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 Negro Problems, held at Atlanta University, May 26th, 1903

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, 11903

EDITED BY

W. E. BURQHARDT DU BOIS

CORRESPONDING SECRETARY OF THE CONFERENCE

The Atlanta University Press

Atlanta, Ga.

1903

.'/^/

npHE 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, afterv/ard 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

Mr.

Join

Preface

Bibliography

1. Primitive Negro Religion

2. Effect of Transplanting

3. The Obeah Sorcery .

4. Slavery and Christianity .

5. Early Restrictions

6. The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel

7. The Moravians, jSIethodists, Baptists, and Presbyteri

H. The Sects and Slavery

9. Toussant L'Ouverture and Nat Turner .

10. Third Period of Missionary Enterprise .

11. The Earlier Church<'s and Preachers. (By

Cromwell)

12. Some Other Ante-Belliim Preachers

13. The Negro Church in ]89() ....

14. Local Studies, 1902-3

15. A Black Belt County, Georgia. (By the Rev. W. H. Holloway

16. A Town in Florida. (By Annie Marion ^NlacLe

17. A Southern ('ity

IS. Virginia

19. The Middle West, Illinois. (By Monroe N. W(

the Editor) ' .

The Middle West, Ohio. (By R. R. Wright, Jr.)

An Eastern City

Present Condition of Churches — The Baptists

The African Methodists .

The Zion Methodists .

Tlie Colored Methodists .
27. The Methodists ....
2H. I'he Episcopalians
29. The Presbvterians

PAGE

V

W.

ni, Ph.D.)

k. A. M.

, and

iv KIGUTll ATLANTA CONFERENCE

PAGE

BO. The Congregational ists , . 147

ni. Suininary of Negro Churches, 1900-1903 IBS

32. Negro Laymen and the Church 154

i«. Southern Whites and the Negro Church 164

M. Tlu! Moral Status of Negroes 176

o'>. ('hildren and the Church 185

86. Tlie Training of Ministers 190

31. Soni(> Notable Preacliers 202

3S. The Eighth Atlanta Conference 202

3i». Remarks of Dr. Washington Gladden 204

40. Resolutions 207

Index 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 j)hysical
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. 6 and No. 6). This year we take ui^ 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 ISW.

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,:M) school children.
Local studies in —

Richmond, Virginia.
Chicago, Illinois.
Thomas County, Georgia.
General and periodical literature

Atlanta, Georgia.
Greene County, Ohio.
Deland, Florida.

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 CONFEKENCE

and Mr. W. H. Holloway, all of whom have given valuable time and
services to this work. The Rev. 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 tlie results of his historical researches,
and ])r. A. jM. MacIiPan 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 tliose who think it worth while to study this,
the greatest group of social problems that has ever faced the Nation,
for substantial aid j^nd 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 reUgious 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,

lass.

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 the
Supreme Judiciary of the Presbyterian Church, from its origin in America to
the present time, with notes and documents explanatory and historical, con-
stituting a complete illustration of her polity, faith and history. Philadelphia :
Presbyterian Board of Publications.

J. C. Ballagh. A history of slavery in Virginia. Johns Hopkins University
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, ^d edition. London : W. B. Whittinerham ife
Co. 432 pp. 8o.

(ieorge Bourne. Man-stealing and Slavery denounced by the Presbyterian and
Methodist Churches. Boston : Garrison and Knapp.

Jeflfrey R. Brackett. Notes on the progress of the colored people of Maryland
since the war. A supulement to the Negro in Maryland, a study of the insti-
tution of slavery. Baltimore : J. Hopkins Univ., 1890. 9(3 pp. 8o.

The Negro in Maryland. A study of the institution of slavery. Baltimore :
N. Murray. (6) 2(58 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. (3-10.

Rev. Dr. R. F. Campbell. The race problem in the South. Pamphlet, 1899.

W. E. Burghardt DuBois. IfKX). The religion of the American Negro. New
World, vol. 9 (Dec. 1900) 614-(325.

The Philadelphia Negro. A Social Study. Philadelphia, 1899: Ginn & Co.
The Negroes of Farmville, Va. 38 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 2.5-26, 1898. Atlanta,
Cxa. (Atlanta University, 1898. 66 pp.)
The Souls of Black Folk. Chicago, 1903.
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, 14.52.
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,

mvs.

Walter Laidlovv, editor. The Federation of Churches and Christian Workers in
New York City. New York, 189(i-18»7.

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 of 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, 189L

L Garland Penn and .). 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. r2o.

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 NEGRO CHURCH

1, Primitive Negro Religion. The prominent characteristic of primi-
tive Negro religion is Natuie worship with the accompanying strong-
belief in sorcery. There is a tiieistic tendency: "Almost all tribes
believe in some supreme god without always worshiping liim, generally
a heaven and rain god ; sometimes, as among the Cameroons and in
Dahomey, a sun-god. But the most widely-spread worsliip among
NegToes and Negroids, from west to northeast and south to Loango,
is tliat of the moon, combined with a great veneration of the cow."*
The slave trade so mingled and demoralized tlie 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 tiie 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, si)eak-
ing of the Kaffirs of South Africa, a branch of tlie 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 Ba.ntus 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 ti-aders.

There can be no reasonable doubt, however, but that the scattered
remains of religious systems in Africa to-day among tiie Negro tribes

-Professor ('. P. Thiele, in Encyclopedia Britaunica, '.ith ed., XX, p. ;!62.

2 EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE

are sni'vivals of the religious ideas upon wliich the Egyptian religion
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 eiglith 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,"! 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 liabits of
social, i^olitical, and religious life. These ideas were not tlie 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 tlie clan or family of families ruled by tlie pat-
riarch or his strongest successor; these clans were united into tribes
ruled by hereditary or elected chiefs, aiid some tribes were more or less
loosely federated into kingdoms. The families were polygamous, com-
munistic groups, with one father and as many motliers as his wealth
and station permitted ; the fainily lived together in a cluster of homes,
or sometimes a whole clan or village in a long, low apartment house.
In sucli 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
tlie 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:

* Eucyclopedia Britannica, 9th ed., XX, p. 362.

tBlydeu, Mdh. Qiiar. Review, Jan. 1M71. See also his Christianity, Islam and the Xegro Race.

THE NEGRO CHURCH 6

"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 etfective as most primitive organizations.

The power of religion was represented by the priest or medicineman.
Aided by an unfaltering faitii, nntural sharpness and some rude k)unvl-
edge of medicine, and supported by the vague sanctions of a half-seen
world peopled l)y spirits, good and evil, the African priest wielded a
pow'er 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 tliis? 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 concjuest 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
peaceftil 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. Tlie two greatest changes, however,
were, first, the enforcement of severe and unremitted toil, and, second,

<■ Impressions of S. Africa, 3rd ed., p. 352.

4 EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE

the establishment of a new polygamy — a new family life. These social
innovations were introdnced with much difficulty and met deteimined
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 whieli had never felt t!ie necessity of work; liis fij'st
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 i^rototype. The African sys-
tem was a complete protection for girls, and a strong protection for
wives against everything but the tyranny of the liusl)and; 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 liis 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, tlie character of the master of the plantation.
Wliere 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 tliis was inevitable, because on the plantation the private home,
as 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 furtlier weaken natural ties. A
small number of favored house servants and artisans were raised above
this — liad tlieir private liomes, 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
guardetl. less effective, and less civilized.

THE NEGRO CHURCH O

At first sight it would seem that slavery completely destroyed every
vestige of spontaneous social movement among the 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 ns the one who expressed, rudely, but
picturesquely, the longing and disappointment and resentment of a
stolen people. From such beginnings arose and spread witli 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 C'hristianity, and gradu-
ally, after two centuries, the Church became Cliristian, with a. simple
Calvinistic creed, but v.-ith many of the old customs still clinging to
the services. It is this liistoric 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, tlierefore,
naturally assumed many functions which the other harshly suppressed
social organs had to surrender; the Church became tlie 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 sui^reme 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 v\'itehcraf t 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, orOl.iron. meaning .serpent. Mcses forbids Israelites
ever to consult the demon Ob, i. e., "< "harmer, Wizard." The Witch of Endor is called Oub or
Ob. Oubaous is the name of the Rasclisk or Royal Serpent, emblem of the Sun, and, according
to Horns Appollo, "ancient oracular Deity of Africa."— Edwards, West Indies, II, pp. 106-119.

T) EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE

called it "WaldensiaiT' ( Vaudois ), because of the witchcraft charged
against the wretclied followers of Peter Waldo, whence comes the dia-
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 tlecide 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 foi- 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 Init 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. Tliis did not mean any widespread
abhorrence of forced labor from serfs or apprentices and it was par-

* Edwards: West Indies, II, 108-109.

THE NEGRO CHURCH 7

ticularly linked with the idea that tlie enslavement of the heathen
was meritorious, since it punislied their blaspliemy 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
opi^osition here and there. That opposition was in nearly all cases
stilled when it was continually stated that tlie slave-trade was simply
a method of converting the heathen to Christianity. The corrollary
that the conscience of Elurope 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 tliey continually doubted the legality of tlieir action in English
courts. In 1635 we find the authorities of Providence islands condemn-
ing Mr. Resli worth's belia-vior concerning tlie Negroes wlio ran away,
as indiscreet, "arising, as it seems, from a groundless opinion tliat
Christians may not lawfully keep such persons in a state of servitude
during tlieir strangeness from Christianity," and injurious to tiiem-
selves.*

The colonies early began cautiously to declare that certain distinc-
tions lay between "Christian" inliabitants 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, woitld they become free voters of the commonwealth? It
seemed hardly possible. i 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 bj^ 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-
l^arently 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, H 262.
t Williams' History of the Negro Race, I, 239.
tibid I, 190.

8 EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFEKENCE

in lf)(?l tliat 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 1668, 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 u}) 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.!

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 tliemselves 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." t

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 Imiiortation of
Negroes and Slaves." This law declared that conversion or the holy

* Williams 1, 139.

t Biillagh, pp. 47-S-.>.

IBassett: Slavery iu Colony of N. C, p. 11.

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 Cliristians or had been or
should be baptized eitlier 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 peoi^le of this province have been discouraged from importing or
l^urchasing therein any NegToes 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 tlae remission of tlieir 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 tliese 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. "+

In Massachusetts John Eliot and Cotton Mather both are much con-
cerned that "so little care was taken of their (the Negroes') i^recious
and immortal souls," which were left to "a destroying ignorance
merely for fear of thei"eby 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
mucli imiDortuning 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 tlie Propagation of the Gospel combated

*Brackett, p. 29.

t Saiusbury's Calendars, 1G09-74, H 13S.

10 EIGHTU ATLANTA CONFERENCE

this notion vigorously. Later, in 1782, ]Jishop Berkeley reports that few
Negroes have been received into tlie cliurch.*

This state of affairs led to further laws, and tlie instructions to some
of the royjsl Governors contain a clause ordering them to ''find out the
best means to facilitate and encourage the conversion of Negroes and
Indians to the Cliristian religion. "t 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 MuUatto 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 waj' 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
churcli of God can be found upon the registers." 1|

It was easy to make such cases an argtiment for more slaves. James
Habersham, th*' Georgia companion of the Methodist "Wliitefleld, said
about 17:50:

•' I once thought it was unlawful to keep Negro slaves, but I am now induced to
think (iod 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 .Terusalem 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."

'■' Braekett, p. 31. Bassett : Slavery in Colmiy of X. (,'., p. 4f).

t Instructions of Lord Coriibury of Va., 7<)2. Williams I, 140.

t Williams I. ]). 141.

i Bnickett, p. Sit. II Archdfueou J. 11. M. Pollard.

THE NEGRO CHURCH 11

In Other cases there were curious attempts to blend religion andexped-
iency, as for instance, in 1710, when a Massacliusetts clergyman evolved
a marriage ceremony for Negroes in which tlie 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 ciiurch and still allowing them to be held as
slaves. On the other iiand 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 ]>lack congregations here
and there soon aroused the suspicion and fear of tiie masters, and as
early as 1715 North Carolina i)assed an act wliicli declared :

"That if any masteror 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 whatsoevei-, and
shall not suppress and hinder them, he, she, or they so offending, shall, for every
default, forfeit and pay fifty pounds, onedialf toward defraying the contingent
charges of the government, the other to him or them that shall sue for the same."*

This made Negro meiidjers of white churches a necessity in this
colony, and there was the same tendency in otlier 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 "whicli 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 stiipes, 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 worsliii) 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. Proba);)ly they
did, although at the same time tliere was prol^ably much disorder and

'■' Lapsed iu 1741. See Laws of 1715, Ch. 16, Sec. IS; Bassett: Colony, p. 50.
t Prince's Digest, 117.

12 EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE

turmoil among slaves, which sought to cloak itself under the name of
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,
witli but vsmall results.!

6. The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. t "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 tlie 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 esta])lished
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 tliey perceived tliat 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. 108-110. f Bassett : Coloiiy, p. 49; Williams I, p. ^S>>..

tThis 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 distinguislied 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 sucli 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 tliem 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." P[e 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 wiiom had been instructed in the principles of Christianity
by tlie late Mr. Neau, and had received baptism and were communicants
in their cliurch. Tlie society complied with this request and sent over
Rev. Mr. Colgan in 1726, who conducted the school with success."*

•Cf. Atlanta University Publications, No. (i.

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 Cliristian families as they lay under formerly in their own
heathen countries. The society immediately from its first institu-
tion strove to promote their conversion, aiul inasmuch as its income
would not enal)le 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 higliest approbation. Its officers wrote,
therefore, to all tlieir missionai'ies that they sliould use their best
endeavors at proper times to instruct the Negroes, and should especially
take occasion to recommend zealously to the masters to ordei- their
slaves, at convenient times, to come to them that tliey miglit be in-
structed.

The history of the society goes on to say : "It is a matter of commen-
dation to thp clergy that they have done thus much in so great and
difficult a work. Jiut, 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 notliing 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 tiie greatest
obstruction is the masters themselves do not consider enough the obli-
gation whicli lies upon them to have their slaves instructed." And in
another place, "•the society iiave always l)een sensilile the most effectual
way to convert the Negroes was by engaging their masters to counten-
ance and promote their conversion." Tlie bishop of St. Asaph, Dr.
Fleetwood, preaclied a sermon 1)efore the society in the year 1711, set-
ting forth the duty of instructing tlie Negroes in the Christian religion.
The society thought this so useful a discourse that they printed and
dispersed aln'oad in the plantations great num])ers 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 wliom
the care of plantations aln'oad, as to i'(>ligious affairs, was committed,)
became a second advocate for the conversion of Negroes, and wrote two
letters on tlie subject. Tlie first in 1727, "addressed to masters and
mistresses of families in the Englisli plantations abroad, exhorting
them to encoiu'age and promote the instruction of tlieir Negroes in the
Christian faith. The second in tlie same year, addressed to the mis-
sionaries there, directing them to distribute tlie said letter, and exlmrt-
ing them to give their assistance towards the instrtiction 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 i?articular an appli-
cation to the masters and mistresses from the See of London would have

THE NEGRO CIirRCH 15

the strong-est influence, tliey printed tei\ thousand copies of the letter
to the masters and niistresses, wliich were sent to all the colonies on
the continent and to all the British islands in the West Indies, to l)e
distrilinted among- the masters of families, and all other inhahitants.
The society received accounts that these letters influenced many mas-
ters of families to liave tlieir servants instructed. The bisliop of Lon-
don soon after wrote "an address to serious Cliristians among ourselves,
to assist tlie Society for Propagating the Gospel in cari'ying on tiiis
work/'

In the year 1783, aiKl the following, soon after the separation of our
colonies from the motlier country, the society's operations ceased, lea^v-
ing in all the colonies forty-three missionaries, two of wliom were in
the Soutliern 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,
wliicli, from tlie foregoing notices of its eft'orts, must have accomplished
a great deal for the religious instruction of the Negro i^opulation."

7. The Moravians, Methodists, Baptists, and Presbyterians.* The

Moravians or United Bi-ethren were the first who formally attempted
tlie establishment of missions exclusively to the Negroes.

A succinct account of their several efforts, down to the year 17'.K), is
given in the report of tlie Society for tlie Propagation of the Gospel
among tiie Heathen, at Salem. N. C, Octol)er 5th, LS37, l)y Rev. J. Hen-
atus Schmidt, and is as follovrs:

"A hundred years have now elapsed since the I'enewed Clmrcli of the i^rethren
first attempted to communicate the gospel to the many thousand Xegroes 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 Churcli of
England might hesitate to recognize the ordination of the Brethren's missionaries,
they referred the question to the Archbishop of Canterbtiry, Dr. Potter, who gave
it as his opinion 'that the Brethren being members of an Episcopal Church, whose
doctrines contained nothing reptignant 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 (iod, gone on
increasing even to the present day.

"Various proprietors, however, avowing their determination not to suffer stran-
gers to instruct their Xegroes, as they had their own ministers, whom they paid

* This section is largely based on Jones. See i^i.

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 Geoi'gia. "In 1774 the
Brethren, Lewis Mailer, 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-
j)rietor, 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, unliappy Africans are objects of my compassion, and I
think the most proper objects of the society's charity. The inliabi-
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 300, who give a stated attendance; and never have I been
so struck with tlie appearance of an assembly as when I have glanced
my eye to that part of the meeting-house where they u.sually 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 X'eligion, 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 disserable with a good grace, they express
the 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, esjjecially 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 autlior, 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 mucli pleasure in as those
used in that heavenly part of divine worship."

Tiie 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
I)unished 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 Churcli, 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 tiie eightli 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 wliite persons, and not suffer them to stay late and meet by them-
selves? Answer. Yes." Under tlie preaching of Mr. Garretson in Mary-
land "liundreds, both white and black, expressed their love for Jesus."

Tlie 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 tlie above," says Dr. Bangs in his history of tlie Methodist Epis-
copal Church, "that a considerable number of colored persons had
been I'eceived into the cluirch, and were so returned in tlie minutes of
the conference. Hence it appears that at an early period of the Metho-
dist ministry in tliis 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 lieart
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 preaeliers, to teach gratis all tliat will attend and have a
capacity to learn, from 6 o'clock in the morning till 10 f>nd from 2 p. m.
till 6, where it does not interfere with public worship. Tlie 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 Pi'ovidence,
R. I., by Roger Williams in 1639. 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,
whicii 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 exiiort 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 x^ersecution was carried
to an inhuman extent. Their evening assemblies were broken up and
those found present were punished with stripes! Andrew Bryan and
Sampson, iiis brother, converted about a year after him, were twice
imprisoned, and they with about fifty others were Avhipped. When
publicly whipped, and bleeding under liis wounds, Andrew declared
that he rejoiced not only to be whipped, but would freely suffer death
for tiie cause of Jesus Christ, and tiiat while he had life and oppor-
tunity he would continue to i^reach Christ. He was faithful to his
vow and, by patient continuance in well-doing, lie put to silence and
shamed his adversaries, and influential advocates and patrons were
raised up for him. Liberty was given Andrew bj^ the civil authority
to continue his religious meetings under certain regulations. His
master gave him the use of liis barn at Brampton, three miles from
Savannah, where he preached for two years witli little interruption.

