, an ordained minister, with a church in San Francisco, took only spe¬
cial studies for one year. Of average ability with others of his class. But was
irregular because of pastoral duties.—Pacific Theological Seminary.
He was above the average in scholarship, and took the degree of B. D. Nashotah
House.
How have they compared in character and morals ?
Very well. Quite on an average with the white students. They were respected
by the white students without regard to their color.—Christian Biblical Institute.
We never knew any criticisms on either.—Presbyterian Theological Seminary.
We cannot complain of any positive infractions of immorality on their part.
There has been weakness of purpose, over-sensitiveness to others' opinions, consid¬
erable vanity and love of display.—Rochester Theological Seminary.
Compared well in this respect.—Tufts College, Divinity School.
They have been without exception men of good morals and of manly character.—
Episcopal Theological School.
Fairly well with others. Though in two or three cases of men who did not gradu¬
ate there was a lack of determination and persistent effort. One had trouble in
his family which led us to advise him to leave the Seminary.—Chicago Theologi¬
cal Seminary.
Favorably.—Seabury Divinity School.
Favorably.—New Church Theological School.
They were not inferior.—Allegheny Theological Seminary.
Very favorably.—Ryder Divinity School, Lombard University.
Not as strong in character.—Reade Theological Seminary of Taylor University.
Well.—Lane Theological Seminary.
Favorably.—Princeton Theological Seminary.
The blacks are just as good as the whites.—St. Joseph's Seminary.
Not so favorably with the white students.—Union Biblical Seminary.
They have been, so far as I know, uniformly excellent in character and morals.—
General Theological Seminary of Protestant Episcopal Church.
Much above the average.—Eureka College, Bible Department.
As all of these men were candidates for the ministry it is to be supposed that a
reply to this question is superfluous. I have no reason to make any unfavorable
comparisons.—Union Theological Seminary.
Generally the equals of the whites. Two or three have been careless about finan¬
cial honor, and one was dismissed for presenting for his own sermons taken from
others.—University of Chicago, Divinity School.
They have compared favorably with our other students in morals and character.
—Meadville Theological Seminary.
Our Seminary men have been of the very best—earnest Christians, sane, modest.
Nothing in these respects has been left to be desired.—Oberlin Theological Sem¬
inary.
Yery well.—Shurtleff College, Theological Department.
I have noticed no difference when each had the same chances.—Yale Divinity
School.
Quite favorably. All three were earnest and devout.—Xenia Theological Sem¬
inary.
200 EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
He was irreproachable in conduct and bore a good moral character.—Moravian
Theological Seminary.
Well.—Hillsdale College, Theological School.
Those educated in our colored Lutheran mission schools in the South compared
well. The rest proved to be unsatisfactory.—Concordia College.
No difference.—McCormick Theological Seminary.
Average, good.—Union Christian College, Theological Department.
Very well, as a rule.—Hartford Theological Seminary.
Favorably for the most part. I think it is a strain upon character for them to
take their course here, since some of them are inclined to estimate themselves
highly and to be ambitious for place.—Newton Theological Institution.
Equal to the white students. All of them better than some of the white stu¬
dents.—Divinity School of the Protestant Episcopal Church.
They have been men of good character so far as I know.—Drew Theological
Seminary.
In character and morals they compare evenly in the case of the best men. In
other cases they are not very uneven, except that an abnormally large number of
colored men borrow money and fail to pay.—Auburn Theological Seminary.
They compare well.—Drake University, Theological Department.
Yery favorably. I believe there has been only one case where discipline was
necessary.—Western Theological Seminary.
During the vacation of his last year he was charged with immoral conduct by a
young woman of his congregation. The matter came into the public press, but
the charge was denied by student.—Pacific Theological Seminary.
What has been their success in after life?
Good.—Christian Biblical Institute.
One of these left us at the end of his first year and we have never been able to
learn anything from him since. A second was so feeble in scholarship that we
had to dismiss him to another institution. The third succeeded in graduating,
and has been doing useful service from that time until now.—Rochester Theologi¬
cal Seminary.
Mr. is now in his senior year in Medical School of Tufts College, Boston,
Mass. He wants to be doubly prepared for missionary work.—Tufts College,
Divinity School.
