Thomas Paul

Background

He was born in Exeter, New Hampshire. The eldest of six brothers, three including Nathaniel Paul, Benjamin Paul became Baptist preachers.

Career

His contributions are more palpable today through his work as an abolitionist, his leadership in the black community, and his support for Haiti. He helped establish a long line of black leaders, many of whom came from his own family. Paul lived in Boston"s Beacon Hill neighborhood.

Benjamin was minister of the Abyssinian Baptist Church in New New York

He was then instrumental in founding the first African Baptist Church in Joy Church street, Boston in 1805, and the Abyssinian Baptist Church in New York in 1808. Paul was known for his oratory and organizational skills.

Paul also played a key role in Boston black community as a Prince Hall Mason and opposing integrated education. In 1815 Paul travelled with Prince Saunders to England, in a delegation from the Masonic Lodge of Africans, meeting William Wilberforce and Thomas Clarkson.

A topic raised was of black emigration to Haiti.

Paul forged relationships with the Haitian President, Jean-Pierre Boyer and his Secretary General, Joseph Balthazar Inginac. In December 1823, Paul returned to Boston giving a favorable report of his work in Haiti.

Achievements

• Nathaniel was a minister at Albany, New York, and founder of the Providence"s United African Society in the 1820s.

Politics

Together with other black leaders, he contributed to the development of Black Liberation Theology by tying biblical teachings to social justice and the quest for African American equal acceptance in society.