The African church in Augusta, Ga., was gathered by the labors of
Jesse Peter, and was constituted in 1793 by Rev. Abraham Marsliall
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 iu 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 tlie Methodist denomination from
1791 to 1795, inclusive, were 12,884, 13,871, 16,227, 13,8U, 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 2:J8

New Jersey 127

Pennsylvania 198

Delaware 828

Maryland 5,106

Virginia 2,490

North Carolina 2,071

South Carolina 890

Georgia 148

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 i;5,452 Negroes.
The bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Cliurch 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 ofRce of local deacons. Richard Allen, of Philadelpliia,
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
aAvakened 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 states. Religious

TflE 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 tliat time until the Revolution the body slowly but steadily
advanced, step by step, to higher ground until they refused all fellow-
siiip to slaveholders. Radical Quakers, like Hepburn and Lay, attacked
religious sects and Lay called preachers ''■a sort of devils that preacli
more to liell 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 cliurch could take no united action. Altliough
Whitefield came to defend the institution, John Wesley, founder of
the Methodists, called the slave-trade the ''•sum of all villanies," and
the General 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 wortliy ones into full membersliip
and "to exercise the whole Methodist discipline among tiiem."
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 wlio married a slaveholder
rent the church in twain on the question.

The Baptists had Negro preachers for Negro members as early as
1773. They were under the supervision of whites and had no voice in
general church affairs. The early Baptists held few slaves, a.nd 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 tlie 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 CONFERENCE

trade iti 1818 and ISou. After tlie division on the su))ject of missions
the Missionary Baptists began active i^roselyting among the slaves.

Tlie Presbyterian Synod of 17S7 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 1835 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 divitied.

9. Toussaint L'Ouverture and Nat Turner.

"The role which the great Negro Toussahit, 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 anli-slavery movement, became one of the causes, and probably the
pi-ime 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."*

Tlie effect of the revolution on tlie 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 otficers, etc., etc., are hereby vested w'ith power, etc., for dispersing such
assemblies." t

On petition of tlie wliite churclies 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 <-)f meeting wherein shall
be assembled tlie members of any religious society in tliis State, pro-
vided a majority of them shall be wMiite persons, or otherwise to dis-
tnrlj their devotions unless such persons, etc., so entering said place [of
worship] shall first liave 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; otlierwise the provisions,
etc., [of the Act of 1800] to remain in full force. "t

So, too, in Virginia the Haytiaii revolt and the attempted insurrec-
tion under (Jabriel 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 wiiite minister in
tlie evening. A master was "allowed" to employ a religious teacher
for liis slaves. § Mississippi passed similar restrictions.

*DuBois' Suppression of the Slave-Trade, p. 70. t Stroud, 0:!-4 ; Goodell, 32i).
tC.oodcll, ;>2'.». § Stroud, i»4 ; 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 religions classes or congregations, with Negro leaders or local
preachers, into which were formed the Negro members of the various churches of
Charleston, furnished Vesey 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 pttrposes 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 Vesey 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 pcssessed 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 Vesey, 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 i^ecnliar 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 Vesey'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 intended 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 tlie 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 Vesey 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 consciovis that he was a Man and not
a 'tiling;' therefore, driven by religious fanaticism, he undertook a difficult and
bloodj' task. Nathaniel Turner was born in Southampton county, Virginia, Octo-
ber 2, 1800. His master was one Benjamin Turner, a very wealihy and aristocratic
man. He owned many slaves, and was acruel 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." t

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." J

Mr. Gray, the man to whom Turner made his confession before dying,
said :

'•'Grimkc: Right on the Scaffold (Pub. American Negro Academy), pp. 11-12.
t Williams II, pp. 85-86. I Quoted iu Ibid, p. 90.

THE NEGRO CHCRCH 25

" It has been said that he was ig^norant and cowardly and that his object was to
murder and rob for the purpose of obtaining money to make liis escape. It is no-
torious that he was never known to liave 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 uncoiumon 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 wdiich 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
IHHl, that neither slaves or free Negroes migiit 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 i:)enalty 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 preaclier. If a Negro received
written permission from his master he might preach to the Negroes in
his immediate neighljorhood, providing six respectable white men,
owners of slaves, were present.! In Alal^ama the law of 1882 prohibited
the asseml)ling 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 respectal)le slaveholders or unless the person

* Williams 11, ])p. 91-92.
t Williams II, 10:3.

26 EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE

preach in J? was licensed l)y some regular body of professing Christians
in the neighborhood, to whose society or church the Negroes addressed
properly belonged."

In the District of Cohnnl)ia the free Negroes began to leave white
churches in hS81 and to assemble in their own.

10. Third Period of Missionary Enterprise. The efforts to convert Ne-
groes in America fall in tliree main i^eriods. 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 I'e-
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 imijroved 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 imjjressions.

"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 1888, 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 tlieir 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 liave 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 1884, said :

* Gooilfll, pp. ;S33-5.

THE NEGRO CHURCH Z(

'■ Slavery deprives its subjects, in a great measure, of the privileges of the gospel.
Tlie law, as it is here, does not prevent free access to the scriptui-es; 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 suhject, 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 asainst the Pa]>ists 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 lahor among the colored people, but the enterprise was soon
stippressed by the prinei|)al citizens. The Greenville (S. C.) Mountaineer
of November 2, 1838, contained tlie particulars: A committee was ap-
pointed, who addressed a note to the missionary, requesting him to
desist. This was backetl up by James S. Pope and 352 others. The
document argues at length tlie incompatibility of slavery with the
"mental improvement and religious instruction " of slaves. "Verbal
instruction," say they, "will increase the desire of tlie 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 cliecked (though they
maybe shrouded in sophistry and disguise), will ultimately revolution-
ize our civil institutions. We consider the common adage tliat 'knowl-
edge is power,' and as the colored man is enlightened, his condition will
be rendered more itnliappy 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.t

• Joues, 167-S ; Goodell, p. 335-6. t Goodell, p. 336-7.

28 EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFKRENCE

Bishop Capers testifies about this time that tliere was the most urgent
need for preaching among Negroes. Of the Negroes around Wihning-
ton, N. C, he says: "A numerous popuhition 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 liave been considered that such a state of things
might furnish motives sufficient to induce 2:)ure-minded men to engage,
at great inconvenience or even personal liazard, in the work of improv-
ing tliem." 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 ar;^ instructed." Another travel-
ing minister declared, in 1841, that in many places, like Baltimore, Al-
exandria, and Charleston, the Negroes had large, spacious churclies,
and he thinks there were 500,000 Negro cliurch members at the time,
which is probably an exaggeration.

Charles C. Jones writes, in 1842, tliat:

"The Negro race has existed hi our country for two hundred and twenty-two
years, in which time tlie gospel has been brought within the reach of, and been
communicated to, muUitudes.

"While there have been but few societies, and they Hmited in extent and iiiHu-
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. ('., under the auspices of the Kev. Dr. .1. 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 tw^o hundred and fifty persons. The
Rev. Dr. .1. L. (lirardeau, one of the greatest preachers in the South, was for years

THE NEGRO ClIURCK 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 18-17, 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 -IGSiOOO Xegro church members reported in
the South, of whom 215,0(.)() were Methodists and 175,000 Baptists.?

Even at this time many restrictions on Negro religion remained. In
Maryland camp-meetings were forbidden, and all meetings save at
regular chiirches and with the consent of white preachers. There were
also many local laws restricting worship. In other states the laws of
the th-irties remained in force or were strengthened. Moreover, even
the church organizations working among Negroes were careful in their
metliods. The North Carolina Baptist Convention adopted a report
concerning the religiotis instruction of tlie colored people, with a series
of resolutions, concluding as follows:

''Resolved, That by religious instructions be understood ver])al com-
munications on religious subjects?"':;

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 tlie Bil)le, 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. w4iich 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 w-e 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 jjermitting 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.; aud Jones,
t (f. lugle Side Lights, pp. iT-i-'A.
X GoodeU, 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 orierinally 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. t

11. The Earlier Churches and Preachers, (by Mr. John W. Cromwell).
Tlie original colored churciies 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. Tliey 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
tlie 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, tlie preference of colored communi-
cants themselves, in order to get as much as possible the equal privileges
and advantages of government denied tliem 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 churcli organization of which I know was a Bap-
tist Church at Williamsburg, Va., in the year 1776. Following it were
three Baptist Churches in tlie year 1778, one in Augusta and two in
Savannah, Ga. ; the Episcopal Church, St. Thomas, in Philadeljihia,
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, 1880.

♦ Bassett : State, pp. 51-52.
fGarner: Kecoustruction, p. 115.

THE NEGRO CHURCH 31

So far as the establishment is concerned of tliose 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
Pliiladelphia, the other in New York, moved in parallel, often in
rival lines. New York and Philadelphia were soon in free states and
their metliods 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 tliird inciting cause mentioned.

The Presbyterian Church, as found among the colored people, came
about tlirough 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 i)osition as pio-
neers in organizing these first churches in the different colored denom-
inations a word is needed.

First in order came Eicliard 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 Pliila-
delphia. At an early age he gave evidence of a higli 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, 1H16, 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 1881,
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
l^eople, 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 tlie 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 CONFEIIENCE

Absalom Jones, who certainly comes next in point of time, was born a
slave in Snssex, 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 ol^taining his own liberty. Like his co-laborer,
Richard Allen, with wiiom 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 mucli so that a dispensa-
tion was necessary to admit of his ordination, to which a condition
was annexed that this church (St. Thomas) sliould not have the
power of sharing in the government of the Episcopal Church in the
diocese of Pennsylvania. Rev. Wni. Douglass, subsequentl^y a rector
of tliis 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 i:)rofession, black dress coat, breeches and vest of the
same color, with top-boots or slioes 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 Presley terian 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. (lideon 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 Cliristian that he won many friends
of ])Oth races. He was not only jireacher, but pastor and adviser of his
people in their temporal matters. He traveled extensively North and
South and in nearlv everv citv, raising tlie monev 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 sei'vice 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 Bisliop Asbury, and wlio often filled appointments
for him; Rev. Daniel C'oker 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 i^eoi^le 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 membershiiJ 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 inembership was principally in the Bap-
tist and Methodist churches, and to these denominations did these
sei:)arate 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 ofHcer.
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 l)uilt 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
Cliarles City county, about 1780. His fatlier 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 C'hurch, learned to read, made
rapid advancement as a scholar, and was shortly afterwards licensed to
preach.

After purcliasing liis 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 liis 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 l)y an eye-witness, a resident of another
state, to the burning, eloquent appeals of George Whitefleld. Fancy
him as he stands there in that historic building ringing the changes
on the word "freely," dei)icting 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, witla 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=Bellum 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 C'havis, Henry Evans, James Varick, Jack of Virginia, Ralpii
Freeman, and Lnnsford Lane, forming thirteen remarkable characters.
"Lemuel Haynes was born in Hartford, Conn., July 18, 1753. His
father was an African, liis mother a white woman. He received the
honorary degree of A. M. from Middlebury College in 1804. After
completing a tiieological course lie i^reached 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 cliaracterized 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 Tlie 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
17(53. He was born free and was sent to Princeton, and studied pri-
vately under Dr. Witlierspoon, where he did well. He went to Vir-
ginia to preach to Negroes. In 180-!, in tlie county court, liis freedom
and character were certified to and it w^as declared that he had passed
''thi-ough a regular course of academic studies" at what is now Wash-
ington and Lee University. In 1805 lie returned to North Carolina,
where he in 1809 was made a licentate in tlie Presiiyterian 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 niany
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, t

•-Report U. S. Bureiiu of Edacutioii, 190(J-1, p. 8.57.

tBassett, State, North Carolina, pp. 73-6. Cf. also Ballagh : Slavery in Virginia.

36 EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE

Henry Evans was a full-blooded Viro-inia free Negro, and was the
pioneer of Methodism in Fayetteville, N. C. He found the Negroes
tliere, about 18(X), without religious instruction. He began preaching
and the town council ordered him away; he continued and wliites
came to hear him. Finally the white auditoi's 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
membersliip, but Evans continued to preach. He exliibited "rare self-
control before the most wretciied of castes! Henry Evans did much
good, but he would have done more good had his spirit l)een untram-
melled by tills sense of inferiority."*

His dying words uttered us he stood, aged and bent beside his pul-
pit, are of singular iiathos :

"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 preacli 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-
isli 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 sjilit on
the question of missions he sided with the anti-mission side. Finally
the law forbade him to preach. t

Litnsford Lane was a Negro who bought his freedom in Raleigh, N.
(;., by the manufacture of smoking tobacco. He later became a min-
ister and was intelligent, and had the confidence of many of the best
people. §

James Varick was a free Negro of New York, and is memorable as
the first bish-oii of the Zion Methodists.

The story of Jack of Virginia is I)est told in the wonis of a Southern
writer:

"Probably the most interesting case in the whole South is that of an African
preaclier of Nottoway county, popularly known as 'Uncle .lack,' whose services
to wliite 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. cit.

J Ibid., p. 64. i 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 IS'25, 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, 23,462 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 Africau Preacher.

38

EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
SUMMARY OF COLORED ORGANIZATIONS

m

a.

1.

O

^

=i . l;

M>.

^ *<"-

~ '"

DENOMINATIONS.

c
s.

K
u

PI i

5 J

^

5

"1

w

>

C c

Total

•.>3,4(3->

28,770

(1,800,035

1,3.58

114,fi44

$26,()2f>,448

2,673,977

Denoniina tioiis

18,8;®

I9,6;U

5,7yi,3S4

<.»40

78,719

20,3s<i,714

2,303,151

Organizations in other denomina-

tions

4,(i27

4,139

1,008,(5.51

418

35,925

6,236,734

370,826

DENOMINATIONS.

ax '

1 a
o

2^

Regular Baptists

Union American Methodist Epis-
copal

African Methodist Episcopal

African Union Methodist Protest-
ant

African Methodist Episcop.al Zion

(Congregational Methodist . .
Colorecl Methodist K])iscop<al

Zion Union AjiDStolic

Evangelist Missionary

rLiinl)erlanil Presbvterian

Regular Baptists (North)

Regular Bai)tists (South)

Freewill Bajitists.

Primitive Hajjl ists

(^)ldTwo-S(M-(l in the Spirit Predes-
tinarian Baptists

Roman Catholic

Ohristiaiis (Christian Connection)

Congri'gationalists

Dis<-iples of Christ

Lutheran Syiiodical Conference

Lutheran United Svnod in the

South

Methodist Episcopal

Methodist Protestant

Independent Methodists

Presbyterian (Northern)

Presbyterian (Southern)

Reformed Presbyterian (Synod)

Protestant Episcopal

Reformetl Episcopal.

12,.5:«

42
2,481

40
1,704

1,7.59

32

11

224

406

.5
323

15

31
(-.3

85

11,987

;i5
4,124

1,.5!S7

1,6.53
27
"3

18:5

3
291

2,9.S4
54

2*1

3

2,.S(H)

50

•>

20(1

3,440,970

11, .500
l,l(i0,8;iS

7,161
,565,.577

.5S5

.541,464

10,100

1,050

.52,139

92,660
1,9(M)

S(K)
96,699

1,025

8,370
16,495

i<.»,3t;o

41, .590
1,050

.5.50

6:15,252

11, .545

725
56,280

(5,H10

3(H)

11,SS5

5,975

45,570

2.51
2,2(Ml

1,SK1
15,520

4.50
6,.52()

1(H(
2,t;5()
3,-570

7,245

2(H»
1,7(K)

60

8(K)

1,925

5,S,50

2.50

12,925
200

3,100

$ 9,0;^,.549

187, (i(H)
6,40S,28O

.54,440
2,714,128

525

1,7I3,3C.6

15,(KKI

2,01 Kl

195,S26

1,0S7,518

3,875

13,300

l;!5,427

930

237,4(H)

23,5(H)

2t(i,ll'5

170,795

13,4(H>

1.7.50

3,(530,093

.35,445

4,675

391,650

22,2(K)
1,.5(H)

1,348,989

2,279
452,725

3,415
349,788

319

129,3S:}

2,34<>

951

12,9.56

35,221
651
271

18,162

265

14, .517
4,9S9
fi.'.KIS

1,S,57S
211

94

24(5,249

3,18;?

222

14,961

1,.5(58

76

2,977

l,72;i

THE XEdRO CHURCH
Organizations by States

39

STATES.

<

5^

The United States

Alabama

Arizona

Arkansas

California

Colorado

Connecticut

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

28. If,

2,3f»5

1,3'
29
10

2,S7«

81()
1,810

4(«
84

49

10

2,80!»

54it

8

4

18(i

3

110

2,li>l

250
4
3

228
16

1,731
1,32S
2,323
1
l,8(i0

28,770 l'),.S(:K),0;i5

3,425

2

1,4:^2

28

20

91

05

729

3,184

734
1,348

473
30

4'

9

2,:i54

515

■)

4

140

3

94

2,205

1,959
1,350
2,120

1,34(5

l,a58 114,(M4

717,989

450

378,05(1

5,S79
2,9(»

(i,(KH)

21,810

88,825

172,411

95.8,878

.5;i,744
39,725
4,530
10,795
82,(199

212,795
328,811

122,379
12,0.50

12,.520

3,7(H)

614,081

133,80i>

3.50

l,;i50

40,07(5

.5.50

39,340

(5(58,.58S

(>6,515

3(K1

77,8(55
4,800

.599,.544
399,.568
551,965

449,972

400

24,045

550

825

113

.55
71
244
1
52

8,925

6,8;i5
2,(XK)

;{.50

570

i,4(h:)

3,S(.Hi

7,o;!5

2,075

825

2.50
1,(575

(i,S8()

2,52;

150
1,840

9.50

1,7.50

7,120

4,7(H)

1(K)

2,118
4,845

1,750
270

3,025

1,218

,5,(1(10

4,740

19,810

.50

4,139

3,415

2(K)
200

$ 26,626,448

1,880,6.56

8,0(K)

9(12,149

(15.800

78,8(M)

116,9.50

187,
1,1SL'.(150

.506.970
2,171,267

.5(16,8;i5
347,950
5,598
]21,9iH)
270,145

1,143,-8.80
1,228,61

1,118,(M0

285,7(-KI

107,0*5

62,500

1,4.84,102

919,42
14,(K.K)

62,000

405,4SH)

3,8(K)

1,028,7.50

1,592,.59(

576,425

20,000

1,1.56.408

148,100

1,770,504
1,690,946
1,4.5.5,.507

1,735,873

4,000

1.54,768

40,4(H)

5,.500

2,673,977

297,161
155

105,445
8,720
1,171

1.(524

(1,.595

22,965

64,3:^7

341,4;«

15,645
13,404
780
2,643
9,7.50

92,768

108,872

45

58.566

3,638

3,9.57

9.58

224,404

42,4.52

32

12

.399

1,720

62

17,216

290,7.55

19,827
100
291

26.7.5;^
1,999

317,020
131,015
186,038
7
2.38,617

66

7,160

268

1.54

40 EiaHTH 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 tiie 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, tlie 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
142,487, in North Carolina 134,445, in Mississippi 136,647, in South Caro-
lina 125,572, and in Texas 111,188 members. The aggregate is 1,348,989
members, who are embraced in 12,683 organizations, witli 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
Regrular Baptists (Colored)

SUMMARY BY STATES AND TERRITORIES

41

States and Territokies

5.x ~
<

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

11,987

i,;?r4

l,;ill

92:5

870

43

3;^

821)

295

1,81S

1,800

378

359

8t>5

861

38

U

1,3S5

i,;i«

231

212

1,173

1,1(U

8()0

H;^(i

5tJt)

5:«

1,4(54

1,288

1,001

977

79

50

3,440,970

37i),8;39

243,395

18,(5(X)

(51,588

544,540

1(H»,0:30
191,(H1

12,389
371,115

(50,015

3(52,946
275,529
159,140
282,590
a58.032
14,175

66:3

14
37
41
180
32
29

45,570

$ 9,0:38,549

:3,:3tl5
;3,:3lo

1,150
2,270
3,4tX)

2,025
1,480

3,(595
1,225

750

:3,(k85

1.8C)0

12,(KK)

1,955

3,aio

795,:5S4
585,947

;38;5,150

1:37.578
1,045,;310

406,949
(50;",8i»0
150,475
682,541
400,518

705,512
(599,9(51
519,923
ti(V4,28(>
1,192,0:55
50,(KK1

1,348,989

142,4:37
63,786
12,717
20,828

200,516

50,245
68,008
7,750
l:36,(M7
18,613

1:34,445
125,572
52,183
111,1:38
199,871
4,2:33

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 thej^
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, tlie church does not essentially
differ from the body from wiiich 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
oversiglit 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 tlie 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 tlie 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 meml^ers as slaves. Accord-
ing to elaborate figures furnished l)y him the increase in the value of
church property owned by the denomination was not less than .$400,-
000 in the decade closing in 18G6, 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. Tlie states in whicli it is not represented are the
two Dakotas, Idaho, Maine, Nevada, New Hampshire, and Vermont,
tlie 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 25,4,39. Tennessee has 23,718, Texas
23,392, and Floritia 22,463. In no other state does the number reach
17,000. The eight Southern States above given I'eport 315,169 members,
or considerably moi'e tlian two-thirds of the entire membership of the
church. It will )>e observed that of the 2,481 organizations only tliirty-
one worship in lialls, school-houses, etc. All tiie rest, 2,450, own the
edifices in whicli their meeting's are lit^il.