One is the successful minister of a colored church in Washington, where he has
been for nine years, ever since graduation. Another had difficulty in getting a
suitable place, but now is well settled. The third is just going out.—Episcopal
Theological School.
The four graduates did well. One died in Africa, a second is a professor in a
Southern college, the third is a pastor in Washington, D. C., the fourth is a pastor
in the South.—Chicago Theological Seminary.
If anything, above the average man of their class.—Seabury Divinity School.
Good.—New Church Theological School.
Not especially noticeable, but very fair.—Allegheny Theological Seminary.
Quite useful.—Reade Theological Seminary of Taylor University.
Two are priests. A third teaches school under his father in New Orleans, La.
The fourth is a school teacher in Oklahoma.—St. Joseph's Seminary.
Good, those who remained in the ministry.—Union Biblical Seminary.
As a rule, quite as good as the white fellow students.—General Theological Sem¬
inary.
So far as known, satisfactory.—Eureka College, Bible Department.
The one mentioned above as a graduate took a church in New York and made a
success of it despite heavy odds. He worked so hard, however, that he under¬
mined his health and died at an early age, respected and beloved by the members
of the Presbytery with which he was connected. Most of the others I have not
been able to trace. They have belonged to various denominations and I have not
had the time to look them up specifically.—Union Theological Seminary.
THE NEGRO CHURCH 201
proved faikfre^but1! iud e-p8a« T83' SOme have done fairly well and a few have
white students.—University ot Chicago,^Divinity School. 8uoceeded a8 among OUI
tionabv\aithfulXan^t^RiToopaof'ri asT>my own knowledge extends, have been excep-
kn°Wiedse d°eS notCOTer^
They are all doing quite well.—St. Mary's Seminary.
Only two have had a marked success.—Shurtleff College.
Our regular graduates have been successful men.—Yale Divinity School.
Theological Seminary38 been good' They are useful and influential men.—Xenia
He served as a missionary in Dutch Guiana, South America, disagreed with his
superiors, became discontented and was dismissed from the church service because
of unsuitable marriage connection, after it had been decided to give him a call in
the West Indies.—Moravian Theological Seminary.
Fair.—Hillsdale College, Theological School.
Know not, except in case of Bishop D. A. Payne, whose history belongs to the
public.—Evangelical Lutheran Theological Seminary.
Two are missionaries among their own people and, as the reports say, are doing
well.—Concordia College.
Fair.—McCormick Theological Seminary.
Not striking. A limited number have made a splendid record—some as teachers,
some as soldiers in the United States Army.—Union Christian College, Theological
Department.
So far as we know their careers have varied greatly, but we judge that they have
generally carried themselves at least with credit.—Hartford Theological Seminary.
Very creditable.—Divinity School of the Protestant Episcopal Church.
So far as I have known they have done well and have proved useful ministers of
the people.—Drew Theological Seminary.
Tested numerically, too large a proportion of the colored men have either died
young or have thus far failed of being distinctly successful. Of the fifteen two-
thirds are successful, and some of the others may become so. The list is too short,
however, and the instances too peculiar to make the numerical showing very
decisive.—Auburn Theological Seminary.
The one whose name I give is reported as doing good work. Drake University,
Bible Department.
It compares favorably with that of our other graduates. Most of them are labor¬
ing under the Board of Freedmen in the South.—Western Theological Seminary.
Other schools say in general:
Of the colored men who have graduated from Boston University, School of The¬
ology, J. W. E. Bowen, Prof. Wm. B. Fenderson, Prof. M. M. Ponton, are perhaps the
molt prominent. J. A. D. Bloise is a strong preacher (graduate Livingstone Col¬
lege) and A. W.Thomas who graduates to-morrow is a brilliant student.—Boston
University, School of Theology.
Harvard has had three students. One excelled in philosophical studies. Iwo
stood low. One of these was "of high character and morals , the other was prob¬
ably an "impostor."—Harvard University.
In the last twelve years I can remember of about three, no one of whom
graduated. They have not been well prepared for our work nor have they been ot
average ability.—Garrett Biblical Institute.
We are expecting great things of our one colored student who is now with us,
and I should like to see our school become a larger factor m the solution ot tne
race problem in the South.—Meadville Theological School.
