A portrait of Richard Allen, a Methodist bishop and founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church by Mifflin Wistar Gibbs.
Gallery of Richard Allen
1951
A portrait of Richard Allen, a Methodist bishop and founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, from the frontispiece of History of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (1891). A portrait by Daniel A. Payne.
A portrait of Richard Allen, a Methodist bishop and founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, from the frontispiece of History of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (1891). A portrait by Daniel A. Payne.
The Life, Experience, and Gospel Labours of the Right Reverend Richard Allen
(A great part of this work having been written many years ...)
A great part of this work having been written many years after events actually took place; and as my memory could not exactly point out the exact time of many occurrences; they are, however, (as many as I can recollect) pointed out; some without day or date, which, I presume, will be of no material consequence, so that they are confined to the truth. Could I but recollect the half of my trials and sufferings in this life, with the many meetings I have held, and the various occurrences that have taken place in my traveling to and fro, preaching the Gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ to Adam's lost race, they would swell this little book far beyond my inclination, and weary perhaps those into whose hands it may chance to come; and as I have been earnestly solicited by many of my friends to leave a small detail of my life and proceedings, I have thought proper, for the satisfaction of those who (after I am dead and in the grave) may feel an inclination to learn the commencement of my life, to leave behind me this short account for their perusal.
A Narrative of the Proceedings of the Black People, During the Late Awful Calamity in Philadelphia, in the Year 1793: And a Refutation of Some Censures Thrown Upon Them in Some Late Publications
(In 1793 Philadelphia was severely plagued by a severe yel...)
In 1793 Philadelphia was severely plagued by a severe yellow fever epidemic - more than 100 people were dying per day. Mainly whites since African-Americans seemed largely unaffected by fever. For this reason, Mayor Matthew Clarkson asked Absalom Jones and Richard Allen to organize the African-American community to assist in caring for those stricken; burying those who died. However, after the epidemic abated, some accused the African-American community of overcharging and stealing from people for whom they were caring and robbing the dead. Richard Allen and his partner, Absalom Jones wrote "A Narrative of the Proceedings of the Black People, During the Late Awful Calamity in Philadelphia, in the Year 1793: And a Refutation of Some Censures, Thrown Upon Them in Some Late Publications," to address the charges levied against their community.
Richard Allen was an African American clergyman, educator, and writer. He was one of the most active and influential African-American leaders of the United States.
Background
Richard Allen was born into slavery on February 14, 1760, presumably in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on February 14, 1760. As with other details surrounding Allen's life, there have been some questions as to the place of his birth, with certain sources asserting that he was born in Delaware.
Richard Allen grew up during the American Revolution; an era characterized by the advocacy of individual rights, the growth of denominational Christianity, and the inception of the antislavery movement. Around 1768, Allen's owner, a Philadelphia lawyer named Benjamin Chew, sold him, his three siblings, and his parents to Stokely Sturgis, a plantation owner in Delaware. With the permission of Sturgis, Allen began to attend Methodist meetings, and around 1777 he was converted to Methodism.
Education
Richard Allen taught himself to read and write while attending meetings of the local Methodist Society while he still was a slave.
Career
In the second half of the eighteenth century, Methodism proliferated in Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. This Christian denomination emphasized a simple set of virtues that included honesty, modesty, and sobriety. Following his conversion, in 1780 Sturgis agreed to let Allen hire himself out in order to earn money to purchase his freedom for $2000. In addition to doing manual labor like wood-cutting and hauling, Allen began to preach at Methodist churches in Delaware and neighboring states. In 1786, Allen paid his last installment to Sturgis and became free officially changing his name from "Negro Richard" to "Richard Allen."
That same year, Allen accepted an invitation to preach at St. George's Church in Philadelphia, a mixed-race congregation of Methodists. Within a short time, Allen dramatically increased St. George's Black membership and the building could no longer accommodate the growing congregation. White elders at St. George rejected Allen's request for a separate place of worship for African American members and chose instead to construct separated seating within the church by installing a balcony. In 1787, discouraged by the fact that the Black worshippers who had helped construct the balcony would be relegated to sitting there, Allen joined the Rev. Absalom Jones to found the Free African Society, a nondenominational religious association and mutual aid organization. Allen's Methodist fervor, however, drove him to leave the Free African Society after two years because of the organization's nondenominational orientation.