THE NEGRO CHURCH

43

African Methodist Episcopal

SUMMARY BY STATES AND TERRITORIES

States and Tekri-

TOEIES.

it

K

<

0

K

-"^w

ig

>

^ 0

ss

= 0

The United States

'_>,1S1

4,124

1,100,838

31

2,200

$ (),468,280

452,725

Alaliama

Arkansas

145

17:3

18

8
4

k;
(>

IK
:»}
74

m

14
2SI
48
tH)

81
58
12
21
0

122

87

4
54

;?

31
(51

111

1

87

4

229

144

138

1

67

2
3
3
3

274

15
f)
4

3;^

7
2C>9
()54
105

51

22
29
58
100

115
!»3
11

2t)

6

255
120

4

68

3

2it

147

113

77,000

77,585

2,929

2,300

1,275

7,025
5,5(K)

113,445
lfW,592

23,799

1(;,450
1,080
7,115
14,309
39,1(H)

3(i,150
29,881
5,950
7,155

4

2(X)

$ 242,705

2;«,125

24,300

()3,5(X)

10,(K)0

39,500
117,500
108,173
001,287
310,985

l;«,280
2,018
87,305
153,530
181,201

193,115
200,;570
119,200
72,185
30,0(X)

226,242

281,289

14, (XX)

62 000

159,850

3,3(X)

231,5(X)

112,998

318,250

a),78i

27,956

California

772

Colorado

788

Connecticut

158

Delaware

2,603

District of Columbia

1,479

22,468

7

250

73,248
6,383

Illinois

Indiana

4,435

489

Indian Territory

Iowa

1,820

4,678

Kentucky

13,972

Louisiana

13,(531

Maryland

12,359

Massachusetts

a

75

1,:W2

1,8:36

489

Minnesota

2,;%o

59,8:«

27,870

350

1,;550

19,510

550
12,9(M)
42,350

40,905

Mississippi

Missouri

1

50

25,439
9,589

1

1(X)

32

Nebraska

399

New Jersey

New Mexico

New York

North Carolina

1

()

3(K)
325

5,851

(52

3,124

16,156

Ohio

Oregon

1

50

10,025
16

Pennsylyania

112

3

491

230

208

39,900

2,050

125,945

61,800
82,850

5
1

«(K)

605,(I(X)

95,000

350,302

461,305
2;«,340

187,245

4,0(X)
11,000
40,000

4,(X)0

11,(513

Rhode Island

South Carolina

695

88,172

Tennessee

23,718

Texas

23,392

Utah

1

50

7

Virginia

102

I
3
3
1

34,375

4(X)

1,050

4(K)

2(,K)

12,314

Washington

66

West Virginia

216

Wisconsin

118

Wyoming

2

200

139

44

EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE

African Union Metliodist 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 (181(5), differing from the latter
chiefly in objection to the itinerancy, to a paid ministry, and to the
episcopacy.

SUMMARY BY STATES

STATES.

The United States

Delaware

Maine

Maryland

New Jersey

New Yorlv

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

Virginia

p. ^

<

7,1IU

1,250

•2,2m
8;56

2,140

"680

l,S»i

270
150
210
108
5(18

148
399

5,(>tK)
.5,940

32,100
1,200

o o

3,415

3()8

45

1,.54(5

281
t)0

852
49

214

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 siiould have
an equal voice in church government, and local preacliers sliould
become pastors.

This body consists of congregations of colored members organized
into conferences by presidents of the Congregational Methodist
Church, to whicli 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

ce

r.

ce

Oi

05

0

-^

^

C

a

0

^ .'

C !-

0

S

S tD^-

0

'^C

0 '"

az

STATES.

p

III

'ft

33
PS

^

<■

—

0 ^

c

0

K-

The United States

9

5

585

4

450

$ .525

319

7
2

5

5a5

•)

250
2(.K)

525

215

104

THE NEGRO CHURCH 45

African Methodist Episcopal Zion

A eong^regation of colored people, org-anized in New York city, in
1796, was the nucleus of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church.
This congregation originated in a desire of colored memliers of the
Methodist Episcopal Churcli 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, Lo!ig 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 yeai" 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.

Tlae 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 849,788 communicants.

46

EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
African Methodist Episcopal Zion

SUMMARY BY STATES AND TERRITORIES

States and Tebkitokies.

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 (■ar(jlina

Tennessee

Texas

Virginia

Wisconsin

1,704

29
13
12

25

•17

511

(i2
130

1,587

315
23

(i
10

1

50

(■)

21

47

527

1

128

P M^-

565,577

118,800
8,S(K)

2,<>no

2,'J(H)
115

3,4(X)

23,589

19,775

2,(M)0

2,400

13,075
5,200
2,375
2.050
tj50

22,350
3,9(X)
7,400

17,(KM)
171,430

1,1(10
300

17,025
4(K)

0(1,770

21,093

11,5(K)

1(>,770

150

tig
02 c

o

15,520

2,500
750

1,950
150
200

250
350
4(K)
75
500

2,375

150

1,3(X)

275
870
250

250

1,775

950

o;-,

$2,711,128

305,:i50

17,250

;?r,2(M)

79,350

500

29S,8(K)
90,745
52,3(10
13,4(H)
54,7a)

8(1,830
12,920
17,:i50
5S,S(K)
3,200

22,975

(1,000

107,7tM)

371,4(K)

4N5,711

13,000
20,000

25(1,150
2,(HK)

12(1,395

7H,813

2(1,450

(18,449

400

3S

349,7S8

79,231

3,(101

2,(127

1,012

158

2,495

14,791

12,705

434

1,3;?9

7,217

2,747

1,211

724

702

8,519
2,o:!7
2,954
(1,(1(1S
111,949

194

275

8,(189

401

45,880

12,434

(1,927

11,7(55

102

THE NEGRO CHURCH 47

Colored Methodist Episcopal

The Colored Methodist Episcopal Churcli 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, tJiere were in the Southern conferences of Methodism,
according to Bishop McTyeire, 124,000 members of the slave popula-
tion, and in 18(50 about 207,000.

In 1866, after the opening of the South to Northern churches had
given the Negro members opportunity to join the African Metliodist
Episcopal, the African Methodist Episcopal Zion, and other Methodist
bodies, itwas found thatof the207, 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 bisliops 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.

3
.2

o

o
S

u

O

Approximate
Seating
Capacity.

6
1)

«

w

64

35 a

o

(5,52(5

Is

>

5 0

The United States

1,7.59

1,6.53

.541,4(54

$1,713,3(56

129,;«3

Alabama

222
116

(>

5

36

2(i(5
•>

l.S
17
91

l;ix
2

293

35

5

26
6

31
20(5
222
"l8

220

104

3

4
2()

2.5()
•2
■1
15
63

131

2

292

31

3

20

3.3
205
216

16

69,200

31,059

430

3.!5(K)

7,(J00

100,495
S(H)

$ 2(54,(525

(50,277

1,125

123,S(K)

14,709

1(57,145

1,2.50

2,975

14,4(K)

140,:!:30

134,135

475

230,4i«)

22,140

7,.5(M)

23,120
1,400

(55,325
2.5S,120
147,075

33,1.50

18,940

13

3

1
5

7

1,2(K)
100
1(K>

1,236

1,075

5,8X8
187

IMstrk't of (Columbia

939

Florida

1,401

Georgia

22,810

Illinois

.56

Indian Territory •

2,>v50
3,625
l(i,0(;H.)

43,220
205

72,150

5,554

(525

7,725

310

15,045

67,'.»00

S.'^,;!;!()

1,S.50

291

Kansas

713

Kentucky. . . ;

12

2

1,225
1(K)

6,908

Ijonisiana

INlarvland

8,075
44

20,1(V7

3

2

6
4

1

1(H)
140

1,0.50
UK)

953

2(56

North Carolina

2,786

Pennsylvania.

247

3,4(58

18,9(58

Texas

3

"lOO

14,89,5

Virginia ... ...

l,:i51

Cumberland Presbyterian (Colored)

This body was organized in May, 1869, at Murfreesboro, Tenn., under
the direction of the General Asseml)ly 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 lias
the same doctrinal symbol as the parent body and the same system of
government and discipline, differing only in race. It has twenty- tliree
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 Tekbitokies.

The United States

Alnhania

Arkansas

Illinois

Kansas

Kentucky

Mississippi

Missouri

Oklahoma

Tennessee

Texas

j3

^

*

^

0

s

5 ^i'

1

^Jl'

— C'

c

H

>< •" s

K

■S *

'z!.^

N

j:

g£5

:::

Co

s

3

ac05

K

o

o

>

224

183

52,13ft

34

3,570

$r. .5,82(1

44

38

9,574

7

475

$ 26,200

2

7

2

75

5',;?r5

4

1,3(K)

(1

3

CoO

3

150

15,(KH)

m

31

7,7;w

2

31,045

4

4

9511

1,825

10

9

1,(>5«

1

50

17,1H_H»

4

•5

270

81

72

24,125

7

825

.S,S,tiOO

;j(i

22

ti,l(!0

7

1,425

9,221

ri (—

c 3
o

12,956

3,104
255
195
190

1,421

278

471

1(H)

5,202

1,740

14. Local Studies, 1902-3. To realize the present condition of
churches and the chano:es in the last thirteen years, the Conference of
1908 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 Cliicago 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. Oliio, was made by
tlie Rev. R. R. Wright, Jr., who later made a more compreliensive
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 tiiese 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 sutliciently 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 comjjetent 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 witli 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 edificatittn 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 wliite 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 NEGKO 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 witli 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 inliicted 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. 8uch divisions are, however, carefully guarded against and
jjrevented, as far as possible, by owners, on tlie 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 tliey possess in common is speedily divided,
and the support of the wife and cliildren 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 suttieient 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, interruptioiis and interferences in families, there
are ciuarrelings and iightings, 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 cheeked by the majority of owners, and by the churches of
all denominations.

52 EIGHTH ATLANTA COKFERENCE

"Uncleanness. This sin may be considered universal. Tlie 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 whicli, however it may spring from vitiated principle, preserves the guilty
from entire prostration."

•'Intimately connected with tliis view is the crime of

^'InfanticuJe. 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. Tliey 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 witli 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 frecjuent 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,
wlio will neither steal nor lie, may be found, and in no inconsiderable numbers.

Quarreling and Fighting. The Negroes are settled in some (juarter of the plan-
tation, in houses near eacli other, built in rows, forming a street. The custom is
to give each family a liouse of its own. The houses sometimes have a partition in
the middle and accommodate a family in eacli 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
eacli ottier; a fruitful source of tumult is the pilfering and quarreling of chil-
dren, which involve their parents. The women quarrel more tlian 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 tlie

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 tlie 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 in 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
ini<iuity. 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 CONFEIIENCE

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 plosely 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
efhcient 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 sliall make up his jewels. AVe 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 jiopulation can be considered, at
the most, but semi-heathen.'

"C. W. Gooch, Es<}., 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 reliected 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 wliites, 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 sutttcient. 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 whicii 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 tlie 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 lake
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

clotliiniE!; which their tender-hearted mistress was sending abroad. He exclaimed :
'Madam, madam, the (ireeks 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-l)ellum 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 tlie churches."

"The time will come when this statement will seem almost incredible. The
usage, considered as a barbari.'^m 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 chat, 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 nortiiern 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 whicli we failed to learn.

This will give a cliurch 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 liis 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 ])egun in the Negro church, and by a Negro
preacher.

These ninety-eight institutions in Tiiomas county, like those of many
other counties, have interesting histories. About half tliis number
represent the churches whose beginning has been normal, the natural
outgrowth of expansion. The otlier 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" tlian the present pastor
so obtrusive, till he soon finds that there is little welcome in the sacred
rostrum of tlie 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 tliey 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 CONFERENCE

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 confe.ss it, truth demands that we affirm it as the predom-
inating element to-day. The church which does not have its shouting,
tlie cliurch 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 cliurcii ; it is a heritage of the past. In tlie absence of
clearly defined doctrines, tlie gi'eat shout, accomi^anied 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 — tiiis to-day in Thomas county is accepted by the majority of
the churclies as unmistakable evidence of regeneration.

Now, the preachers wlio 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 cliurch 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-
alitj^ and makes him less than a man, finds itself early bereft of its
power for the highest service. Anotlier 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 canse than this of whicli we have
been speaking, that he will leave the work at the next annual confer-
ence. And, too, the young men iu 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.

Tliis question of better morals must affect not so much the older gen-
eration, who still occujDy a large place iu the church, as it does the
newer and younger peoj^le.

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 tlie 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 tiieminto 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 interi)ret 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 tlie 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 wliich 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 wliich
lessens the moral force of the churcli.

True, as a race, we have had neitlier time nor training to establish
that caste which marks the higlier 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 churclies 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 tlieir 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 blade but no notice is paid to it.

Now what is the effect of all this? Noth ing otlier than that the young
people, and the older people who do their own thinking, lose I'egard
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 tliat 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.

Anotlier condition which gives rise to our assertion that the churcli
is not exercising its liighest moral influence, is seen in its lax business
methods. Let us give one example, whicli 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 liim 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 preaclier, and the same form is gone tlirough.

As far as I have been able to learn fully 76 per cent, of the churches
in the county are in debt to their former preachers, and what is worse,
tliere 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 tliat the simple virtues of honesty, truth-
fulness, and business promptness are the qualities most needed by the
race, then tliat institution which represents the embodiment of all that
is iierfect in its precepts loses its moral force by the laxity of its ex-

TUE 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-flve 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 the 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 saitl 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 waj^ is to say, tluit 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 liis neighbor. In most cases he married before he began to preacli
and his wife is ignorant. Here, tlien, is no toning example for tiie
community wliich he serves. I beg you to note tliat the pulpit is not
the only place where tlie minister is to do powerful and eloquent
preacliing.

2d. In morality he has much to learn. Morality as it affects: (I)
Temperance; (2) debt pajnng and business lionesty; (3) sexual mor-
ality.

I liave presented a gloomy picture. I have one consolation, liowever,
tliat it is true, if it is black.

Your criticism will be that I have not briglitened the picture a par-
ticle. But your conclusion will be erroneous if you decide tliat tliere
is no briglitness in it.

First. The greatest hope lies in the young people who go out to these
darkened places and sacrifice themselves for tlie 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 evei'y community there is a body of older men, men in-
deed of the old school; but during tlie 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 pusli tlie crusade for religious education. Second, this
growth and poi^ularity of the newer denominations will stimulate the
older ones to greater efforts and to more intelligent worship.

In tliese 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 influ-
uence uj^on the Negro than they are to-day doing.

THE NEGRO CHURCH
Statistics of Three Cliurclies, Tliomas County

63

C. M. E.

A.M.E.

Episcopal

MembershiiJ

Active ineinbershlp

Valvie of church

Expenses—

12(1
11(»

$800.00

240.00

.00

12 TO

2.00

2 . 50

50.00

10, TO

72

28

$7TO.TO

259.10

.00

23.80

4.90

6. TO

31. TO

3.20

149
22

$2,5TO.TO

( )n debt

Kunnlng expenses

( 'haritv, etc

jNIissions .

Support of connection
Other expenses

Total

$316.50

$328. TO

Negro Baptist Churclies, Tliomas County, Qa.

NAME.

Membership.

Value of Church Property.

1!H.)1.

1902.

I'.Kll.

1902.

Spring Hill

95
17

28
125
1(U
210

;i5

329

51
109

95
25
28
80

1-57

2.50
30

825
54

112

lf.9
159

500
37
IS

14t»
75
15
14
70
88
80
68
19
65
44
48
3,S
30
22
12

$ 750
250
1(K)
1110
1,(MI0
1,(K)0
322
500
100

$ 5(X)

St. Mary

125

Evergreen ....

2(H)

Ocklochnee

150

St. Paul

150

N. ( ). Grove

1,.5(H)
275

Oentennial. ...

Bethel

:i50

Paradise.

KK.)

Walnut Hill

75

Aucilla

Centenary

202
150

.5(K)

38
43
150

m

10
13
()5

H7
80
113
16
77
.50
50

1,0(K)

5(H)
1(H)

A. B. C, Thomasville

10,0(M)
1.50

12,(HH)

Richland

200

Mt. Pilgrim

2(H)

Friendship

2(X)

85
1(K)
1(H)
.5(H)
2.50

m)

(i(H)

:!o

7(H)
1.5(K)

250

1(X)

St. Luke

Beulah Road

](H)
100

Pinev Cirove

250

Silver Hill

250

Mt. Olive

3S0

Mt. Calvary

6(H)

(MH)

250

3(H)

Midway

300

150

30
19

2(«)
50

200

Oaky firove ....

.50

75

120

150

Total

3,08(i

3,o:i5

$17,1(;5

$20,320

64 EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE

Opinions of Intelligent Colored Laymen on Thomas County Churches

1. Condition of tiie ciuirches.

"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.