Wp have never had a colored student graduate from the Theological Course,
though we have had many take the course in part. The difficulty has always
202
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
been that they come to the course unprepared and have fallen by the wayside.
We had one colored student who very successfully completed our Law Course, but
he was better prepared to begin the work.
It is very difficult to make the colored students realize that they must have a
good foundation before beginning the study of theology. They desire to study
theology before they know now to spell or before they have any knowledge of
English grammar. So far as our observations have gone, we have never had any
complaint to make of them morally, and they are generally very earnest.—The
Temple College.
37. Some Notable Preachers. Certain early preachers among the
Negroes have been noted in the eleventh and twelfth sections of this
treatise. A word ought to be said as to some of their successors. Of the
more notable preachers, the African Methodists have furnished Bishop
Daniel Payne, a pure Christian and able executive officer, and perhaps
the greatest of the bishops of that church; the Baptists have given
us D. W. Anderson and Leonard A. Grimes, men of vigor and daring;
the Episcopalians are proud of the clean character and learning of
Alexander Crummell. Henry Highland Garnett was an eloquent
Presbyterian, and the greatest of the Zion Methodists was the late
J. C. Price. These men are all noteworthy as upright, able men, elo¬
quent speakers and notable leaders and organizers.
Of living Negro preachers some are worthy of mention: there are
the bishops of the three Methodist bodies, of which the foremost
character is undoubtedly Bishop Benjamin F. Lee, a worthy suc¬
cessor of Daniel Payne, and a type of man too seldom put to the front;
with him may be mentioned Bishop B. T. Tanner. Among the Baptists
are two notable organizers, E. C. Morris, President of the National
Baptist Convention, and R. F. Boyd, the head of the publishing house.
The Presbyterians have in the Rev. Francis J. Grimke a man of
power and upright character, and the Negro priest of longest service
in the Episcopal Church is one of the most valuable social reformers
of the day, the Rev. H. L. Phillips of Philadelphia. The Methodist
Episcopal Church has Dr. J. W. E. Bowen, a man of ability and dignity,
while the Congregationalists have the Rev. H. H. Proctor.
The men mentioned are not the better known to the public, but they
are the ones who are doing the work and leading the best elements of
the Negroes.*
38. The Eighth Atlanta Conference. The Eighth Atlanta Conference,
to study the Negro Problems, met Tuesday morning, May 26, 190B, in
Ware Memorial Chapel, Atlanta University. The subject for study was
the Negro Church, and the following programme was carried out:
* For the lives of these men, Cf. Simmon's Men of Mark.
THE NEGRO CHURCH
203
First Session, 10 A. M.
President Horace Bumstead, presiding.
Subject: "Young People and the Church."
Ad.lSrKv' X' w I7,?""WW'°< Thomas County, Ga.
can <* Amer.-
Second Session, 3 P. M.
G^,'presidingade Rlchardson'of the Vinson School, Marshallville,
Subject: "Women and the Church."
Music-By the pupils of the Mitchell Street School
Address-Mrs. Mary Church Terrell, First President of the Na¬
tional Federation of Colored Women's Clubs.
"Children and the Church."—Report of the Secretary.
Third Session, 8 P. M.
President Horace Bumstead, presiding.
Remarks of President Bumstead.
"How the Religion of Negroes may become more Practical." Rev.
C. B. Wilmer, Rector of St. Luke's Protestant Episcopal Church,
Atlanta, Ga.
"Religion as a Solvent of the Race Problem." Professor Kelley
Miller, of Howard University, Washington, D. C.
Symposium: "The Negro Church." Ten-minute speeches: Rev.
J. W E. Bowen, Rev. G. W. Moore, and others.
Resolutions.
Mr. Hollo way's address is printed in this treatise as section fifteen,
and that of Dr. Gladden as section thirty-nine. Professor Miller's
paper has been accepted for publication in the North American Review.
The Rev. C. B. Wilmer, representing the Southern white people, said
in part that the country owed a debt to these Conferences and that it
was a pleasure for him to take part:
"Religion is the chief means of uplifting mankind, but the Negro church is not
the power for good that it ought to be. God never made a race incapable of
responding to the motives of the gospel. Your past proves this of you, and to-day
there is no higher hero than the Negro who lives a clean, upright life.
