Friday, February 28, 2014

Chronological History of African American Contributions to the Episcopal Church (1624 - 1970)


This is the fourth installment in a series of posts that celebrate Black History Month. Like many Anglican and Episcopal churches, Black people are an important part of St. Philip's parish family.  This series is offered in respectful appreciation of their esteemed place in our Parish as well as a deferential acknowledgement of the important role of Black people in churches across North America. 

Here is an abbreviated summary of the long and inspiring history of African American clergy and congregations in the Episcopal Church. This 346 year historical review begins with the Baptism of the first African slaves in an American colony in 1624 and ends with the ordination of the first African American Bishop in 1970.

1624 First Baptism of African Slaves in American Colonial (Anglican) Church 
1695 Episcopal Ministry to African Americans is Organized at Goose Creek, South Carolina
1702-1780 Society of the Propagation of the Gospel (SPG)
1776-1781 The American Revolution
1784 Samuel Seabury Consecrated First American Bishop by Scottish Bishops
1789 Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America Established
1789 William White (Pennsylvania), Presiding Bishop
1789 Samuel Seabury (Connecticut), Presiding Bishop
1792 Samuel Provoost (New York), Presiding Bishop
1794 St. Thomas African Episcopal Church Established and Accepted into Union with the Diocese of Pennsylvania
1795 William White, Presiding Bishop
1804 First African American Episcopal Priest Ordained
1818 The Cardinal Black Parish of St. Philip's Church in Harlem, New York is Established
1821 Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society (PECUSA) Formed, the ChurchÂ’s Corporate Form and Missionary
1824 The Cardinal Black Parish of St. Philip's Church in of St. James Lafayette Square in Baltimore, Maryland is Established
1835 General Convention Votes to Send Bishops as Missionaries
1836 Alexander Viets Griswold (Massachusetts), Presiding Bishop
1843 Philander Chase (Illinois), Presiding Bishop
1845 The Cardinal Black Parish of St. MatthewÂ’s in Detroit, Michigan is Established
1849 The Cardinal Black Parish of Calvary Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina is Established
1852 Thomas Church Brownwell (Connecticut), Presiding Bishop
1853 Alexander Crummell Becomes a Missionary and Teacher in Liberia
1854 The Cardinal Black Parish of the Good Shepherd in Mobile, Alabama is Established
1863 Birth of The Reverend George Freeman Bragg
1865 The Protestant Episcopal FreedmenÂ’s Commission Formed
1865 John Henry Hopkins (Vermont), Presiding Bishop
1867 St. AugustineÂ’s Normal School and Collegiate Institute Founded in Raleigh, North Carolina
1867 The First Meeting of Anglican Bishops is held in London at Lambeth Palace
1868 Benjamin Bosworth Smith (Kentucky), Presiding Bishop
1871 Women’s Auxiliary Formed
1874 James Holly Consecrated Missionary Bishop of Haiti
1874 First Ordination of a Black Churchman in Mississippi
1878 Bishop Payne Divinity School Founded
1883 Brotherhood of St. Andrew Founded in Chicago
1883 "Sewanee Conference" of Southern Bishops
1884 First African American Congregation, St. AugustineÂ’s, Galveston, Established in Texas
1884 First African American Delegates Sent to General Convention
1884 Alfred Lee (Delaware), Presiding Bishop
1885 Church Commission for Work Among Colored People (CCWACP)
1887 John Williams (Connecticut), Presiding Bishop
1888 St. Paul Normal and Industrial School Founded in Lawrenceville, Virginia
1889 United Thank Offering Established by the WomenÂ’s Auxiliary
1891 Phillips Brooks Elected Bishop of Massachusetts
1897 Voorhees College Founded in Denmark, South Carolina
1899 Thomas March Clark (Rhode Island), Presiding Bishop
1903 Daniel Sylvester Tuttle (Missouri), Presiding Bishop
1904 Discussion of Suffragan Bishops Commences
1906 American Church Institute for Negroes Established
1910 Amendment of Canon Law
1918 Bishops Demby and Delany Consecrated Suffragan Bishops for Colored Work
1919 Church Missions House at 281 Park Avenue South Becomes Center for Mission Program and Administration of the New National Council.
1919 General Convention Adopts the First Churchwide Anti-lynching Resolution
1923 Alexander Charles Garrett (Dallas), Presiding Bishop
1924 Ethelbert Talbot (Bethlehem), Presiding Bishop
1926 John Gardner Murray (Maryland), Presiding Bishop
1929 Charles Palmerston Anderson (Chicago), Presiding Bishop
1930 James Dewolf Perry (Rhode Island), Presiding Bishop
1930 6,304 Clergy and 1,939,453 Baptized Members
1931 Black Churchmen in Virginia Granted Voting Rights
1935 Diocese of Southern Virginia Gives Vote to Black Clergy
1938 Henry St. George Tucker (Virginia), Presiding Bishop
1940 6,335 Clergy and 2,171,562 Baptized Members
1943 Bi-racial Joint Committee on Minorities Formed in National Council
1946 Federal Council of Churches Condemns Discrimination
1946 Black Churchmen in Southern Virginia Granted Voting Rights
1947 Black Churchmen in South Carolina, Georgia, and Arkansas Granted Voting Rights
1947 Henry Knox Sherrill (Massachusetts), Presiding Bishop
1949 Bishop Payne Divinity School Closes
1949 Pro-Civil Rights Clergy Begin Ministry in Inner City
1950 6,654 Clergy and 2,540,548 Baptized Members
1951 John Walker is Admitted as the First African American Student to Attend Virginia Theological Seminary
1952 General Convention Adopts Resolution on Racial Discrimination
1952 Dr. Caution Presents Report on Post-war Negro Work
1952 Seminary Upholds Exclusion on Grounds of Race
1953 Seminary Reverses Decision under Protest
1953 Diocese of South Carolina Allows Blacks to Participate
1955 General Convention Changes Meeting Site from Houston to Honolulu
1956 National Council Aims for Total Desegregation
1956 National Council Creates the "Southern Project"
1957 The Era of the Racial Episcopate Ends
1958 General Convention Supports Equal Opportunity and House of Bishops Releases Pastoral Letter
1958 Arthur Lichtenberger (Missiouri), Presiding Bishop
1959 Episcopal Society for Cultural and Racial Unity (ESCRU) Forms
1960 ESCRU Supports Church Demonstrations
1960 9,079 Clergy and 3,444,265 Baptized Members
1961 ESCRU Addresses Intermarriage and Alienates Much of Southern Church
1961 15 Clergy Arrested on Prayer Pilgrimage
1961 Church Declares Prejudice to Be Inconsistent with the Gospel
1961 Episcopal Hospital Targeted for Protests
1962 Episcopal Day School Denies Entrance to Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Son
1962 African-American Elected Suffragan Bishop
1963 Presiding Bishop Commits Church to Action
1963 Religious Groups Join March on Washington
1963 National Council Staff Members Arrested at Protest
1964 National Council of Churches Establishes Delta Ministry
1964 General Convention Adopts Policy Prohibiting Racial Discrimination in Churches
1965Seminary Students Work in Selma
1966 “Negro Churchmen" Support Black Power
1966ESCRU Brings Attention to Global Racism
1966 ESCRU Charges the Church with Heresy for Continued Racism  
1969 Special Convention Addresses Racism
1968 Union of Black Clergy and Laity (UBCL) Forms
1969 Special Convention Addresses Racism
1970 ESCRU Disbands
1970 First African American Bishop of the Episcopal Church Consecrated


The contributions of African Americans in the Episcopal Church continue to this day. For more information click on the link below.


Source: Episcopal Church

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