"Inliuence 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 iuiinediately adjoining the church at
a cost of $300, the necessary money for these improvements being
raised by tlie members themselves. The church building is kept in
good repair and is provided with a small organ, good, comfortable 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
tliis 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 societiesare a Young People's Society of Christian
Endeavor and a Baptist Young People's Union, both of wliich meet in
tlie cliurch 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 churcli. His regular salary is
$;iO0 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 I

Tliis is the second largest cluirch in the community, and is located
on tlie opposite side of the town from the one just described. It was
organized in 1882, and has now its second building. The cliurch 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 baj^tized 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 EimiTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE

cliureh. This last named society has ciiarge 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 i)er month on rentals. The church pays him al)out $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 ajipointed 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 $22S, 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 a,nd
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

TIJE 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, in the covenant
of redemption, in justification, regeneration, in the resurrection and
general judgment, baptism, the Lord's supper, and foot-washing. This
last (foo-t-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 ^lembers 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 tlie origin of this most peculiar custom A leader stands
in the center of a circle, which the mem])ers 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 j^eople 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 Literatui-e) 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 ignoi'ance wliich is so jDrevalent 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 " 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 tlie town under
consideration :

,

0

bCl>.

p^ .

CHURCH.

o

11 ^

3

3

^6

C

c;

&^

>

S

Missionary Baptist

1R8.3

$1,900

2.W

lOfi

Bethel Church (African M. E.). .

1882

1,200

255

93

Primitive Baptist

?

1,800

300

56

THE ^"EGRO CHURCH

69

17. A Southern City.* There are in the city of Atlanta, Ga., the
following- Negro churches:

A

~ .

—

-M

—

r. r'

P~

s

t-

r ^

—

DENOMINATION.

C

II

•< s

c S

1)

c

%

%

s

^

>

^

Baptist

29

10,8»W

.5,274

$ til. 273

$23,2.59.30

Methodist

21

.5,01-1

2,-571

149.2:^5

23,101.75

4

.SS;!

.578

42.W)0

5,4.51.79

Total

54

lG,2(il

8,428

$ 252,50.S

§51,812.84

The Negro population of Atlanta (1900) was 35,727. This means one
church to every G62 men, women, and children, or one to every 130 faini-
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 i|;23,000 raised by them an-
nually is expended as follows :

For salaries

Running expenses, etc

Debt and interest

Cliarities and missions

Support of Connectional Boards

Total

lO.sii.OO
4,(129.70
4,493.40
2,751 (iO
.573.1)0

$ 23,2.59 30

ic

.4(1. 4'J
.19.9
.19.3
.11.9
. 2.5

loo.oTf

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.

TO

EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE
Baptist Churches

Serial

Membership

Active

Value of

Income.

No.

Claimed.

Members.

Buildings.

1

79

12

$ 125

$ 178.20

9

874

a5o

2,500

750.00

8
4

85
400

50
150

162.00
310.00

1,566

0

0

20
150

14
60

87.00

2m. 00

1,000

7

30

20

800

112.00

8

37

20

700

791.00

9

600

300

7,0(X)

1,148. 50

10

387

200

4,000

2,405.00

11

34

32

200

120.00

12

125

75

1,0(X)

.582.00

IH

120

80

500

300.00

14

12

7

85

57.00

15

''2

18

200

101.00

It)

500

21K)

4,000

2,408.00

17

750

150

6.(X)0

1,960.00

18

800

200

2,5(X)

2,100.(H)

19

200

125

2,000

392.25

20
21

(52
50

40
20

8(K1
800

106.00

')•)

500

250

4,500

1,200.00

23

15

6

13

25.. 50

24

()0

30

1,000
900

25

13

10

.55 00

2(1

2(i5

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.

10,3t;3

5.274

$ 61,273

$23,2.59.30

The twenty-one Methodist churches are divided as follows :

Methodist Churches

DENOMINATIONS.

d

<5

6

0

0

African Methodist Episcopal

14
4
3

21

3,212

1,:!;!;!

410

1,161

910
2(H)

$ 90,200
48,5(H3
10,5;i5

$ 13,8:^1 10
(),927.(Kt

Colored Methodist Episcopal

2,343 CiS

Total

5,015

2,-571

$ M9,2:!5

$2.3,101-75

Annual expenditures of these churches are approximately as follow.s;

Salaries

Debt and interest

Charities, etc

Support of connection
Other expenses

Total

9,171 .53
7,-510.02
1,137.-50
1,691.00
3,.585 75

39.7%

32.5

4.9

7.4
15.5

$ 23,101 80

100. oc;-

THE NEGRO CHURCH
The churches in detail are :

African Methodist Episcopal Churches

71

Serial
No.

Membership
Claimed.

Active
Members.

Real Estate.

Income.

37

340

110

$ ii,2(K;)

$ 1,420 (K)

*S

30

20

200

125.00

39

40

32

1.50

12(1, (HI

■JO

20

(5

i,2(m:»

2;«,oo

41

;i5

20

(iOO

307. IH)

42

4(K'»

600

50,0(HJ

4,srii so

43

1(K)

70

2,tH)0

5S5 00

44

,50f>

200

20,000

5,271.00

45

370

135

3,500

3,058.07

4(5

47

ItO

8
.50

OtK)
2.50

740 02

48

110

100

3TO

5S7 55

49

1:55

85

2,000

l:!5 (i(t

50

50

25

300

110.00

All.

3,242

1,4151

$ 90,2(Xt

$17,5'.»0.10

Methodist Episcopal Churches

Serial
No.

Membership
Claimed.

Active
Members.

Real Estate.

Income.

34
35
30

740
227
166
200

.500
115
1(K1

U»5

$ 40,(K)0
1,(H.)0
2,5(M»
5,(K.»

$ 3,235 (H)

542. (X)

1,425.00

1,725. (K)

All.

I, mi

910

$ 48,5tX)

$ 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

1 io,.5;55

$ 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

54

485

180

68

150

400
80

$ 25,000
10,000
4,000
3,000

$ 2,225.00

1,494.00

1,296.79

436. tK)

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

ni

53

Salaries

$ 1,1>(K)
0

3(K)
700

$ 211
■!i)5
75

iso'

$ 950.00
•14.08
5.80

I>e))t find interest

Charities . .

Connection

•_".)(•) 91

Total

$ l>,-i-'5

*$ \m

*»$1,1'9().79

Three exti'acts, from the reports of flrst-liand yoiuiii' investigators,
tlirow 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 frecjuently, 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, ('lark University, Turner Theological Seminary (Morris Brown Theological
Department), and (lammon 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 memt)ers, 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 forthe respective churches for last year varied from %Q 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 $;i5 to $(>00, the
latter of which was incurred by the building of a new church.

■•' To this the general church adds $5(10 for salaries.
** Only jiartially 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 ot 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 8t. Augustine College,
Raleigh, N. C, and took a post graduate course at Howard University, Washing-
ton, I). 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. Priinitive Baptist — Active niembers 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 niembers 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 oillamps) are
hanging from the shabby ceiling. I paw 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 commimion 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 niemljers.

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 gi:)od. 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
rejiutation 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 CHPRCH iO

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 had 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 otflcial
board appointed by or elected by the church. This otiicial 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 sood 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. H. Baptist — Twenty-fiv<j active member.s.

The pastor, from the report of the clerk and two or three other members, is an
upright man. He attended the Atlanta Baptist College, btit 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 j-ylan-
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 twe^ity-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, wdiere they can do more effec-
tive work.

:^o. 411. African ^Mt^thotlist Episcojial — Eighty-five active ineinhprs.

The chttrch was built about fourteen years aao. It was organized in a small
house, where the meetings were held for about three years. The present btiilding
was then erected and a pastor called, but the church was so poor that after a few
years there was no pastor sent. In .Tanuary of this year the present minister was
sent, but he is pastor of two other small churches. The inffuence 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 intluential 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 pi'esent site. It now has a fair brick building, which cost about
•liSjOOO, 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. ;U. jNtethodist Episcopal — 115 active members.

The i)astor 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 lar2:e 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 tlie missionary society,
and through the heljj 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 clmrch, which, together with the church,
is estimated to be worth .$1,500.

The services in churches of (his 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 iirst. As soon as I could distinguish be-
tween the words and the peculiar sound made by the intaking of his l:)reath, 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 s]ieeches 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 inlluential organizations, losing many of
their unconventional features and becoming very mucli like churches in any part
of the land.

THE NEGRO CHTJRCH 77

No. 42. African Methodist Episcopal — 600 active nieniljers.

The pastor is of good character and education, a graduate of Howard University
Theological School. The members vary froin the old, poor, and respectable, to the
young and well educated. In 1866 this church was organized by Rev. .T. J. Wood;
the membership increased steadily until 18G8. The church moved into a new
building. This old structure itself is yet sutticiently 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 !i;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 infiuential and
cultured colored people of the city, a considerable number Ijeing 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 .$984.86 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 growtli of such great Negro institutions involves much effort and genivis
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 nieml)ers.

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 inenil)Hrs.

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 barndike 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 beea numerous in the past, but as the
churches g:rovv stronger tliis 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 — l,r)()() active nieml)ers.

The character of the ]>:istor is good and he is educated. The inemberslui> 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 conimitnicants.

The character of the rector is excellent. He was educated at St. Augustine
College, Raleigh, N. C., and at Howard University, "Washington, I). C. The mem-
bership is small, (piiet, 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 189:5. It is a frame building,
painted, of moderate size, and neatly but plainly fitrnished on the interior. There
is under the auspices of the church and in an adjoining liuilding 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 symijatliy and lias in consequence many large and iiilluential churches.
One of the best of these in Atlanta is :

No. 33. iSIctlioclist Episcopal — 500 active inemliers.

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 SLtjjports a salaried deaconess to take
charge of its charitable work and spends nearly ^:iO0 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 chtirch of this de-
nomination in the South. The church is especially noted for its harmonious
work and lack of "siilits." It does mitch for its young people, having a large
Sunday-school l^esides classes in cooking and sewing and a week-day class in
religious training.

The Congregational ( "hurch is virtually independent and its growtli and influ-
ence is due almost entirely to Negroes.

THE NEGRO CHURCH

79

No. 51. Congregational — 100 active members.

The membership presents the highest average of intelh'gence of any colored
church in the city. The charitable work is regularly and etticiently 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,i!25a year and has no
del)t. Three hundred dollars is given in charity annually.

A word may be added here as to the character of pastors and the finances of
cliurches. In several of tlie 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 tyjie of man
has jjassed 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. Tlie ministers of the fifty-four
Atlanta churches are paid as follows per annum :

$l,()(K)and over.

750-1 ,0()0

.5()0-7.")t)

:!01)-.o()0

l(ll)-;51)()

o()-l()0

Under $.')()

No fixed salary

Total

Tlie 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 minis-
ters and church officials. There is still mucli looseness and waste in
money matters and some dishonesty in the smaller cliurches. 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,!
nineteen of wiiicli are Baptist. Tlie active membership of these
churches is nearly the same as tliat of the fifty-four churches in Atlanta.
As the Negro population of tlie two cities is nearly the same, this sliows
a striking concentration in cliurch fellowship and is probably the result
of longer growth in the older city, eliminating the smaller churches.
Tlie statistics of membership and expenses are :

DENOMINATION.

Afric-iin Metlui(]ist KpisL-opal

Methodist EpisfopMl

Baptist

Presbyterian

Episcopal

Totals

2;i<)

14,80l>
8:i
14:5

15,:itil

(5,049
60
188

$ ffi.lKK)

;),5tK)

l",)l,-i(H»

ll,(Hi()

1(»,,SU(I

3^30,700

3,81()-(H)
1,4110. (H)

§47,895.99

Tlie expenditures of these churches are distributed as follows:

ITEMIZED EXPENSES.

DENOMINATION.

a

be

S ■■.«

5 ?

c

11

0 OJ
0 ^

fa

fcp^

fc

oP5

fe

fc5

Afru-aii Methodist

Episcopal

S fiOO.OO

f 4,100.00

«l,.50().(K)i 90.00

$ 20.00

$

$ ,5I«).(K)

Methodist Episcopal. .

500.00

7.50.00

100. (K),' 20. (X)

20.00

30.00

70-00

Baptist

1.5,278 22

14,84:j 79

.5,859.94 1,607.02

150.60

190.00; 54.20

1,042.46

12. (X)

.50

446 81

4,616.08

Presbyterian

570.00
(iOOOO

Episcopal

300 00

6.00

Total

§17,548.22

$14,053.79

17,699.91

11,831.22

f 1,094.96

S 476.81

15,191.08

Richmond is noted for its large Baptist churches. If we divide tlie
twenty-four churches according to active membership, we have:

* The data on which this para.e:raph is based were collected by students of Virginia Union Uni-
versity, t Including Manchester.

THE NEGRO CHURCH

81

Over 1,(KK» active members

7r)()-].(K)0 active members
5(K)-7o() active members . .
2;i()-500 active members. .
l(H)-i*.")() active members . .
Under KXI 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
interesting 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 churcli 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 wliom sixty-two were under twenty years
of age. The pastor is a college grathuite. Another church lias 1,058
active members. It I'aises $5,000 a year and spends $270 in charities. It
paid nearly $3,000 on its deljt last year. A third churcli, witli 800 active
members, i'aises $3,250 a year. They paid off the last indebtedness on a
$3,000 church last year. The Protestant Episcopal Church has 133
commimicants and raises $1,200 a year. It spends $243 a year in charity.

The present condition of Riclimond 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. Tliere is consider-
al>le work among the sick and the poor, and this kind of work is in-
creasing.

For a i)icture of the condition of churclies in Farmville, Va., in 1898,
we may quote the following : *

"The church is much more tlvan a reh'gious 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 ilethodist 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 ^lain 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 witli 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 chitrch
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 atistere, but rather that religious exercises have

* Bulletin of the United States Department of Uabor, No. 14, pp. :!l-:!'>.

82

EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE

acquired a free and easy expression and in some respects serve as amusement-giving
agencies. For instance, tlie 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.

"Prom 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 a social, 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
Galvanism, 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 ])osition. 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 Richniond, we have rettirns from thirty-five
churches. Tliirty-two of these are Baptist, one is CHiristian, and two
Presbyterian :

Total churches ;i5

Total membership 18,7:i7

Total actual membership 10,si2

Total value property Ill 4,810 (H)

Total expenses '.'1, 1.55. 54

Total expenses S 21,155 54

Salaries S i»,7:-i.s,2s

Debt and interest 862. (H)

Running expenses 3,821.68

Charity, etc 1,247. 6()

MLssions 1,475. OSt

Support and connection. . . 4;?7.08

Other expenses 4,*55.15

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 cluirchps in all :

Ministers 77

Members !t,r.'<>

Churches Ids

Parsonages :is

Value cliurches and parsonages S ltiH,ll i .09

Present indebtedness (>1,789.()1

Money raised for—

Pastors' support 1S,57S t>2

Missionary money 1,177 4<')

Charitable purposes 1,1(12. 5:5

Educational purposes 512.40

Building and repairs 8, 18!). 10

Current expenses 38,281 .22

For a 1 1 purposes 70,581 (i"

19. The Middle West, Illinois. (By Monroe X. Work, A. M., and the

Editor).

There are api^roximately 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 22^0 per cent, of Negro population of
the state as meinbers of the church. There is a large number of per-
sons who have moved into the state that in their native homes were
memliers 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 meml)ers and counted in the
state where residing.

By denominations the membership is as follows:

African Methodist Episcopal 8,^575

Baptist s,si2

African Methodist Episcopal

Zion 100

Methodist Episcopal 8iiO

Old Time Methodist Episcopal loo

Episcopal 880

Presbyterian 210

Cunil)erland Presbyterian ... 65

Christian 50

Catholics (not ascertained)

Adventists (estimated) 25

The total amount of church property owned In the state was about ^145,000
The total expenses for 1902 were about 1*^,(X)0

Of the above amount aliout $70,(X)0 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, witli 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 oi the future life. This
is especially noticeable in l)oth Baptist and Methodist churclies, which
contain tlie bulk of the N('t>To communicants. In the churches of these
denominations in the city of (/hica-<4'o there are only a few where
the empluisis is on the emotional and the future life. Tliere are
sonu> churclies wliere 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 uni^ractical they are
religiously; the more effort there is to make religion a rule of conduct
for every day life.

Historically the Negro ministry has iiad 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 leathM' of the })eople 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 uv morally upright if he could meet with the demands,
hence the develoi^ment of this type of ministry. The neetl of church
buildings was largely met, but almost every church had a debt upon
it. There arose a demand foi' 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 ma,n strong intellectually
and sound morally. This demand is, as yet, not very strong,
mainly because there are not many churches out ot debt, and the
energies of the people are largely ex|)ended in raising money to pay on
church debts. It is more than probal)le that as the people progress in
intelligence and the churches ai'e freed from debt, thus permitting
them to pay more attention to internal asjiects of religion, the intellec-
tual aiul moi-al man will become more and more the leader in the
churches.

Tiie al)()ve is not intended as a^ fidl or adequate explanation of the
cliurches in Illinois, especially in ('liicago, but rather as one of the
main causes in producing the; present conditions of the churches in this
state.

The presentcoiulitions ol' tlie 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 ivligious 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, hut
the tendency seems to be more toward this phase as the chuiclies are
freed from debt. This is best illustrated by the institution of jiastors
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 tlie peoi)le rather than the
people for the church. Because of the financial needs and other tilings
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 tlie best possible
manner, because there are few ministers with college and theological
training, and the debt-ridden conditions of the chiu'ches call for men
with ability to raise money rather than for men inreliectually 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 whieli
they make; also the increasing demand for a better ministrj'. This
criticism is:

(1) One of the ministry.

a. It lacks edification.
h. it laclis morality.

c. It lacks business ability.

(2) Of the members.

«. Of the officers of the chiireh who are often dishonest and lacking: in
business ability.

b. The members lack moral sense and ai)preciatiiin, i. e., the ethical stand-

ards are bad.

The church is proliably losing its influence on the young people
because of the scarcity of ministers able to meet tlie 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 lieing good, are proliably 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.

8. 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 l^eing ignorance and
immorality, and in some eases, drunkenness. Opinions are divided as
to the eflticiency 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 liigh 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 meml)ersliip, 4,969 is in
the thirty-two churches in the city of Chicago. Tlie twenty-nine
churches outside of Chicago report the following statistics :

Twenty=nine Churches in Illinois

Total membership '2,li3

Active membership l,OSt;^

Cost of churches S72,GiiO.(X)

Salaries $ 8,2t)0 S)l

Debt and interest 3,20(i.4t)

Running expense 2,;iS8 "28

Charity m .m

Missions 8l()();!

Support of connection tius 2(i

Other expenses 3,1711 10

Total S l.s,i(>l t>s

For southern Illinois we have reports of seventy-four African jVIetho-
dist Episcopal Churches as follows :

Ministers 52

Members -1,085

Churches 74

Parsonages 35

Value churches and parsonages 8 SS.lltOOO

Present Indebtedness 23,:304.44

School houses 3

Money raised for —

Pastors' support $ 17,!»64 11

Missionary money 481 35

Charitable purposes 650.08

Educational purposes 243.75

Building and repairs 8,215.74

Current expenses 4,161. !)8

For all expenses 3.3,207. .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.

African Methodist Episcopal

Baptist

African Methodist Episcopal Zlon

Presbytei-lan

Christian

Episcopal

Methodist Episcopal

Adventist

Total 28

K,(K)1

■- i^ o

K^^

•2,0S0
2,140

13}
■10

150

]-J5,sO(i
U'v^dO
20,(K)0
H,OCK)

5,000
8,500

-l,'.tlj'.»