"Let the Negro preacher get God's truth into his mind and heart, and then let him
get it into the minds and hearts of his hearers. This involves his understanding
his people and understanding the truth as it is and as it ought to be applied to
their needs.
"In general, the Negro possesses the primal virtue of loving what is above him.
That virtue implies the capacity for all virtue. If I speak now of your weaknesses
it is only that I may help you. They seem to be, mainly, emotionalism, sensuality,
in the wide sense, and lack of perseverance. But, in particular, your having come
out of the experience of slavery, exposes you to peculiar temptations. You have
passed from childhood into youth, and are passing into manhood. The youth is
apt to mistake ' sassiness' for courage, mannishness for manliness, and false
pride for self-respect.
"What next, then, are some of the things your preachers should say to you and
omit to say? Let the Negro preacher
"(1) Keep politics out of the pulpit.
204
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
"(2) Quit trying to reform white folks. Let the white minister raise a crusade
against lynching and the Negro against crime.
"(3) Leave off talking about rights for a while and direct attention to duties.
"On the positive side let the Negro preacher
"(1) Inculcate good will toward all men, especially white folks. No cause is
rendered easier of solution by hate.
"(2) Insist that only the truth can make you free. Sin is a worse taskmaster
than any man could be.
"(3) Insist that nothing worth the having can be had by a jump, but must be
climbed for. This is where perseverance comes in.
"(4) Above all, and finally, let the Negro preacher impress on his congregation
that salvation does not mean acquittal from punishment, ' getting off,' nor is it
the luxury of emotionalism. It is, negatively, deliverance from sin, and posi¬
tively, the power of righteousness and service of our fellow men."
39. Remarks of Dr. Washington Gladden. You are citizens, by the
definition of the constitution, and you are bound to be good citizens—
intelligent citizens, law-abiding citizens, loyal citizens. From these
obligations I am sure you do not wish to escape. You mean to do your
part in contributing to the peace, the order, the security, the welfare of
this great commonwealth in which you live.
In my counsels to the young people of Columbus, O., I went on to say
that those to whom the duties as well as the rights of citizenship are
entrusted ought not only to fit themselves for their discharge, but to
discharge them solemnly and conscientiously, when the time comes for
their performance. What shall I say to you who find yourselves ob¬
structed in the performance of these duties ? I do not wish to make any
inflammatory suggestions; I doubt whether the question of your politi¬
cal rights can be settled by violence. But this much I am safe in saying:
people who are thoroughlyfitted for good citizenship, and who show by
their conduct that they have the disposition and the purpose to be good
citizens, are not going to be permanently excluded, in any part of this
country, from the responsibilities and duties of citizenship. That is as
sure as tomorrow's sun-rising. It cannot be that in the United States
of America, young men who are thoroughly intelligent, who know what
citizenship means, who love their country, who are working to build up
its prosperity and to secure its peace and who are ready to shed their
blood in its defence, are going to be forbidden to take any part in its
government.
What I have said, therefore, applies to you, I think, even more closely
than to the young people of my own state. To you, in an exceptional
and impressive way, this truth ought to come home. The more strenu¬
ously men oppose your participation in political affairs, the more zeal¬
ous and dilligent ought you to be in qualifying yourselves to take part
in them. You are not wholly shut out from such duties and whenever
you have a chance to exercise them, let every man see that they are
performed with exceptional intelligence and exceptional conscientious-
THE NEGRO CHURCH
205
.man holds the suffrage as a high and sacred trust;
fhnfv, 6 tttibed or led astray by the arts of the demagogue;
t he puts aside his own personal interests when he votes; that he will
eV^1USe e su®rage as a means of extorting benefits for his own
race a e expense of the rest of the community, but will always keep
in view e general welfare; that he is always and everywhere a patriot
in his political action; that when he holds an office he discharges its
duties more faithfully and honestly than the white man does. I have
heard of some instances of this nature since I came to Atlanta—of men
inpublic station whose white neighbors testify concerning them that their
conduct is blameless and their service of the highest order. Let such
instances be multiplied. Hold up the standard everywhere; rally
round it all your people. Let it be your constant endeavor, your highest
ambition to infuse this spirit, this purpose, into the thought and the
life of all colored men. Before such a purpose as that the barriers of
political exclusiveness are sure to go down.