Allen's commitment to Methodism also compelled him to stay at St. George's despite the segregated seating arrangement. One Sunday morning in 1792, Jones challenged St. George's segregated seating arrangement by sitting downstairs. In the middle of the opening prayer, two white trustees forced Jones to leave. Allen and other Black members who had been seated in the balcony then walked out of St. George's. Until this incident, few Black Methodists had been receptive to Allen's call for the establishment of an independent Black church. On August 12, 1792, members of the Free African Society founded The African Church of Philadelphia. Because of the Methodists' discriminatory treatment of Blacks, the church was consecrated as part of the Protestant Episcopal Church and Jones became the denomination's first Black priest.
Allen, however, remained faithful to Methodism and used his own savings to buy a former blacksmith's shop and transplant it onto a plot of land he had previously purchased in Philadelphia. After renovations, Bethel African Church opened on February 4, 1794, and Allen was ordained its deacon. After Bethel was officially initiated at the 1796 Methodist conference, white Methodist officials attempted to gain control over Allen's church, but a Pennsylvania Supreme court ruling in 1807 declared that the Black Methodist congregation owned the property on which they worshipped and that they could determine who would preach there. Following Allen's example, many Black Methodists formed African Methodist Churches in northeastern cities. Because all experienced similar challenges from white Methodists, Allen organized a convention of Black Methodists in 1816 to address their shared problems.
The leaders decided to unite their churches under the name of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church. Accordingly, they gained control over the governance of their churches and placed themselves beyond white ecclesiastical jurisdiction. The attendant’s elected Allen bishop of the new denomination, a position he held until his death in 1831. The AME Church immediately became a center of Black institutional life. As its leader, Allen created the Bethel Benevolent Society and the African Society for the Education of Youth. He also published articles in Freedom's Journal attacking slavery and organizations such as the American Colonization Society. Because Allen believed enslaved and free Black Americans could be best served through education and religious instruction, he opposed organizations that advocated the migration of Black Americans to Africa.
Richard Allen labored incessantly for the promotion of this cause until he died in 1831. By that time he had finally succeeded in impressing the public and had won national standing for his denomination. It was not allowed to expand in the South after the supposed connection of certain of its members with the Denmark Vesey plot in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1822; but the work had found its way into the Northern states east of the Mississippi River. In 1836, five years after Allen's death, the churches numbered eighty-six. There were four conferences, two bishops, and twenty-seven ministers. These served 7, 594 members, and controlled $125, 000 worth of property. The African Methodist Episcopal Church proliferated in the South after the Civil War and today has a membership of more than 1.2 million.
Allen is best known as the founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, which was the first independent African-American religious denomination in the United States. He made the Church not only an agency for religious uplift; but, forced into the anti-slavery movement and the Underground Railroad effort, the institution had become a factor in the battle for freedom.
(In 1793 Philadelphia was severely plagued by a severe yel...)
1973
Religion
Allen early manifested interest in religion while reaching manhood at the time of the increasing toleration and religious liberty granted such sects as the Quakers, Presbyterians, Methodists, and Baptists. He was converted under the influence of the Methodists.
Politics
Richard Allen wasn't involved in politics directly but acted secretly in such a politically engaged sphere of the day like helping escaped slaves to save their freedom.
Views
Allen cared passionately about education and opened a day school for African American children. He was committed to self-determination for African Americans in the United States, and eventually opposed all colonization plans for African Americans in other countries.
Although the African Methodist Episcopal Church initiated missionary efforts in such countries as Haiti and Canada during the late 1820s, Allen kept the church focused on elevating Black Americans, especially those in the South.
Quotations:
"We will never separate ourselves voluntarily from the slave population in this country; they are our brethren and we feel there is more virtue in suffering privations with them than a fancied advantage for a season."
Membership
Allen created the Bethel Benevolent Society and the African Society for the Education of Youth.
Bethel Benevolent Society
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United States
African Society for the Education of Youth
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United States
Personality
Richard Allen is considered by further generations as a model of character traits connected to freedom, faith, family, education, nonviolence, courage, and love which illustrate his lifepath and the consequences of his work.
Connections
Allen was married twice. First, he married a woman named Flora in 1790, Flora died on March 11, 1801, after a long illness. There are no records of them having any children. Then, in 1802, Allen married Sarah Bass. They had six children: Richard Jr., James, John, Peter, Sara, and Ann.