$ 17S,S(H»

:!'.t,:'>7iM"5
12,()74 74

2,t!40.f,0

1,811.25
l,il09.00

$ 58,408.50

[N. B.] These totals are smaller than they really should be owing to the fact that
some churches were only partially reported, while the "Adventist Ohurch" has no
report of statistics.

*One of the Africnn Methodist Episcopal Churches does not own property, taut
uses a rented building.

Four of the Bajitist 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 meml)ership of these cliurches varies as follows:

750-l,(XX)

'>

5(X)-750

2

300-500

1

100-300

7

Under KK)

14

Unknown

(5

Total

S'>

The pastors of tliese churches maybe classified as follows: Of the
five larger churches (300-1,000 members) the, pastors are reported:
No. 1. "Reputation fair."

"Charged with drunkenness and immoraUty ; but charges not confirmed."
"Charged with misuse of church funds."
"No especial charges."
"Character not good — immoral."

Of the pastors of churches with 10t)-;300 members :

Nos. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 12. "Character good."

No. 11. "Character not good — given to drink."

No. 2.
No. 3.
No. 4.
No. 5.

88 KifiirTir Atlanta conference

Of the i>aslors of the smaller churches nine are of good character.
The others are :

No. 14. ''lfe]mtation not snod."

No. 2(). "('barged with misuse of funds."

Nos. ]5 and 17. ?

No. 20. Has no pastor at present.

In the larger churches four are composed largvly 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 up])er class and four congregations of fair intelligence. The
smaller churches consist of tliree rather intelligent congregations,
seven of fair or medium intelligence, and five ignorant bodies.

Only one of the large churches does much cliaritable 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 churciies
do charital)le work of some importance. One of these was originally
organized as a social settlement, l)ut for lack of proper guidance has
had but i3:>i"tial success. Nevertheless, it is a significant movement
and indicates a drift in the riglit direction. It has done some good
work, among other things co-ojaerating 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 churcli on his last public visit to
Chicago. The second oldest church was established in 1S5.'5.

The actual services in these churches can best be judged ))y record-
ing' the results of a series of visits. In four of tlie lai'ge churches we
have the following results:

African Methodist Episcopal Church — TOO active meml)ers.

11 a. m. Sunday .service. There was a long ritualistic introduction. The sing-
ing was good and effort was put fortli to make strangers feel at home. The ser-
mon was preaclied especially to converts and there was much emotion prevalent.
The emphasis \va.s laid on the after life. The house was well filled and the ven-
tilation bad.

African Metiiodist Episco])al Zion Church — oOO 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.
Bjiecial afternoon service. Discussion of the decrease of consumption by col-
ored i)liysicians of the city. Talks on care of the body.

Baptist Chui'ch— 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
Ijearings 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 aud colored memljers and a colored pastor. They
showed much emotion at the service, but were very sincere and earnest
people. The sermons varied: one was on tlie ''Future life;" another
took the theme "Get ready to leave this world," Iiut ended with prac-
tical advice on home-owning-. Anotiier spoke of the ''Blessed life,"
putting- emphasis on both this and the future life. Another sermon
was on "Self-control."

The expenditures of Chicag'o churches were as follows:

Thirty=two Churches in Chicago

Total membership ti,811

Active membership 4,829

Valuation of ehurehes $ 19',f,3()0.00

Salaries 17,895. 13

])el)t and interest 17,<)17.39

Running e.xpenses r2,S(i9 32

Charity 2,7i;0. 9S

Missions (>09. 10

Support of connection l,.^.'j().95

Other expenses •),2i')7.10

Total $ r,7,m.K<J7

The comments of intelligent Negroes and some of the pastors on tlie
condition of the churclies are worth listening- to. As to the condition
of the churches there is nuich complaint of the del)ts due larg(4y to
the erection of imposing edifices :

"As a rule, they are marked with inefliciency 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 tiiis city carry large
debts. These debts range from .f5,000 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 $30,0tX) 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 iiiflucnce of these churches is criticized :

"The thought of right doing and right hving 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 jjersonal 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,
how'Cver. 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 ow"n
knowledge of the correctness of these charges."

"I do not know of any specific cases of immorality such as you make mention
of liere. 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 iraproj^riety 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. Accoi'ding to
persistent rumor, one church was robbed by a former pastor who still has a
charge here."

"Several ministers whom 1 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 difticulties, 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 Soutli."

"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 NEGKO CHURCH 91

"The one great difficulty of the Xegro 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 i-ather than convicts the judgment.."

"Lack of competent othcials 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 al)Ove all, "Better niiiiisiers."

Yet, that there is some good work done in mattoi-s of cliarity 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 iliis 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 recjuest
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."

Tlie 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 numl:)ers. 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 I 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. Avery small percentage of our professional men and women
are regular in their church attendance."

92 EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE

In spite of all drawbacks the weii>-ht of opinion is tliat moral stand-
ards in Chicago are l)eing slowly raised desi)ite the influx of the new
colored imniigrants :

"It is my firm belief thai the statulards are being raised in these i^articulars.
The accumulations in projierty holdings and homes, the increase in bank accounts,
the visible improvement in the inatterof good taste in dress, are signs which, in
my opinion, conllnn the belief that the standards included in this question are
being raised."

"I do not think tlie stan(hu-ds are being raised l)y any means."

"Througli the efforts of the church, Women's Clubs, and Sunday Clubs, there
seems to be an improvement in morals."

"bowered, 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 tlie 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 tlie sotithwestern portion of tlie state of
Ohio, a1)0ut midway between Cincinnati and Columbus. Its area is
453 square miles and its population is 31,6l;J, 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, liut also the largest
proportion of Negroes to whites in the state; and among tliese Negroes
are some of tlie oldest inhaljitants 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 9(>,9i)l are Negroes,
or these about 28,000, or tw(Mity-nine \wr cinit., are reported as church
meml:)ers.

Early in the last century the Negro church had its rise in this state.
In 1815, when tliere were but few Negroes liere, the first Negro church
was established at Cincinnati. This was under the MeJ;liodist Episco-
pal cliurch. Rev. B. W. Arnett, now bishop of the African Methodist
E^iiscopal Church, gives the following account in his "Proceedings of
the Semi-Centenary Celel:)ration of the African Methodist Episcopal
Cliurch 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 Ijy Richard Allen and others. What
Neu-roes there were in Cincinnati had been attending Old Stone Church,

'Cf. Mr. WriL'ht's lonu'er study. IJulleliii United States Burciui of Labor, No. 48.

THE NEGRO CHURCH 93

or 'Wesley (JhapeT Methodist Episcopal Clnirch ; but on account of
the shouting- habit tliey were not very much desired at this white
church. They were all crowded into one section of the churclj, where
witli mucli effort tliey tried not to disturl) their white bretiiren by
their frequent outbursts of praise to God. The whites tolerated them
as long- as they were successful in suppressing this inclination to sliout.
Tlie crisis came, however, in IHlo, when a brother, striving- to suppress
his shout l)y muffling- his mouth with a handkerchief, burst one of his
blood vessels in the attempt. After this the whites themselves took
serious steps to Iiave a separate church for Negroes. The result was
tlie Deer Creek Churcli, wliose pastor for a long while was a slave who
came over from Kentucky from time to time. This new church was
under tlie Methodist Episcopal connection until 1823, when, on account
of alleged discrimination and unbrotlierly action on the part of the
wliite brethren toward tlie colored, many of the latter withdrew and
went over to the African Metliodist Episcopal Church. Those who
remained continued in the Methodist Episcopal Church, known later
as Union Chapel. Thus began tlie Negro church in Ohio. Its mother
was tlie Methodist Episcopal Church. The first African Methodist
Episcopal Cliurch was at Steubenville. In 1828. according to Bishop
D. A. Payne's History of tlie African Metliodist Episcoi)al 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 fi)r the African
^Methodist Episcopal churches was as follows: .Jefferson Ccnmty Cir-
cuit (composed of Steubenville, with forty-five members. Cape Belmont,
six membei's, 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 (i90. 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 estalilished, 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 (>,R»^

Eastern Association 3,704

Zion Association *3,500

Providence Association 2,124

African Methodist Episcopal Church 0,308

Ohio Conference 3,179

North Ohio Conference 3,120

Methodist Episcopal Church, North 1,645

Wesleyan Metliodists 557

Christian (Disciples) * 1,000

Episcopal and Presbyterian 2,000

Total 27,723

These with the number of Negroes who ai'e members of ^yhite cou-
gregations among l*resbyterians, Catholics, Cong-regatiojialists, Zionists
(Do\yieites), ^vould 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 — 70,082 — forty per cent, are church members.
In 1S90 there were 250 organizations in the state among Negroes, having
19,827 communicants. This was 22.8 per cent, of tlie 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 85.7 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 froin the United States census of 1890:

X

rA

ti >".

tc'-'-

'A

5

,t_j

O

x

*_^

STATE.

S

G

is

c:

=

c

W

r.^-

^-o

3

^

0

^

di

0

^

114,644

>

Total for United States.

!>;5,!(12

23,770

(),S00,():i5

l,3.-iS

$2f;,626,4KS

2,(i73,i»77

7,48.S,788

Ohio

2r)()

211

66,516

31

1,750

576,425

1«J,S27

87,113

Tliere are now over 300 organizations distributed among over 200 cities
and towns in tlie state.

Greene County

Greene County has a population of 31,(513, of whom 4,055 are Negroes.
The county is favorably situated for farming, and outside of Xenia
many Negroes engage in this occupation, cliiefly as 'Viands" at odd
lal)or, however, tis 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 bv .'^cerutarv.

THE NEGRO CHURCH

95

Greene. From its earliest days it has had Negroes among its population,
as the following table will show :

POPULATION OF (4REENE COUNTY BY UNITED STATES CENSUS, ISlO-llXK)

Yviir.

Whit.'.

Colored.

Total.

ISIO

r,,,s;i 1
10. HIS

ii,( ;;;'.»

17.1SI

l'!,T-.'-.'
•24,liilt
2ti,77t
-2r,,<X)0
27,551

ar,

(U
102

(m

1,475

n,KiUa

•1,575?;

i,(m)c

.},()55r?

5,s7(.t

IS-iO

10,521

is:5()

M.sol

IKK)

17,52S

IHSO

21,iM()

ISfiO

2(;,l!i7

]S7()

2S,0:W

ISSO

:?l,:U!i

]S>.K)

2'.I.S20

J'JOO

81,i;i:i

a Includes 21 Indians.

b Includes il Cliinese and 10 Indians.

<■ I)t)es ncjt Include :> Chinese and 7 Indians.

riNegi'oes only. Does not include 1 Chinese and Japanese.

The following table gives a partial exhibit of the general financial
condition of the churches of the State:

CHURCHES.

M. E. Church

A. M. E.—

N. O. Confer(
Ohio Conference

Baptist

C Eastern Association.
J Western Association

Zion Association

Providence Association

Wesleyan

«$7U,().')0.oi»

242,875.00
1 08,-570.00

81,:t')().(K)
".MOO.(M)

$io,i;ii».oo

17,055.25
10,3tM..5;i

$8,1:50.00
14,t)<l2.01

i;?,iU).2s

(•1,414.40

l,!l51.itl»

?; $'.1,074, (K)

14,898. 2'J
10,800.04

(^3,510. 00

$87,878.57
28,-522.43

3,29().-52

(I $12,200 for parsonages.

6 $5,028 for improvements, $3,4()0 on debt.

c For sl.K pastors only.

d The total valuation of church property of the Baptists Is estimated at $2-5it,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 tlie
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 l)Oth
pastor and people, more of heaven and the future is talked of ; at tlie
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 l)ut 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 higli 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 churclies, and leave these smaller churches to more
poorly ecjuipped 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
memliers of the Methodist Church take active parts in affairs of the
Baptist Church, and n'ce 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, regarilless 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 l)een 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 Cliurcli present to preach.

In all of these churches the chief stress is put upon "saving souls;"
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 iniddle of the winter, i. e., the first thing in
the new year, the churches begin their revivals. This first worlv of the
year lasts from two to eiglit 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 liis duty as a Cliristian and church member
by the pastor, beside the regular instruction given from tlie 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 tlieir metiiod, 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 Claristian and, as is quite natural, the life is far from tlie
ideal.

WiLBERFORCE. — The value of the Wilberforce cliurch consists in the
fact that many students are interested in Cliristian work, and are
trained for larger service after leaving school. The pastor of the
church is the instructor in science and a very devout inan. Under his
preaching froni forty to eighty students are converted every year. Of
these some take an active interest in tiie 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-scliool,
Youijg Men's Christian Association Avork, now leaders and pastors.

98 EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE

who were converted in the Wilberforce revival and got their first
interest and training here. For tlie 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
tlie University, have in tlie 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 190.3 numbers eleven members.

Xenia. — Xenia is tlie 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 wlioni 1,988, or ^1.7 per cent., were Negroes. These Negroes are made
up of about half natives of the state of Ohio and about lialf 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 yenvs, 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 scliool advantages, througli liigh scliool, are far above ordinary.
Yet Xenia is a town of but little thrift compared with tlie advantages
offered. The ciiief businesses are barbers, small groceries and an
undertaking establishment. While the Negroes are not extraordinarily
thrifty, they are not, on the other I)and, 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 ; loitei'ing, three ; disorderly, twenty ; drunk and disorderly,
seven; assault and l)attery, 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.

is:;()

1850

18(50

ii02
2,t;94
3,S.5()
4,(387
5,077
5, J 24
6,705

17

;«o

802
l,(i90
l,'.t4'.ta
1,S77 6
l,',ti(le

itl9
3,024
4,ti.58
(),377
7,026
7,301
8,(596

1870

1880

1890

ISKX)

a Includes 3 Chinese and Japanese and 3 Indians.
b Ini'ludes 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 cliurch in Xenia was established by the African Methodist
Episcopal connection in 1883. 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 Cliurch, was pastor. In 1812 the cliurcli was
called tlie "Greene County Mission," had twenty-five members and
paid its pastor the neat sum of $7.91. The first Btiptist Church was
established in 1848. Henry Howe's first "History of Oliio," published
in 1852, says tliat then Xenia contained one German Churcli, one
Lutheran Church, one Metliodist Episcopal Church, one Seceders'
Church, one Associate Reformed Cliurch, one Baistist 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. Tlie 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 persons made by the writer during May-
June, 1902, 976, or 53.6 per cent., reported tliemselves as church inem-
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 tliese were church members. The following
table will sliow the membership as reported by the persons themselves:

100

EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE

AGE PERIOD.

Church Members.

Total Population.

Percent of

Males.

Females.

Total.

Males.

Females.

Total.

Members.

10 to Ht years

4(5
52
44
78
(it
.53
17
4
4

102
124
100
119
V«
47
15
12
1

148
176
1.50
192
1.57
1(K)
32
10
5

142
149
104
112

S2

73

25

5

9

189
KiS

i3;i

125

103

51

18

12

5

3:^1
817
2:«-
2:^

185
124
48
17
14

44 7

20 to 29 years

30 to 31) years

(i3 3

40 to 41) years .

81 0

50 to 511 years

(jO to f>l) years

84.8
80.7
74 4

80 years and over

94 1
;i5 7

Total

mi

019

970

701

804

1,505

(54 8

This table shows very strikinj>ly that the young people are not for-
saknip- 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. Tlie excess is of women over men. These per-
sons are distril)uted throughout all occuisations, but almost invariably
tliose in tlie most lucrative positions or employments are cliurch 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-eiglit men. In tlie
African Methodist Church the principal of the high scliool is superin-
tendent of tlie Sunday-scliool, and tlie principal of the elementary
school, although a woman, is a class leader. The only college graduate
in tlie city is also an ordained minister connected with the local African
Methodist Episcopal Cliurch. 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, Cliris-
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, tlie chief activity is to preach and teach Christian
doctrine and morality. The metlaod 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 pui'ely 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 Xenialile. 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 higli class concerts. Among the
lecturers was Rev. M. C. B. Mason, one of tlie 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 $ I'.'i 00

Middle Run Baptist 7 IX)

St. John African Metliodist Episcopal 50 oo

Total $ S-i.OO

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 yeai's, granting
her free rent of a small house owned by the church and furnishing her,
from time to time, with otlier 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 eacli month most of the cliurclies 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 helf) the sick. There is practically no prison work under-
taken by tlie 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
ai'e 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 l)een 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.

75

m

S
c

5

"5

O

0)
0

Baptist —

Zion

Middle Run

$ ll',00()
1,(XK)
8,0(K»
3,000
1,0(H)
2,000
7(H)

i..5(m

.5CK)
3,(K)0

2,(H)0
1,200
3,0(H)
6,000
Use Chapel of Wilber-
force University —

$3,4fK).O0
00

$ 5(X).()0
170.(10
50009
210.00
170.00
350.00

$1,025.00

Third

Yellow Springs.

223 25

505.00

Massies' Creek

Methodist Episcopal

2(;() ()o

6-10 00

25.59

300.00

300 00
1«7.50
250.00
708.00

250 00

42.49

Christian

600 00

A. M. E.-

(K)
00
00
00

0

956 71

Cedarville

316 80

Yellow Springs

495 85

1,178.00

Wilberforce |

624.75

Incomplete.

Dill's History of Greene County.

THE NEGRO CHURCH
General Financial Statistics

103

CHURCH.

3

o

a

a

0

o

Q

c 5

5

s

S o
r- a

5 '3
k5

u

Si

d

0

Baptist—
Zlon

$ 100.00
100.00

' $82! GO

$400.00
475.00

S25.00
7.00

$.500.00
170.00
500 09

176 00
3.50 00

$1,025.00

Middle Run

$14.00

Third

Yellow Springs

3.83

"io.oo

210 00

40.00

0

r.5o

30.00

22.00

6.75

25.00

8 54.17
2 40
15 00

280 00

2 (iO
75.00

.505.00

Methodist Episcopal

T'.on

92 00

m . 00

:{7 20

IS. 78

200.00

118 72

'" 7'00

37. SO
11.. 50
*5.30
120 00
6.5.75

10 W»

2.00

'■"9.'50

640.00

25.59

300.00

3(X).00
167.. 50
2.. 50
768.00
2.50 -(K1

42^49

208.00

448.71

.00

125. (X)

400.00

600.00

A. M. E.—

12,50
19.(50

.50.00
49 . (W

9.00
27.-58

8.77
40.00
60 (M)

60.00
53.42

"l27.0(1

9.56.71

316.80

Yellow Springs

495.85

1,178 00

Wilberforce

665.65

Incomplete.

The questions on the schedules for ''Data from Negro Churches"
were answered as follows hy the pastors of Greene County :

I.

What do the churches need most?

Preachers that study the Bible and teach it in its purity

Educated ministers on fire with glory of God and uplift of the people.

Leaders, pure, courageous, with executive ability

Educated, e.xperienced, courageous, and honest men as preachers. . .

Religion and good sense

Religion and faithful ministers, and refinement

Revival of religion and money

More of the spirit of Christ

Better attendance and support from members

Union

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

chtirch 1

Immorality and ignorance of the people 1

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.

Under
20 Years.

Over 40
Years.

Baptist—
Zion ... ...