Do not understand me as justifying or excusing those exclusions. I
think they are utterly many. But I am pointing out to you the kind of
weapons with which you can surely batter them down.
And now, very briefly, what can we say of the relations of the young
people to the church ? Here are these 1,210,481 young people under
twenty-one. They are all citizens of Georgia; they all belong to the
state. Do they all belong to the church? No; I fear not. They all
belong to God; they are all His children; they owe Him love and
reverence; if they are filial children, prodigal children, they are all
God's children; they cannot, if they renounce and forswear it, rid
themselves of the obligation of allegiance to Him. We may say of
them, that they all belong in one sense to the kingdom of God. . . .
Here again I find myself in some doubt as to the fitness of these words
to your peculiar circumstances. To those of you who live in Atlanta I
can speak with confidence for I know that you can find a church here
of which all that I say is true, in which you can find the kind of instruc¬
tion and inspiration you need, to which you can attach yourselves with
intelligent enthusiasm, with which you can join in the work of uplift¬
ing humanity. I suppose that there are churches of the same sort in
many of the Southern cities in which you could be welcome. Doubt¬
less there are a great many churches in all the Southern states which
are far below this ideal, in which the religious instruction you would
receive would be imperfect, in which the prevailing idea of religion would
be one that no intelligent and conscientious person could accept. Many
of you will find yourselves in communities in which the only churches
are of this kind. I am not familiar enough with the situation in such
communities to give you any very positive counsel respecting your
conduct. I had hoped that I might be able to attend the whole of this
conference, and that then I might be able to gain some information
which would enable me to form a clearer judgment upon these ques-
206
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
tions. "What I say about it now must be very provisional and tenta¬
tive.
1. In the first place, it seems to me that you are bound to do all you
can for the purification of the ideal of the Christian church. What the
Christian church is, what it ought to stand for, you have some clear
idea. You know that it stands, above all things, for pure conduct and
high character; that its members ought to be men and women of
blameless lives; that its ministers ought to be examples of virtue and
honor and nobility. You know that conversion is no mere ebullition of
religious emotion; that it is a change of mind and heart and life; a
change from untruth to veracity, from impurity to chastity, from
selfishness to unselfishness, from the spirit which is always asking,
"How much am I going to get out of this?" to the spirit which is
always saying, "Where can I give the most to those who are neediest ?"
You know that a Christian church ought not to be a company of men
and women whose main business is having a good time—by getting
happy and convincing themselves that they are sure of going to
heaven—but whose main business is bringing heaven down to earth by
showing men how to live such clean, beautiful, unselfish lives that the
wilderness and the solitary place are glad for them, and that flowers of
Paradise spring up in their path wherever they go. And I think it is
your first duty to enforce this high and true ideal of what a church
ought to be upon all the people with whom you come in contact.
You will have to be wise about it. It will not do to be harsh and cen¬
sorious in your judgments of the ideas and practices of those whom you
are trying to lead into the light; you must persuade them by lifting up
higher ideals before them, rather than by condemning and denouncing
their ways. But I am sure that the young men and women who go out
from such schools as this can do much, if they are wise and kind, to
purify and elevate the ideals of the church in the communities where
they live.
2. In some cases, doubtless, it will be found impracticable to im¬
prove the conditions of the existing churches, and it will, therefore, be
necessary to organize new churches in which the essentials of Chris¬
tianity can be maintained and exemplified. This will call for hard and
self-condemning work. It will demand faith and courage and patience
and gentleness; but it may be work of the highest value and product¬
iveness, and you must be ready for it.
3. Finally, let me express my belief that no other kind of work can
be more vital or more fruitful in the elevation of the Negro race than
the work of the ministry when it is exercised with intelligence and
fidelity and devotion to the highest standards of Christian conduct and
character.
There are few positions in which a young man can do more harm
than in the leadership of a church which is the exponent of nothing
better than a mere emotional religionism; in which pietism is divorced
THE NEGRO CHURCH 207
on made the cover of all kinds of immoralities. But,
rinm 6.° ^ ^ ^ere are few positions in which a young man can
nnspifi6^00 • an aS tlle paftor of a church in which clean living and
vorif • S ®ervice are exemplified; a church which stands for all the great
verities of manhood and womanhood and lifts up a standard around
W ® 6 ements that make for social and civic righteousness may
gather and do heroic battle for God and home and native land. I do
not believe that such churches as these are likely, in the present order
o t lings, to be very popular all at once. It is probable that young
men who undertake to organize and lead them will have to be content
with the hard work and small compensation. They can find softer
places and better salaries in churches where the standards are different.