19

80

0

4"

0

38

81

2

Middle Run

Third

Yellow Springs

Cedarville

0
8
0
0

3
0
0
0

10
9
0
0

Jamestown

Massles' Creek

Methodist Epi.scopal .

Weslevan Methodist

Christian

0

18
•2i
9
20
60i

1

1
0
0

tj

2

4

20

24

9

50

80

A. M. E.—
Jamestown

Cedarville

St. John, Xenia

Wilberforce*

Total

188

17

327

Total
Members

Total

Active

Members.

370

250

140

45

130

27

1(U

40

30

108

75

25

14

58

9

9

125

50

124

85

47

35

75

40

240

160

108

55

1,760

875

• 1901. Report for 1902 not available. f 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 CDURCII 105

VII.

Are the youno-er set of educated people joining the churcli and helping
in 'ts \vork ?

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 :\[. E. Presiding Elders.)

Church of Which
Pastor.

Birthplace.

Education.

Baptist—

Zion I

Middle Run

Third

Ccdarvillc

.Ja int'stdwn

Yclhiw .Springs

Massies" (..'reek.

Melliodist Episcopal
Wesleyan Metliudist.

Christian

A M E.—

Xenia

Cedarville.

Jamestown.

Yellow Springs

Wilberforce

Presiding Elder A. M.E.
Presidins 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 Scho(d.

Common School.

"Very limited.''

High School Graduate.

\ Common 8<daool and Member of

\ Class 'ft:!, Theological Seminary.

\ Theological and High School

I Graduate.

ii Grammar School and Graduate

( Theological, "ii;!.

College Graduate.

Theological.

College.

Opinions of Negro Church

These opinions are from peojile of long residence and good standing
in Greene Coinity. Tiiey 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 CONFEKENCE

I.

So far as you have observed, what is the present condition of the

churches in your community ?

Very gratifying 1

Improving 2

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

IT.

Is tlieir influenee, on the whole, toward pure, honest living?

Yes 12

Not as much as should be B

I n part, but not all 2

Largely so 2

Generally so 1

III.

(a) Are the ministers usually g-ood men ?

Yes 16

Usually, not universally 2

(6) 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 wliicli you are acquainted do much charitable
work ?

Yes 3

Some 6

Not much "

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, but 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 pa.stor 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, and 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

Eaisotl 14

Inclined to think raised 1

Raised very little 1

Kaised 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 i 7,000 Negroes and three Negro churches, founded
as follows :

1792— St. Thomas Episcopal .

17i»l— Bethel African jNIethodist Episcopal

17111— Zoar Methodist Episcopal.

In 1813, when there were al)out 11,000 Negroes in the city, there were
the following churches and members :

St. Thomas, Protestant Episcopal iifiO

Bethel, African Methodist Episcopal 1,272

Zoar, Methodist Episcopal SO

Union, African Methodist Episcopal 74

Baptist, Race and Vine Streets SO

Presbyterian iJOO

Total 2,3(;(i

There were a])out 17,500 Negroes in 1838:

r.

0

6

V

0-

c: X

Oh .

1

DENOMINATIONS.

■t.

s

^ X

- t^

—

^

s

% "^

5

0

«

^

%

>■

M

Episcopalian

1

100

$1,000

$ :!c>,ooo

8,0(Xt
.')0,H00

Lutheran

1

10

$ 1.000

r),io()

Methodist

S

2,StiO

2,100

Presl)vterian

•)

32.')

1,.")00

20,000
1,200

1,000

Baptist

4

i<;

700

l,;'.oo

Total

:),'.i'.i.')

$(;,o2o

$ 111,000

$ 7,100

In 1847 the popubition had grown to 20,000. There were nineteen
churches; twelve of these reported 3,971 members; the property of
eleven cost $()7,000. After the Nvar the population had increased to 22,000.
There were the following churches in 1867:

=-'From the more elaborate .study on the Philadelphia Negro (Ginn).
tCity and County are to-day co-termiuous.

THE NEGRO CHURCH

109

NAME.

b

Is

Pastor's Salary.

Protestant f]plsfopal—
St. Thomtis

17'.il>

17tt4

1827
1817
1704
1814
1821
18:51
1858
18:57

1800

Methodist-
Bethel

1,100
407
4(>1
400

42
310
11 U

00
2tM)

;M)

400
405
l:i7

2(K)

% 50.000
10,000
21.000
12,000
:!.0(H)
11, 00
4,000
4,500

$ (>00
850
700

Union

Wesley

Zoar

John Weslev ....

Little Wesley

-5(10

Plsgnh

430

Zion City Mission

Little Union

Baptist —

First Baptist

Union Baptist

5,01 »0
7,000
10,000

(100

Shiloh

Oak Street

1812
1827

1807
1S24
1811

0(K)

Presbyterian —
First Presbyterian

8,000

Second Presbyterian

Central Presbyterian

240

10,000

By 1880 (population o0,(l00) there were twenty-five eiiurehes and mis-
sions. In 1897 there were a])OUt 60,000 Negroes in the city, and the
following: churches :

DENOMINATION.

Cluirches

>t

■r.
r.

y.

African :Methodist KiJiscopal

African Methodist Episcopal Zion

14

1

1
0
17
•A
(1
1

:5,210

$ 202,220
25,(HW

% 27,074
.5,000

ITnion African Methodist Episcopal

:Methodist Protestant

Methodist Episcopal

l,2(t2
5,58:{

(;:■»!
701
200?

40,700
20(>,800
150,000
l:!0,000

l(i :{'il

Baptist

Presliy terian

Protestant Elpiscopal

Roman Catholic

;iO,ooo
4,17:!
(V'l:!

There are tliree other small churches, making fifty-five churches in
all, with 1.3,000 members, $910,000 worth of property, and an annual in-
come of $95,000. In 1900 Pliiladelpliia liad 62,618 Negroes.

The general character of cliurch life is thus set forth :

"Perhaps the pleasantest and most interesting social intercourse takes place on
Hunday ; 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 cotild 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, resj^ectable 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 of ten vio-
lated by church members. The cleft between denominations is still wide, espe-
cially between Methodists and Bapti'sts. The sermons are usually kept within the
safe ground of a mild Calvinism, with much insistence on salvation, grace, fallen
humanity, and the like."*

• I'hiliidelphia Xegru, p. 204, ff.

THE NEGRO CHURCH 111

22. Present Condition of Churches — The Baptists.

"In the minutes of the old Savannali Association f<_)r 1M2, is the following note:
'The Association is sensibly ati'ected 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 i:)ersecutions 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 ihe 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 their own. Other colored Baptist churches of that section, that were organized
at an earlier periotl, besides the one at Savannah, above mentioned, are the Spring-
field Baptist Church, Augusta, Ga., 1790, and the one at Portsmouth, Ya., 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 Y^ork 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 W'ood Eiver Bap-
tist Association of Illinois in 1838. The number of colored Baj^tists 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,(X)0. Then we have a nttmerical
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 ituite in Associations and State Conventions for
missionary and educational work. For a long time, however, it seemed
impossible to unite any large numl)er of them in a National Convention,
but this has at last Ijeen 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, isyii.

112

EIGHTH ATLANTA COXFERENCE

ventioii 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 trom each state repre-
sented, and elect tlieir own otiicers 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 accui'ate. hut are probably under-
statements rather than exaggerations.*

The most remarkable result of the united efforts of the Negro Baptists
is rhe Home Mission department, including the pul)lishing 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 beheve 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 liave 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 tlie missionary work done by our Board and hy ils co-operative policy
in the United States:

COMBINED REPORTS

Sermons preached

Sunday schools addrossetl

Prayei'-meelings atl ended

B. Y. P. U. meetings atU'iuiert

WoiiHui's meetings atidrcssed

Ol her addresses m.'Kh* ..

Total number addresses made...

Convent ions, Associations and wo-
nuMi's meelings visited since last
report

Niiinl)er of letters and cards writ-
ten

Number of circulars and tracts
(fist ribu ted

Number of l)oolvs anil tracts dona-
ted

Books sold

Money collected

Total' amount of mon(>y received
from all sources

Subscriptions to the T'nion

Money collected for same

Da vs of service rendered

Homes visited

Homes found without Bibles

( Muii'clies \isited

Sunday-schools organized

Missionary societies organized. ..

Baptisms

Miles traveled bv railroad

Cost of travel

Miles t raveled otherwise

Cost of same

Total t raveling expense

Total amouiu of money sent to
National Baptist Publishing
Board

Amount of the money collected
ai)i)lied to salaries

Tt)tal amount of money collected
ami left wit h churches

Numl)er of Missionary Confer-
ences held

Paid on salarl<>s

Total paid on salaries

l,i)(>l

i,;;2;5

7

•14

70

'.«i,(il-2

$l,li»8.t>l

r-,,4'.)]
S iss.jio
Sl,()Si.'.».i

Sl,a81.8t5

S 281.a5

7'.).S0

:U
«:?,S:i'.i.;«
$1,174.73

'■'A prominent church offlcial writes :

"The stiitisties are not correct. For instance, von 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 havesixly-seven. What is true of that state is true of many others.

"\Vc have a very poor way of getting accurate statistics. ^Ve 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
stiitisties. A great number of our churches do not attend the Associations and a great number
of our Associations do not attend the State Conventions and a number uf 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-opcralion 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, l'<»01 2,243

December, 1901 3,355

January, 1902 5,V«38

February, 1902 2,709

March, 1902 6,432

April, 1902 9,t>07

May, 1902 4,866

June, 1902 8,576

July, 1902 7,922

August, bH)2 2,720

Grand total for the .vear 64,956

General Summary of Baptists in the United States

1901.

1903.

43

515

15,654

14,861

1,975.5:«

7,576

$ 11,605.S',»1

7,4«;6

3f.,736
473,271

517

Churches ....

16,440

Ordained ministers

16,080

Present membership in the United States

Meeting houses

Valuation

Sunday-schools

Teachers and oflBcers

2,038.427

11,069

1 12.19i!,130

13,7(_>7

41,5.37

Pupils in Sunday-schools

544,.505

Total in Sunday-schools

.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

9,9.54.00

8,725.00

81,658,40

127,941.00

$3,42.5,523.11

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 lias 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 eijuipment 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 .'i;iOO,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 otfspring, 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.

Teafher.s

Advant-ed Quarterlies

Intermediate Quarterlies

Primary Quarterlies

Leatlets and Oems

Pirturt' Ijt'sson Cards

Bible Lfsson Pictures

National Baptist Concert Quarterly

Child's Gem

Davidson's Questions

Boyd's Questions

National Baptist Easy Lessons

Total

SJ,S(H)
41 (■,,()( 10
17.'),(K10
275,01 K)
n.57,(MK)
,5(iO,(K)0

3:^,800

25SI,(K10

(),0(K)

3,366,600

i;>r,,(i()(i
214,000
244,(K)0
:!H0,000
.028,000
2,;i40,(K10
41,600
800,000

4,713,600

130,(100
.5(:!,0(K)
2-io,(ioo
3:!2,<«iO

.58.5,000

2,.500,(100
.50,000
8.50,(K)0

8.5,0(X)
8.5,(M10
(10,000

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. We still hold to the opinion that more people are

116 EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE

inlluenced 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 DEPAETMENT

Balance on hand $ 1,0.54 (i9

Fourth quarter, UK)! 12,ir.i i)l

First quarter, lilO'i l(),s-.',-) c.U

Second quarter, 1902 15,S84 82

Third quarter, 1W)2 18,782.77

Total receipts from Business Department S 58,66fi 38

RECEIPTS FROM MISSIONARY DEPARTMENT

From Woman's Auxiliary Convention $ 75 00

From Home Mission Board of Southern Baptist

Convention 1,800 IX)

From Woman's Auxiliary of Southern Baptist

Convention ,50 (10

By missionary collections («) 3,!i38.87

By siJi'cial niissionarv collections (b) 2S1 3.5

By designated collections (c) 79 80 S 5,824.52

SPECIAL DONATIONS FOR BIBLES AND COLPORTAGE
WORK

From Sunday-school Board of Southern Baptist

Convention $ 121 25

By other donations 119 00

For colportage and book work 2,1(ki 94

From special periodical donations 230 !io

From special tract donations 109. 3ii

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 (K)

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 S 6,767.10

Grand total $ 74,407.64

THE NEGRO CHURCH

117

DISBURSEMENTS

BUSINESS DEPARTMENT

Wages, printing material and Editorial Depart-
ment $30,:?26.51

Merchandise, notes, machinery and other mis-
cellaneous 17,073.84

Coal, Ice, freight, drayage, boarding horses, etc . 2,S42.54

Rents, water tax, gas, commission, Insurance,
traveling and special missions 2,127 92

Stamps, postage, telephone, telegrams, electrici-
ty, etc 5,m) Jil

Tobalance in hand it;54 94

Total disbursements of Business Department. $ 5S,<JtK).:58

MISSIONART 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 (U

Salary of secretary, advertising, special traveling
expenses, uncollected accounts, negotiable
notes, manuscripts, etc ti,7G7 10 3 15,741.2(5

Grand total S 71,1(>7.<)4

"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, lias been able to spend on missionaries
and their traveling expenses $11,683.19, and on machinery, notes, etc., which stand
as a sinking fund, !F5,35'2.4S, making a dividend to tlie 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.

IjOCATJON.

Baptist Universltv

Selma.

Normal College

Eufaula Academy

Aiiniston.
Kufaula.

Arkansas

Opelika High School

Thomsonvllle Academy

Oljelika.
Tliomsonvllle.

liitth' Rock.

u

11

Brinklev.

u

Magnolia Academv

Magnolia.

Florida

Florida Institute

Uve Oak.

Georgia

West Florida Baptist Academy ....

Pensacola.

Walker Academy

Jeruel Academv

Augusta.
Athens.

Illinois

Indiana

C^entral City College

Southern Illinois Polytechnic Institute .
Indiana Colored Baptist University . . .

Macon.

Cairo.

Indianapolis.

118

EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFEKENCE
List of Institutions by States— Continued

STATES.

Institution.

Location.

Indian Territory
Kentucky . , .

Louisiana

Maryland
Mississippi

Missouri . . .
North Carolina

Ohio ....

South Carolina

Tennessee . .

Texas

Virginia

Dawes Academy . .
Sango Baptist College

State ITniversltv

Cadez Theolouical Institute
Femalf Hit;h S<-h<)ol . . .
Glasgow Normal Institute .

Western College

Danville Institute ....
Hopkinsville College . . .
Eckstein Norton University

Leiand Academy

Baton Rouge Academy

Houma Academy

Morgan C'ity 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

Clayton "Williams Institute

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 .

Western College

Wharton Industrial School

Ijatta University

High School

Shiloh Industrial Institute
Thomson's Institute . . .
Addii' Norris' Institute . .

Training Scliool

Roanoke Institute ....
Albemarle Training School
Bertie Academy

Muskogee.

Louisville.

Cadez.

Frankfort.

Glasgow.

Weakly.

Danville.

Hopkinsville.

Cane Springs.

Donald sonville.

Baton Rouge.

Houma.

Morgan City.

New Ilieria.

Opelousas.

Alexandria.

Cherryville.

Ijake Providence.

Monroe.

Ruston.

Alexandria.

Manslleld.

Monroe.

Baltimore.

Natchez.

Gloster.

Kosciusko.

Winona.

]Sleridian.

West Point.

Nettleton.

(Treenville.

New Albany.

Macon.

Curry School

Mather School . . . .
Peace Haven Institute

Howe Institute

Nelson Merry College . .
Le.xington Normal School

Guadalupe College . .
Central Texas Academy
Houston Academy . .
Hearne Academy . .

Virginia Seminary and College ,
Union Industrial Academy .

Charlotte.

Raleigh.

Wakcrield.

Warri'iiton.

lAimbtTton.

Winston.

Franklinton.

Elizabeth.

Edenton.

Windsor.

Urbana.

Beaufort.
Broad River.

Memphis.
Jefferson City.
Lexington.

Seguin.
Waco.
Houston.
Hearne.

Ijynchburg.
Port Conway.

Total numljer of schools

Valuation of property

; 564,000

THE NEGRO CHURCH 119

Twenty of the above schools reported last year as follows :

Teachers, males 75

Teachers, females 73

Total 148

Students, males 1,833

Students, females 1,531

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 $ 39,5(X)

Louisiana 45,(ino

Missouri 15,0()0

Georgia 10,000

M ississlppi 77,000

Ohio 5,000

Arkansas 70,0(X)

Maryland 6,000

Kentucky 65,000

Florida 20,000

Tennessee 33,000

Texas 80,000

Nort h 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 10,5(».00

North Carolina 2,700.00

Louisiana 15,(!0().00

Mississippi 9,1()(» 00

Tennessee 4,300.00

Florida 1(>,0()0.00

Georgia 12,(H)0 00

Maryland .585 00

Virginia ; 25,000.00

Texas 23,00i) 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 S 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. Probali>ly there are at least
6,0U0 or 7,000 pupils in all the schools. The institutions are for tlie 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.

Richinond, Va

Ru-hiiiond, Va

Raleigh, N. O

Wlnton, 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

HamiJton, Va

Windsor, N. O

IjaGraiige, Ga

New Orleans, La

SCHOOL.

Hartshorn Memorial College
Virginia Union University. . .

Shaw University

Water's Normal Institute

Benedict College

Jeruel Academv

Atlanta Baptist' College

Walker Baptist Institute ....

•Jackson College

Bishop College

Roger Williams University .

Arkansas Baptist College

Spelman Seminary

Storer (.'ollege

Splller Academy

Bertie Academy

LaGrange Baptist Academy.
Leland University

■A

o

^

JS

^

u

'3

&

3

a>

&H

a:

11

120

18

157

27

.511

.5

272

1(5

4>«

.5

221

13

lti,5

(5

121

10

102

IC

SS7

13

2(i8

9

213

7

142

6

103

•>

m

4

182

11

11.5

"62

J .5(),o(:h>

300,(HK)
tK),(KH)
12,000
7(>,0()0
2,.5(K)
7.5,(KK)

45,000
100,(H)0
2(H),CXX)

2.5,(X)0

50,000

1(),(KK»

1,1100

1,0(K)

1.50,(.KK)

In the words of the late General Morgan, secretary of the American
Baptist Home Missionary Society, this society "has already spent more
than li>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 :

SiEi!H.\ Leone, West Coast Africa — Churches, 2; pastors and workers, 3; mem-
bers, 4U.

LiKEUiA, West Coast Africa — Churches, 52; pastors and workers, 86; members,
3,000.

Lagos, Southwest Coast Africa — Churches, 21 ; pastors and w'orkers, 56; mem-
bers, 2,000.

Cape Colony, South Africa — Churches, 2,S; 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.

Barhadoes, 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 1,380

Sewing Circles 420

Circles of King's Daughters 120

Money raised during 1902 $ 8,800

There are the following newspapers j^ublished by Negro Baptists in
the interest of that denomination :

NAME.

American Baptist

Ba]Jtist Ijeader

Baptist Magazine

The Pilot

The Sentinel

(ihristian Banner

Baptist Herald

Florida Evangelist

(ieorgia Baptist

Western Messenger

National Baptist Union

Virginia Baptist

Baptist Vanguard

The Western Star

The Baptist Truth

The Baptist Truth

Tlie CUiristian Organizer

The South Carolina Standard

Southern Watchman

The Herald

Pcoph^'s Recorder

The Infonner

Tlie .M.'ssi-nger

Tlie 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 (4rass Bugle

The Moderator

The Mission Herald

The Trumpet

The Watchman

The Pennsvlvania Baptist

The Florida Baptist

Where Published.