But no man can afford to lower his ideals for the sake of pelf or popu¬
larity. The elevation of the Negro race will wait a long time under
such leadership. But men who are not looking for such berths, men to
whom life means service, can find, in the Christian ministry, a great
opportunity to serve their race and their country.
Such are the ideals which will, I trust, commend themselves to your
choice as you go out to the work of life. For men and women with such
purposes and aims the church has need and the state has need, and
great rewards are waiting for them. I want you to win success, the true
success—that which is won not by outstripping our neighbors but by
helping them to get on their feet and keep in the way of life. That is
not what the world means by success, but it is the only true success,
believe me. Now is the time for you to get this truth firmly fixed in
your own minds, not only as a pleasing sentiment, but as a working
theory of life.
40. Resolutions. The Eighth Atlanta Conference is impressed by
the great crying need of a strengthening of religious effort and moral
inspiration among the masses of the Negro people.
We are passing through that critical period of religious evolution
when the low moral and intellectual standard of the past and the
curious custom of emotional fervor are not longer attracting the young
and ought in justice to repel the intelligent and the good.
At the same time religion of mere reason and morality will not
alone supply the dynamic of spiritual inspiration and sacrifice.
We need, then, first the strengthening of ideals of life and living;
of reverent faith in the ultimate triumph of the good and of hope in
human justice and growth.
We need this for the sake of the family, the moral standards ot
which need lifting and purifying. Upon the women of no race have
the truths of the gospel taken a firmer and deeper hold than upon
the colored women of the United States. For her protection and by
her help a religious rebirth is needed.
208
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
We need it for the sake of our race, which, in the midst of repression
and discouragement, is so easily apt to drift into crime and listless-
ness.
And finally, we need it for the sake of the state. Despite the pres¬
ent unrighteous denial of political rights to black men it is true, as
Dr. Washington Gladden has said to this Conference, that—
" People who are thoroughly fitted for good citizenship and who show
by their conduct that they have the disposition and the purpose to be
good citizens are not going to be permanently excluded in any part of
this country from the responsibilities and duties of citizenship. This is
as true as tomorrow's sun-rising. It cannot be that in the United States
of America young men who are thoroughly intelligent, who know what
citizenship means, who love their country, who are working to build
up its prosperity and to secure its peace and who are ready to shed
their blood in its defense, are going to be forbidden to take any part
in its government."
The great engine of moral uplift is the Christian church. The Negro
church is a mighty social power to-day; but it needs cleansing, reviving
and inspiring, and once purged of its dross it will become as it ought
to be, and as it is now, to s<5me extent, the most powerful agency in the
moral development and social reform of 9,000,000 Americans of Negro
blood.
The Negro of America needs an Age of Faith. All great ages are
ages of faith. It is absolutely necessary for a new people to begin
their career with the religious verities. Religious and moral qualities
are independent of the eventualities of the race problem; no matter
what destiny awaits the race, Religion is necessary either as a solvent
or as a salve.
Religious precepts would rob the white man of his prejudices and
cause him to recognize the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of
man. Christianity is contrary to the spirit of caste—spiritual kinship
transcends all other relations. The race problem will be solved when
Christianity gains control of the innate wickedness of the human
heart, and men learn to apply in dealing with their fellows the simple
principles of the Golden Rule and the Sermon on the Mount.
(Signed) Mary Chueoh Terrell,
Kelly Miller,
W. E. B. Du Bois.
INDEX
African Methodists (A. M. E.): Present condition of, 123-131.
19R?^nKi^ 1?^' 125' boai'd of bishops of, 130, 131; growth of,
126, publishing department of, 127-129; schools of, 129, 130.
African Methodist Episcopal Zion, see Zion Methodists.
Afro-American Presbyterian, 146.
Allen, Richard, 31, 123, 124.
American Missionary Association, The, 147, 148, 152, 153, 176.
Anderson, D. W., 202.
An Eastern City, 108-110.
Answers of public school children, 185-190.
Ante-bellum slave marriages, 56.
Ante-bellum preachers, 30-37.
Arnett, Rev. B. W., 92.
Atlanta, Ga., Negro churches in, 69-79.
African Methodist Episcopal, 71; Baptist, 69, 70; Colored Methodist
Episcopal, 71; Congregational and other, 71, 72; denominations of,
69; extracts from reports of, 72, 73; Methodist, 70, 71; salaries of
ministers of, 79; typical congregations in, 74-79.
Atlanta University, 49, 69, 88, 202.
Baptists: Present condition of, 111-123.
Convention, National, of, 111; Home Missionary Society of, 122,176;
National Board of, 120; newspapers of, 112; publishing department
of, 114-117; schools of, 117-120; Young People's Union Board, 120.
Bishops of African Methodist Episcopal Church, 130, 131.
Black Belt, 57-64.
Bowen, Dr. J. W. E., 201, 202, 203.
Boyd, R. F., 202.
Bumstead, President Horace, 203.
Burns, Francis, 137.
Capers, Bishop, 28.
Carey, Lott, 34.
Carroll, Dr. H. K., 153.
Chavis, John, 35.
Chicago, Negro churches in, 87-92.
Children and the church, 185-190.
Children in public schools, answers of, 185-190.
Coker, Rev. Daniel, 33.
210
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
Colored Methodists (C. M. E.): Present condition of, 133-134.
Beginning of, 47; publishing department of, 133; schools of, 133.
Condition of churches, see present condition.
Congregationalists: Present condition of, 147-153.
American Missionary Association, 147, 148, 152, 153; educational
work of, 151; schools of, 152.
Cromwell, Mr. John W., 30.
Crummell, Alexander, 202.
De Berry, Rev. W. N., 149.
Deland, Fla., 49, 64.
Earlier Churches and Preachers, 30-35.
Early restrictions, 10-12.
Edwards on witchcraft, 6.
Effect of transplanting, 2-5.
Eighth Atlanta Conference, The, 202.
Episcopalians: Present condition of colored, 138-142.
Evans, Henry, 36.
Farmville, Va., 81, 82.
Ferguson, Rev. Samuel David, 138.
Florida, a town in, 64-68.
Free African Society, The, 124.
Freedman's Aid and Southern Educational Society of the Methodist
Episcopal Church, 135, 176.
Freeman, Ralph, 36.
Garnett, Henry Highland, 202.
Georgia, Black belt county in, 57-64.
Gladden, Dr. Washington, 203, 204, 208.
Gloucester, Rev. John, 32.
Gray, Mr., on Nat Turner, 25.
Greene County, Ohio, 92, 94-108.
Grimes, Leonard A., 202.
Grimke, Rev. Francis J., 176, 202.
Habersham, James, 10.
Haynes, Lemuel, 35.
Hollo way, Rev. W. H., 49, 57, 203.
Holly, James Theodore, 138.
Hosier, Harry, 33.
Illinois (local study), 83-92.
Importation of Negroes and slaves, 8.
Jack of Virginia, 35, 37.
Jasper, John J., 81.
Johns, Bishop, 140.
THE NEGRO CHURCH 211
Jones, Absalom, 32, 123, 142.
Jones, Rev. C. C., 26, 27, 28, 49.
Kaffirs, 1.
Lane, Lundsford, 29, 36.
Lee, Bishop Benjamin F., 202.
Lisle, Rev. George, 33.
Local Studies, 49-110.
A Black Belt County, Ga., 57-64; an Eastern City, 108-110; a Southern
City, 69-79; a Town in Florida, 64-68; the Middle West, Illinois,,
83-92; the Middle West, Ohio, 92-108; Virginia, 80-83.
MacLean, Dr. Annie M., 49, 64.
Marriages, slave, 56.
Methodism, Negroes and, 136.
Methodists (M. E.): Present condition of, 134-138; Schools of, 135. See
also A. M. E., C. M. E. and A. M. E. Z. Churches.
Miller, Professor Kelley, 203.
Missions and Negroes, 12,15,20, 26.
Moore, Rev. G. W., 203.
Moral Status of Negroes, The, 176-185.
Moravians, Methodists, Baptists, and Presbyterians, 15-20.