Jjouisville, Ky.
Selma, Ala.
Washington, D. C.
Winston, N. C.
Raleigh, N. C.
Philadelphia, Pa.
Live Oak, Fla.
Jacksonville, Fla.
Augusta, Ga.
]SIacon, Mo.
Nashville, Tenn.
Richmond, Va.
Little Rock, Ark.
Houston, Tex.
Savannah, Ga.
Cairo, HI.
Lynchburg, Va.
Columbia, S. C.
Mobile, Ala.
Austin, Tex.
(Jolumljia, S. C.
Urbana, O.
New Orleans, La.
New Orleans, La.
Cary, Miss.
Seguin,Tex.
Nashville, Tenn.

Denver, Col.

Nashville, Tenn.
Frankfort, Ky.
Louisville, Ky.
Ivouisvllle, Ky.
Washington, D. O.
Columbia, S. C.
Pittsburg, Pa.
Fernandina, Fla.

122 EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE

As to the f?eneral character of the churches and preachers the follow-
ing statement, made by the Home Missionary Society about five years
at>o, seems a fair presentation :

In the few lar^e cities and towns of the 8outh 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;
fifleen per cent, from .15500 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.

Aboiat 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 comijare 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 iri 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 minister.s' 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 tliis 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 .Tones, a Delaware Negro. These two were real
leaders and aC'ually 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 tliem. 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 v>art from "The Philadelphia Negro."

124 EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE

the increase in its black communicants which the immigration from the coxintry
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 r2, 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. Ru.sh, 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 : .Tones
was a slow introspective inan, 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 :

126

EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE

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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. Ricliard
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 newsin 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 Reeiew, and variou.s books.

The financing of so large an organization is a matter of great interest.
In the quadrenniuni, 1896-1900, there was raised for the purposes of the
general church organization on the average:

Each year 8 236,194.79

Each month 19,082 89

Each day 656.09

Each minute .45

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
churcl). The dollar money, which amounts to over $100,000 a year, is
divided as follows :

Forty-six per cent, to general financial department.
Thirty-six percent, to the annual conferences.
Ten per cent, to church extension.
Eight per cent, to education.

128 EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE

Tlie total ainount raised by the church in the four years, 1896-1900, was :

DoHar money $ 403,401.62

Ohurch extension 04,474 (X)

Publishing Department 71,:513.83

Ediu-atlon 270,1188.54

Sunday-school Union 77,159.40

Preacher's aid 2,005.25

Missions 64,8;>6 39

Total 3 954,779.09

Salaries of presiding elders $ 139,735.37

Salaries of ministers 735,790.21

Traveling expenses 29,594.00

Salaries of bishops 18,(XH).0O

Salaries of general ofHeers 12,300.00

Total • $ 935,425.58

Total raised in (luadrennluin, 1890-lSHX) $ 1,777,918.20

Total raised in quadrennlum, 1892-1890 1,5;^, II 1.01

Total raised in quadrennlum, 188&-1892 1,(M>4,509.50

Turnin<!,- 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 lias a circulation of i^erliaps 1,000
copies. The contents of the New Year's number, 1903, were:

Tlie Missioyi of tlie 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.
Haffins.

The Flight of Ilagar.—.] . A. Atiams.

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 Mens Christian Association in the Work of
Education.— F. 1). Wheeloek.

The Preacher at Hill Station. — Katherine D. Tillman.

St. Cecilia.

A Xew Year — Looking Before and After. — H. T. Kealing.

Jo.ieph 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.

Religiou.-i. — Some Questions and Answers.

Miscellaneous. — Christmas; Christmas in the Orient; Who is Santa Claus? Keep
Old Santa Ciaus; Winter; Music and Old Age ; T. Thomas Fortune; The Strength
of New England; Things to take to Church.

Editorial— 'V\\Q 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 in this t!iV>le are paid wholly or in part from the dollar money above.

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 tlie 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 def)artment was organized, there has been raised $1,250,000
for education. The figures are :

Schools

■-'5
140
3,(i'.(3
1,482
51
. S 635,(X)0.00
270,988.54
. 1,140,013.31

Average attendance, four years .
Acres of land

Buildings

Value of property

Raised and appropriated 189<5-1<.KK)
Raised and appropriated 1884-11)00

1>>0

EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFEEENCE

The schools are

African Methodist Episcopal Schools

SCHOOLS.

Payne Theologic-al Seinlnnry, Wilberforce, O
Wilberforce University, Willjerforce, Oiilo. . .

Morris Brown College, Atliinta, Ga

Kittrel College, Kittrel, N. C

Paul Quinn College, Waco, Tex

AUen.University, Columl>la, S. C

AVestern University, Quindan, Kan

Edward Waters (iollege, Jaclcsonville, Fla. . . .
Shorter University, Nortli Little Roeli, Arli . .

Payne University, Selnia, Ala

Campbell-Stringer College, Jackson, Mo

Way man Institute, Harr()(lst)urg, Ky

Turner Normal Institute, Sliellivvilie, Tenn..

Flagler High School, Marion, S "C

Delhi Institute, Delhi, La

Sission's High School, South McAlister, IT
Blue Creek and Muscogee High School. I. T. . .

Morsell institute, Haytl

Bermuda Institute, Bermuda

Zion Institute, Sierra Leone, Africa

Eliza Turner Scliool, Monrovia, Africa

Cape Town Institute, Cape Town, Africa

iS'.ll
1N5()
18«0
1S8()
IS81
1880

188:5
1&S7

18',»1

1887

•■'.7
nil

;!r,()
13li
'iO;5
285
!«
172

no
2;«

100
50
71t

Kil
57
35

$ i;i,ooo
ir8,(ioo

75,000

30,000

80,000

;i'),ooo

75,000
25.000
10,2.50
;!,000
io,:;oo

2,7(i0

;!,500

1,.500
3,0(:0

; 1.5,300. -18

85,!ri3,23

3,5,2 IS (■.!»

31,;?72 -if)

28,5 , 0 50

Ul,3r5 05

15,037 53

12,K73 S5

ll,!t2UH

5,0Sl (K)

4,272 85

2,01S.08

2,0: 0 ;!i;

700.00

:82.78

111 1901 there were 175 teachers, 0,725 students and 6,696 "-raduates
from forty-one scliools, valued at $865,574.

The church extension work received .$64,474: durinti' the quadreniiiuni,
and there was $1,742 25 paid to preachers' widows. The total ministerial
insurance in forcn amounted to $80,000.

The African Methodist Episcopal CInircli, however, is cliiefly note-
wortliy on account of its Board of Bishops. A board of thirteen men
more or less wield the power directly over 750,000 American Nejiroes,
and indirectly over two or more millions, administer $10,000,000 worth
of property and an annual budget of S500,000. These bisho23s are elected
ft)r life by a General Conference meetint^- 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 ])y the representatives of the official church boards
in the Conference. Tluis we have a ])ecnliar case of Negi'o government,
with elaborate machinery and the experience of a luindred years. How
has it succeeded ? Its financial and numerical success has been remark-
able as has been shown. Moreover, the l)ishops 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 CFIURCH 131

These men fall into about five classes. First, tliere wei-e those who
represented the old type of Negro preacher — men of little learnint"-,
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 tlie church forward. While
sucli men did mucli for tlie physical growth of the church they were
often men of questionable cliaracter, 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 tlie 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 Episeoi^al Church owes more to him than to any
single man, and the class of bishops lie represents is the salt of the
organization. Such a business plant naturally lias 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 iinpressive 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, l3ut on tlie whole decency and ability have been decidedly
in the ascendency, and tlie church has prospered.

25. The Zion Methodists. The history of the African Methodist
Episcopal Zion C-hurch 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 .3,612, 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 CONFEKENCE

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, $153,700; for the quadrennium, $614,800; on
church debt and building new churches, per annum, $940,5)99 ; for the quadrennium,
$3,763,996. 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 $ 64,378.78

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 .... 1,2;%. 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 1,169.03

Funeral expenses 75.00

Superannuated ministers 1,746.99

Total 8 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

14
5
6
3
2
2

267
202
277
125
80
72

$57,198 05

3,450.00

5,a« ()0

2,705.66

300.00

.3(X) 00

1,. 500 00

530.00

568.50

$ 117,950
5,000

Lancaster Institute

Greenville College

Hannon and Lonuvx

Walters Institute . .

4,.500
3,000
1,500
1,000

Mobile Institute

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. C.

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, Fla.

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 Ejnscojial 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:

1872.

1S96.

1900.

Bishops

Itinerant preachers

3

635

583

67,889

5

1,400

2,.500

200,000

6

Members

The church collected $145,707 during the four years, 1898-1902. The
bishops receive $2,000 a year, and tiie church supports the following
educational institutions:

TV-amp Erpenditures,

'^"^"*^- Four Years.

Lane College « 11,718

Payne Institute + 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 Jeflferson, 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. t 'i be Methodist Church, South, helps support this school.

134

EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE

great bodies of Methodism, fretiuenlly 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 ayree in doctrine and discipline saA^e in a few minor points.
There was in earlier times talk of some of them rejoining- tlie parent
body; later there have been negotiations looking to the tinion of the
African Methodists and Zionists, and negotiations are pending for a
union of tlie Colored Methodists and Zionists. Tlie cliances are tliat
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
INIembership.

Valuation.

Monies Raised.

Central Missouri

Delaware

l'.l,l'SX
t.liiO
2,s;!2

.5,018
1-4, 17S

i),o.'iS
1S,(M2

iy,7-2i

2(i,'.iS(»

i;!,ol's

5, Hit

■1,700
5,.')((i
ii,',il2
7,Im8
S9, 1'.K)
8,.59S
]:{,() l!i
ll,7'.f2

$ 200,C)0()

r«iM'.-)l

7U,u\:\

75,.-)L'0

85,1 IS

3-l4,s-.'o

;-!() 1,775

181,070

l(il,l.li»

ii88,l<i:s

I8i,i;!s

ti5,700

111,:>80

71,'_':i5

111".. 170

77,412

-10s,s;!l

l>7,«i22

27;),7«KI

19:i,255

104,055

Florida

14,ti74

Liberia ....

3,34<;

Little Rock

15,543

(i5,:i5<i

Lexington

40,341

Mississippi

;i5,iio7

38,',t27

Washington

t(8,0ii5

28,017

11,470

East Tennessee

Mobile

i(;,2<i8

1 1 ,829

North Carolina

23,481

15.-'!i7

(■i(),518

Tennessee

22,377

Texas

;>5,'.t40

West Texas

31,St:!5

Total

245,il34

$4,.5()ti,951

$ 717,400

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 membersliip of the church
gave of this amount $227,821.58, and beside this they gave as a special
contribution towards buildings and debts .$55,601.69. Add to tliis amount
their other contribution for Sttident Help for the same period of

•:• Bishop I^hillips, in Fraternal Address to the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

THE NEGRO CHURCH

135

$12,599.40 and you have a o-rand total of $292,522.62 contributed by the
coloied 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, (o) We raised for missions durinp;
the same period .$8:5,131.23. The Cliui-ch Extension Board spent .$591,132
in aidinji: colored churches, 1864-1901, and has collected $81,514 from
these churches. The Freedman's Aid Society has spent over $7,000,000
in Netzro education. It maintains the follow! ii": schools:

INSTITUTIONS.

1^ IJ

TUEOLOGICAL.

Gammon Theological Seminary, Atlanta, Ga.

COLLEGIATE.

Bennett College, Greensboro, N. C

Claflin Univer.sity, Orangeburg, S. C

CUark Univer.sity, Atlanta, Ga

George R. Smitli College, Sedalia, 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 Alabanux Academy, Huntsville, Ala

C'ookman Academy, .Jacksonville, Fla

Delawai'e 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, Au.stin, Tex

Virginia Collegiate and Industrial Inst., I^ynchburg, Va

Total

MEDICAL.

Meharry Medical School, Walden University •

Flint Medical College, New Orleans, La

Sarah (iontlridge Nurse-training School and Hospital,
New C)rlenns, La

Total

Total

10

'205

(;o,ooo

.58

<;os»

110,000

3-5

tm

3-50,000

15

1-14

.50,000

21

28(5

;i5,ooo

•J-)

503

125,000

17

.521

3(),(W0

40

SH

12.5,000

m

1,104

125,000

80

.501

(54,(100

13
414

yis:

4,858

2

122

5

148

(5

nn

11

219

3

241

3

154

8

404

27

371

1(5

2.52

2,105

7,:r74

Estimated
Value of
Property.

$ l(Hi,fKX)

$1,174,000

18,000

S,(l(K)

21,000

(10,000

5,000

8,000

8,000

75,000

48,000

35,000

280,000

20,000
18,000

$ :38,000
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 Metliodist Episcopal. Tliese churches, by their indi-
vidual development, have settled the question of the ability of the
Kegro 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 alreatly been said of the Methodists and slavery and the split of
1844.* Even before that serious questions of coh)r 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 our
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 ])y the bishop or bishops
for thp 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 Episcoj^al 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 l)y an Annual Con-
ference, and the bishops upon due inquiry, shall deem it practicable
and expedient." At tlie 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," otlierwise 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 Episcoi:)al 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.

- F. 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 Negi'oes 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 tliis 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
l)robability 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
1908:

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. Tlie Rt. 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: Rev. M. C. B. Mason, D. D., Corresponding Secretary Freedman's Aid
Society; Rev. I. B. Scott. D. D., Editor SouihweMern C'lirUtiaii Advocate; Professor I. Garland
Peun, "Assistant General Secretary Epworth League; Rev. G. G. Logan, D. D., Field Secretary
Missionary Society; Rev. Robert E. Jones, D. D., and Rev. ('. C. Jacobs, D. D., Field Secretaries
Sunday-school Union ; Mr. \V. F. Waters, Assistant Business Manager Soathu'estern 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 Nepro 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 tliat its Negro membership before and since
the war has been a delicate subject, and the church has probably done
less for black people tlian 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 etficiency 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. W"e 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 1800, 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 I860 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, 1800,
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
olhcial 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 yeai's 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 River

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
foi-mer 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 SibO 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

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 Vir,2:inia.

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 (Uiurch has
not yet given annually of its means an amount commensurate with tlie importance
of this cause. The board has received from all sources (including legacies) for the
last year about !(;i()0,000, whereas .*(;2r)(),000 would hardly begin to meet the reasona-
ble demands of the work.

In 1902 the work of the Presl)yterians was reported as follows :

Ministers who preach only Hi)

Ministers who prt'acli andteach lit

Ministers who teacli only 11

IjUymen who teach ii

Women who teach 188

Ministers 209

Churches and missions 353

Added on examination 1,787

Added on certllicate "iOd

Whole number 21,311

Sunday-schools ;i.50

Sunday-scht)ol scholars 21,299

Number of schools 88

Number of teachers 272

Number of pupils 10,715

SCHOOLS.

BOARDING SCHOOLS.

Biddle University, Charlotte, N. C.
Scotia Seminary, Concord, N. C.
Mary Allen Seminary, Crockett, Tex.
Ingleside Seminary, Burke ville, Va.
Mary Holmes Seminary, West Point, Miss.
Barber Memorial Seminary, Anniston, Ala.

CO-EPrC.\TIOXAL.

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 11,0(X) 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, Wilniinmon, Del.
Pomfret Strfet, Carlisle, Pa.
Hope, Chaniliersburg, Pa.
Second, Oxford, Pa
Fifth, Chester, Pa.
Central, Philadelphia, Pa.
Berean, Philadelphia, Pa.
First African, Philadelphia, Pa.

Washington Street, Reading, Pa.
Grace, Pittsburg, Pa.
Fourth, York, Pa.
Si loam, Elizatieth, N. J.
Mission, G(jshen, 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 Pres])yterians throug-h 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 syinpathy 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 tliat Association (1902) gives the following history
of the work :

The American Missionary Association was formed in 1846. It is distinctly a
Cliristian 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 the 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 escapjing 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 Beauf(jrt, 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 the holdingof 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 A.ssociation 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 52.8 in 1867, 532 in
1868, and 583 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 2.54, 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, Cieorgia, Florida, Alabama, Mis-
sissippi, Louisiana, Texas, South Carolina and Tennessee.

As to the churches, one of the correspondmg 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 mteresting 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

20'7c-29% 7

30%-39% 6

40%-49% 7

50% 3

W% 1

Not known 1

2. What proportion of your members came from churches of other denomina-
tions?

answers:

None 2

Less than 10% 7

10%-19% 6

20%-29% 5

30%-;Wc 5

40% 1

50% 1

75% 1

9.5% 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 I 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 ti U n i ty 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 I 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."
;i. 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 Ccmgregatwnalist, January 11, 1902.

150 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 alnaed at in our churches.
(/) Superiority in education and wealth.

(ff) 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 10% 1

10%-19% 1

20%-a9% 2

;i0%-39% 6

40%-4i)% 2

50%-59% 3

70%-79% 2

80%-89% 2

90%-99% 2

lOO'ji 7

Pay all expenses, save pastor's sal-
ary, and pay part of that.

60%-69% 2 I Unanswered 1

7. Do you regard the amount thus raised as in sufficient proportion to the finan-
cial ability of your parish ?

answers:

Yes 9 I Almost yes 2

No 19 I Unanswered 3

8. In your opinion, has the progress of Congregationalism among the colored
people any peculiar hindrances? If so, name them.

answers:

Yes 27 I Yes, and no 1

No 4 I Unanswered 1

Among the peculiar hindrances the following are mentioned: Lack of denomina-
tional knowledge, enthusiasm, loyalty, literatvire, 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 ?

answers:
Yes 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 :

ta) Oongregationnllsm must grow slowly. There is no reason to hope for phe-
nomenal growth in the Immediate future.

(b) 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 fall as Interest in
education goes.

The statistics of Congregationalism are as follows (1902) :

Added on profession 1,190

Benevolent contributions $ 2,813.68

Raised for church purposes 39,397.82

Sunday-school scholars 17,311

Number of churches 230

Ministers and missionaries 139

Church members 12,155

Total additions 1,429

"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.

SUMMAKT.

Chartered institutions 6

Normal and graded schools. 43
Common schools 30

( Instructors 480

Totals. - Pupils 14,048

( Boarding pupils 2,055

PUPILS CLASSIFIED.

Theological 95

Collegiate 271

College preparatory 365

Normal 1,597

Grammar 2,916

Intermediate 3,245

Primary 5,465

Music 292

Night 66=14.312

Counted twice 264

Total 14,048

152 EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE

HIGHEB INSTITUTIONS.

Attendance,

Flsk Unlversltv, Nashville, Tenn 498

Talladega College, Talladega, Ala 534

Tougaloo University, Tougaloo, Miss 502

Straight Unlversltv, New t)rleans, La 709

Tillotson College, Austin, Tex 148

J. S. Green College, Demorest, Ga 498= <>

NORMAL, AND GRADED.