Morris, E. C., 202.
Negro Church in 1890, The, 37-49.
Negroes and Methodism, 136.
Negroes and white theological schools, 195-202.
Negro laymen and the church, 154-164.
Negro theological schools, 190-195.
Negroes, importation of, 8.
Obeah Sorcery, The, 5.
Ohio, the Middle West (local study), 92-108.
Payne, Bishop Daniel, 131, 201, 202.
Philadelphia, Penn., 108-110.
Phillips, Rev. H. L., 202.
Presbyterians: Present condition of, 142-146.
Churches of, in the North, outside of the Mission Board's work, 145.
Preachers, 30, 35, 49, 90, 111, 154, 202.
Present condition of churches: African Methodist Episcopal, 123-131;
Baptists, 111-123; Colored Methodists, 133-134; Congregationalists,
147-153; Episcopalians, 138-142; Methodists, 134-138; Presbyterians,
142-146; Zion Methodists, 131-133.
Price, J. C., 202.
Primitive Negro religion, 1-2.
Proctor, Rev. H. H., 202.
Publications: African Methodist Episcopal, 127-129; Baptist, 115, 121;
Zion Methodist, 133.
212
EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFEBENCE
Remarks of Dr. Washington Gladden, 204-207.
Resolutions of the Conference, 207-208.
Richardson, Mrs. Anna Wade, 203.
Richmond, Va., Negro churches in, 80-81.
Roberts, Rev. John W., 137.
Schmidt, Rev. J. Renatus, 15.
Schools: African Methodist Episcopal, 130; Baptist, 117-120; Colored
Methodist, 133; Congregational, 152; Methodist Episcopal, 135;
Presbyterian, 144; Theological, 190-194; Zion Methodist, 132-133.
Sects and Slavery, The, 20-22.
Slave marriages, 56.
Slavery and Christianity, 6-10.
Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, 12-15.
Southern whites and the Negro church, 164-176.
Spencer, Rev. Peter, 33.
Summary of Negro Churches, 153-154.
Sunday-schools, 104, 107, 158, 186.
Tanner, Bishop B. T., 202.
Terrell, Mrs. Mary Church, 203, 208.
The Middle West, Illinois, 83-92.
The Middle West, Ohio, 92-108.
Theological schools for Negroes, 190-195.
Third Period of Missionary Enterprise, 26-30.
Thomas County, Georgia, Negro churches in, 63-64.
Toussaint L'Ouverture and Nat Turner, 22-26.
Town in Florida, 64-68.
Training of Ministers, The, 190-202.
Turner, Nat, 22, 23, 24, 25.
Varick, James, 30.
Virginia, 80-83.
Virginia Union University, 49, 190, 192, 194.
Voodooism, 5.
White, William, 124.
Wilberforce, 94, 97, 129, 137, 190.
Williams, Professor B. F., 49.
Wilmer, Rev. C. B., 203.
Witchcraft, 1, 3, 6.
Work, Mr. Monroe N., 49, 83.
Wright, Rev. R. R., Jr., 49, 92.
Xenia, Ohio, 98-102.
Zion Methodists: Present condition of, 131-133; beginning of, 45; publi¬
cations of, 133; schools, 132-133.
"The proper study of mankind is man."
STUDIES OF NEGRO PROBLEMS
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EMORY UNIVERSITY
A few complete sets are for sale.
We study the problem that others discuss.
j HAVE seen the Negroes in all their religious
moods, in their most death-like trances and
in their wildest outbreaks of excitement. I have
preached to them in town and city and on the plan¬
tations. I have been their pastor, have led their
class and prayer meetings, conducted their love
feasts, taught them the Catechism. I have mar¬
ried them, baptized their children, and buried their
dead. In the reality of religion among them, I have
the most entire confidence, nor can I ever doubt it
while religion is a reality to me. Their notions
may be in some things crude, their conceptions of
truth realistic, sometimes to a painful, sometimes to
a grotesque, degree. They may be more emotional
than ethical. They may show many imperfections
in their religious development; nevertheless their
religion is their most striking and important, their
strongest and most formative, characteristic. They
are more remarkable here than anywhere else;
their religion has had more to do in shaping their
better character in this country than any other
influence; it will most determine what they are to
become in their future development.
Atticus G. Haygood.