Gloucester School. Oappahosic, Va 113

Gregory Institute, Wilmington, N. C 310

Washburn Seminary, Beaufort, N.C 156

Lincoln Academv, All Healing, N. C 251

Skyland Institute, Blowing Rock, N. O 8;^

Saluda Seminary, Saluda, N.C 123

Joseph K. Brick Agricultural, Industrial and Normal School,

Enfield. N. C 211

Bethany School. McLeansvllle.N. C 90

Peabodv Academv, 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, Alliany, Ga 349

Lamson School, Marshallvllle, Ga 2-59

Cuthbert, Ga 224

Normal School, Orange Park, Fla 189

Fesscnden Scluxil, Martin. Fla 250

Trinity School, Alliens, Ala 210

Lincoln Normal School, Marlon, Ala 304

Emerson Institute, Mobile, Ala 266

Green Academy, Nat, Ala 83

Normal and Industrial Collegiate Institute, Joppa, Ala 191

Cotton Vallev, Ala 234

Kowaliga, Ala 195

Helena, Ark 165

Le Moyne Institute, Memphis, Tenn 612

Slater'Training School, Knoxvllle, Tenn 172

Warner Institute, Jonesboro,Tenn 120

Grand View Academv, Grand View, Tenn 219

Pleasant Hill Academv, Pleasant Hill, Tenn 325

Big Creek Gap. Tenn 188

Chandler Normal School, Lexington, Ky 270

WilliiiTusburg Academy, Williamsburg, Ky 277

Black Mountain Academv, Evarts. Ky 115

Lincoln School. Meridian, MLss 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 opportmiity 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-
chiding 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 cour-ses 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

6,500

68

3,386

5

2,159

450

15,614

205

5,800

68

3,042

5

1,497

400

1,625,8;»

16,500

7*5,000

2,9:30

551,591

319

Union American Methodists

Afrk-nn Methodists

African Union Methodist Protestants .
African Zlon Methodists

207,723
39,000

Cumberland Presbyterians

Total

23,477

26,631

3,228,393

To these may be added the following figures as already given

DENOMINATIONS.

Ministers.

Churches.

Membership

Methodists (Methodist Episcopal) . ...

245,954

Congregatlonallsts

Episcopalians

139

85
209

2;iO
200

12,155
15,01H)
21,341

Presbyterians*

Catholics

' Not iucluding twenty-four Northern colored churches.

This would make an approximate total of 3,622,843 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.

8. 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
Afx'ican church is the oldest Negro organization, dating in part from
Africa itself, and liere Negroes have had the most liberty and experience.
Political experience, on the other hand, tliey 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 13

To some extent 17

Room for improvement 5

Not so on account of preacher 1

Belief and doctrine advocated too much to have influence for good,

upright living 1

Purport simply to bear good influence over the people 1

Not surticient 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

156 EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE

One or more are lax in financial matters 8

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.— JacA-
sonville.

Georgia

1 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 0 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 e.xceedingly
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. — Hart.svllle.

Tennessee

Three or four. Their immorality takes all these directions. — Memphis.

They drink a great deal, but do not get drwnW.— Memphis.

158 EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE

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
se.xual 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, 1; drunkenness,!.
One was excluded for over-exaction of money in connection with his mother-in-
law. — Rappahannock.

Is the Sunday-school effective ui teaching good manners and soinid
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 168 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, N. 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,Va.

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-
ghemj City, Pa.

There is an Old Folk'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, El.

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 Oreen,
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. '. l

Do not know 1

Some answers are :

I think there is need of improvement in intellect and in a financial way.— Fin-
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.— Z)enver, Col.
High-toned Christian ministers in the pulpits and teachers of the same kind in
Sunday-schools. — Atlanta, Ga.

162 EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE

Able and pure men as pastors and a warm oratory to reach and hold the masses. —
Atlanta, Ga.

1 should say more si)iritual 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." — Brunsivick,
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 cliaritable 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
fi^rnis 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
afr^iid 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. 0.

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-
enlightened, and a religious pew. — Littlg, Tex.

Men of high intellectual, moral and 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
View. Tex.

More liberal support on the part of the church members. — Achilles, Va.

Money to support pastors, and the Holy Spirit to enlighten the inner man. —
Bowling Green, Va.

THE NEGRO CHURCH 163

Better learned ministers and punctuality. — C'hula Depot, Va.

Possibly education. — Fredericks 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 (juali-

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 .«everal 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. — Borne, Ga.

The church has influence on its members and they all live uprightly. — Prince-
ton, Ktj.

A good condition generally obtains in tlie churches, and where susjjicion rests
the parties are made to feel uncomfortable owing to the pojiular 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 oue:!it 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, Tenn.

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 diffictilty of getting
valuable expressions on the Negro churches from Soitthern 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 ease, liowever, to get the opinion of wliite
people whose business relations or sympathies liave 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, INIemphis, 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. Very good.

2. Yes, among better class; 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, Va. :

1. Excellent.

2. Yes.
8. 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 atfirmative, 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. Very 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.

166 EiaHTH 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 Cliurch 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 nuitual advancement on

American protective lines.
9

3. All J know, yeis.

4. Considerably.

I have lived and been in newspaper business here for thirteen years. I have
attaclied 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 Colleue, 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 Sui^erintendent 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 w'ell
for our Brother in Black.

J. Reese 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 w^ork 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.

168 EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE

J. W. Kein, Richmond, Va. :

1. Good and membership increasing.

2. Yes.

3. They are.

4. Yes.

W. L. 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 O. 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 beffins 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 sutticiently 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, thei'e 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. CoUinsworth, 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 (juestions 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, H. 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 ('hurch 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 tothe 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 thein 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 ditticult ([uestion 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 Harthvare Co., Marion, S. C. :

Your letter received. In answer to your questions will state :

1. 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 Negi-o
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, Va. :

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 tiie 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, Mniister, 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 in 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 wliat 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 Negi-o 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 tlie 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 affec s 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 luajority 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 mi)iisters 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. INIcKehvay, 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. jVIoncnre, 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 numher of unconverted pei'sons 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 Negroe.?. 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 8. Elliott, Savannali, 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.

.3. 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. Pluuket, 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 hoard 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 restiltant? 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 tlie Rev. Francis J. Grimke of the Fifteenth
Street Presbyterian Church, Washington, I). C, made an investigation,
a jmrt 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,

* \V. H. Thomas : The American Negro.

THE NEGRO CHURCH ' 177

Kansas, Missouri, the District 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 whetlier, as far
as my knowledge extends, the statements copied from the AmeHcan Negro are true
or not, I beg leave to say they are true.

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, unsj^otted 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 jjlaces are white. In a street parallel to this are
houses occupied by 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 Princijjal of the Hampton Normal and Industrial Insti-
tute, Hampton, Va., writes :

I have had an experience of twenty-one years with colorevl 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, Ya., 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 peojile 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 ])ath 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 the 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

I believe that there are in every community large numbers of colored women
that are as chaste and pure as can be found in communities made up of other
races.

I believe that a large percentage of colored boys and girls over fifteen years of
asre, who have been properly trained, are clean and pure.

1 have found, 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 have spent over seven years in educational work among the colored people of
the South, have seen them in school and at home, and in practically all of the
Southern states. When I consider that they have come from 2^)0 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, X. C,
writes :

When a Southern white man told my predecessor that all Negro women were
impure his reply was, "1 suppose you know, I don't." I huve seen Negro women
who I have good reason to believe are living virtuous lives under conditions of
trial such as bur 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.

Of 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 cotirt-
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 I am not what I
ought to be, but I don't want her to be like nie. 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.

Rev. A. B. Hunter of St. Augustine's School, Pvaleigh, 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
w'holly unac(iuainted 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
or the race. His statements cannot possibly be true.

Rev. A. C. Osborn, President of Benedict College, Columbia, 8. 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 oi 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 buildine:. 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 liaiid 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 w^hite 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 0,000 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 tliat 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 tloorless huts of

THE NEGKO CHURCH 181

slavery, the homes of these people here. Five rooms, floors with rugs, papered
walls, chairs, lounge, lamp, sewing machine, dresser with its china, table set with
a white cloth and dishes, beds with white spreads and mosquito nets, plain indeed,
cheap indeed, but comfortable and paid for.

Miss Mary L. Deas, S3 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 Caroli na. My work for the past fourteen years has been in one of the best known
of the schools. I know nearly all of the educators of the colored people of the
state, but I 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. 1 think of
the girls who have been trained in Christian schools at least 9.3 percent, 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 CONFERENCE

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 in 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,
1S8'2 to 1890, 1 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 tlie Calhoun Colored School, Cal-
houn, Ala., writes :

I have been for thirteen years working ainong, 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

In regard to the morality of our girls at school, I do not want to omit a state-
ment which, knowing the community, seems to be almost miraculous. In the
last twelve months only two girls who have ever been in our school have been
known to go wrong. One was of mixed Indian, Negro and white blood. She has
been brought up in a house of vice and brutality, has heard bad language and
low talk and seen low life and brutal living ever since babyhood; has been bru-
tally beaten and knocked about, and it was small wonder that she died last week
in s"in of every sort. The other, a girl of sixteen, is feeble-minded, so that after
trying to teach her for four years we found she knew but little more than when
she started in school. These two cases had not been in school for several years,
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. IX, 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 amone: 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,
monstrovis 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 jjortion 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 in 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 all 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 COKFERENCE

tion of "Negro training schools of prominence. " As to illegitimate motherhood of
Negro women, 1 will state that when I first hee:an teaching among the freedmen, I
was much surprised to find that in a family of several children each had a differ-
ent name. T 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 sjjeak
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 sj^eak 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 ac(iuaintance
with young jjeople as teacher covers several decades.

Rev. P. B. Guernsey, white. President of Roger AVilliams 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 liave 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:

1 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 NEGRO CHURCH

185

Born and reared in Canada, and having spent three years just prior to my com-
ing South in 1888 as a civil servant at Ottawa, where I mingled freely in church and
social life with some of the best of white Canadians, I find myself greatly encour-
aged as I 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. Mucli might be
said of lionie 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.

Yes.

Xo.

Seven vears

7
15
27
42
40
78
87
89
62

m

10

1

10

Eight years

31

Nine vears

50

Ten vears ...

124

Eleven years

140

Twelve years

156

Thirteen years

142

Fourteen vefirs

105

Fifteen years

57

Sixteen years

28

Seventeen vears

9

Eighteen vears

Total

404

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.

Yes.

Xo.

Some-
limes.

f

Seven years. . .

14

45

78

1.56

172

135

224

192

138

.59

12

1

10

1
1
10
5
7
•}

i
•>

i

1

Eight years

Nine years

1
3
3
6
3
5

Ten vears

1

Eleven years

Twelve years

Thirteen years ... .. . .

Fourteen years

Fifteen years

Sixteen years ....

3

Seventeen years

Eighteen years

Not given

186 EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE

Do you like to o-o to church ?

Age.

Ves.

IV 0.

Some-
times.

?

Seven vears.

16

45

75

159

174

247

227

197

137

(52

12

1

10

1

Eight vears

1

Nine vears

1
8
5
1

3

Ten vears

3

Eleven vears

1

Twelve vears

Thirteen vears

9

Fourteen vears

1
2

1 '

1

Sixteen vears

Seventeen vears

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 vou like a certain church the ])est ?

"3
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55

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43

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1

5

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s

54

4

(i

'11

3

3

5

15

•'(1

10

1

10

2

1

1

Eleven years

113

11

5

4

7

22

4

2

5

3

1

1

2

Twelve years

131

13

4

3

2H

26

8

•)

19

«)

2

•>

2

1

Thirteen years

Fourteen vears

121

17

:!

1

3"'

17

H

8

14

8

5

99

19

2

17

19

3

8

16

5

2

3

2

6

(17

S

■>

11

14

1

(')

23

9

1

3

i

1

'>3

i;

1

5

4

3

19

1

1

Seventeen years ....

Eighteen years

Not given

s

1

•)

1

1

4

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 NEGKO CHURCH

187

Age, in Years.

ANSWERS.

7

S

9

10

]1

IJ

13

i4

i.5

16

77

IS

f

4

10

9
2

49

1
4

.54

,32

7
7

46

53

4
10

67

37
3

12

52

18
1
3

22

14

5

I

To live a better life

5
19

1
6

1

Total

4

10

11

9

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 10

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 10

Twelve years 15

Thirteen years 8

Fourteen years 9

Fifteen years 11

Sixteen years 2

7 1

Total 61

188

EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE

Others answered, ''To serve God," but it is doubtful if tliey under-
stood by this, ordinary worli for anyone, although two said, "Work for
God." Most of them probably meant church service :

Eight years 4

Nine years 14

Ten years 30

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 inystical 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.

—

s

1

9

10
5

n

4

12

6
6
4
1
26
32
5

IS

10
5
11

U

6
10
12

15

2
15
10

16

3
6
3

17

IS

f

Child of God

. . .

Christ-like

1
1

1

Follow Christ

4

7
1
9
9

7

1

14

18

Soldiers of Christ

6
1

10

7

26
44

1

18
43
3

92

7

31

1

66

4
18

1

r

11

Believe in Christ

1

1

34

10

1

Total

1

8

21

31

44

80

97

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 1

Ten years 5

Eleven years 2

Twelve years i»

Thirteen years 5

Fourteen years 5

Fifteen years 7

Total 34

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 :

Answers.

Age, in Years.

s

9

10

;;

12

IS

1!,

15

16

f

Don't know. .
Unanswered.

0
4

0
4

0
12

10
9

7
16

4

7

5
9

0

7

1

6

1

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 . . .
Higher will and phrases . .

Miscellaneous

Unanswered, etc

2fM;

:«7

21

123

148

505

19

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.
6) 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.
(') To live as God would have you live.
/) To give your lieart to God.
g) To praise the Lord.
/() Holy and happy.

Age 14.

a) To believe in God and not only be called a Christian, but to live the life of
one.

b) To tell the truth, to have a clean heart, and to keep the church laws.

c) 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.
(' ) 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.
k) To believe that .Jesus is the Son of Crod, and that all power Is in His hand.
I ) A Christian means something more than praying.

Age 15.

a) To be a holy person.

b) To be truthful and never swear.

Age 16.

a) To be true and honest.

b) If I am not a fihristian 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 firod. Therefore, I serve and love the Lord.

36. The Training of Ministers. Tliere are in the United States the
following- theoloiiical schools designed especially for Negroes :

Atlanta Baptist College, Atlanta, Ga., Baptist 1867

Union TTnlversity, Richmond, Va., Baptist ....... 1867

Blddle University, Charlotte, N. C, Presbyterian .... 1867

Howard, Washington, D. C, non -sectarian ....... 1870

Lincoln University, Pennsylvania, Presbyterian 1871

Talladega, Talladega, Ala., Congregational 1872

Stillman, 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
Wllberforce, Wilberforee, Ohio, African Methodist Episco-
pal ... • 1891

Straight University, New Orleans, La., Congregational . . ?

The detailed figures as to these schools are as follows :

THE NEGRO CHURCH

191

55.

Length of course

Length of session

Teachers

Students

Students with A. B. and B. 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

545,100
4,2(U
1,400

3

2H

f3

t51

38

330

16

I 3(i,000

144,000

500

3

26

2

28

0

48

0

$ 75,000

1,000

2,500

4

35

2

18

0

60

4

510,000

0

2,500

3,000

3

35

2

17
0

55
4

< 4,500
13.000

2,815
2,(HX)

Length of course

Length of session

Teachers

Students

Students with A. B. and B. S. de-
grees

Total number graduates

Prospective graduates of 1S)03

Value of grounds and buildings

Endowment fund

Total income

Volumes In library

16

0

17

1

$30,000

3,000

0

9

0

$30.00

4, OX?

l.(X)0

3

m
5

62

0

150
5

S 300.000
70,000
6,(X)0
7,0(X)

40

$12,000.00

3,731.8

2,800

•s

e

oq

^

3

a5

12

1

17

13

2

102

9

2

2

$200,000

0

85,000

0

12,860

500

6

177

12

8100,000

562,096

20,000

12,500

<' Three others assist partially. t Five others teach partially, t 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 Ijelonged 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. Tlie 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 collese-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.

Br.\pen 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 ])reparation must be based upon the most enlarged views of the vast sjiir-
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

their record as useful ministers of the 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 homiietics. 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.
,Tohn Braden, who was for nearly a quarter of a century its president, organized,
in 1S89, 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 j) reach 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 sul)joined as fairly typical of the
courses offered in all the schools:

Virginia Union University

Bachelor of Divinity Course
FIRST YEAR.

First Term. Second Term.

Biblical Introduction.
Hebrew Ijuiguage
Greels Interpi-ctation
Sacred Rhetoric and Elocution.
Vocal Music.

Biblical Introduction.
Hebrew Language.
Greek Interpretation
Sacred Rhetoric and Elocution.
Vocal Music.

SECOND YEAR.

Church History.
Helirew Interpretation.
Greek Interpretation.
Sacred Rhetoric and Elocution.
Vocal Music.

Church History.

Homiletlcs.

Christian Theology.

Sacred Rhetoric and Elocution.

Vocal Music.

THIRD YEAR.

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
least, one year of eight months, with five i"ecitations a week in each of the follow-
ing subjects and 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 subjects
and groups of subjects are as follows: English Literature, Rhetoric and Compo-
sition, English History and General History, Physical Geography and Botany, Phy-
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 tlieological schools in the North. It has
been impossible to get a full account of these, but some figures are
available :

INSTITUTION.

Christian Biblical Institurp, Stanfordville, N. Y

Presbyterian Thfolotiiciil 8enilnary,( )maha. Neb..

Rochester Theol<>^;u-al ISciiiinarv, Uorliester, N. Y

Tufts Colleffe, Divinity School, tufts College, Mass

Episcopal Theoluiiical 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, Uonibard University, Galesburg, 111

Reade Theolonic.il Seminary, Taylor University, Upland, Ind

Lane Theological Seminary, Cincinnati, O .'

Princeton Theok)gical Seniinary, Princeton, N. J

St. .loseph's Seniinary, 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 Ohicauo, Divinitv School, Chicago, 111

Meadville Tlieoloijical School, Meadville, Pa

Oberlin Theological Seminary, Oberlin, O

St. Mary's Seminary, Baltimore, Md

ShurtlefT 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 Semlnarv, Allegheny, Pa

Moravian Theolouicnl Seminarv, Bethlehem, Pa '.

Hillsdale College, Theological School, Hillsdale, Mich

Evangelic;il Theolosicnl Seminarv, Gettvsburg, Pa

Concordia, College, SiMiniitield, 111 '

Mc-(.'ormick Theological Seminary, Chicago, 111

Union Christian College, Theological Department, Merom, Ind

Hartford Theological Seminary, Hartford, C!onn

Newton Theological Institution, Newton Center, Mass

DivinitySchool t)f the Protestant EpiscopalChurch, Philadelphia,Pa.

Drew Theological Seminary, Madison, N.J

Auburn Theological Seminary, Auburn, N.Y

Drake University, Bible Department, Des Moines, la

Western Theological Seminarv, Alleghenv, Pa

Pacific Theological Seminarv, Oakland, C^al

Nashotah House, Nashotah, Wis

Andover Theological Seminary, Andover, Mass

Boston Univenslty, 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 en.

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.

Kenvon College, Dlvinltv School Gambler, O.

Susq\iehanna 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 Semlnarv 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, P?.

United Church Seminary Minneapolis, Minn.

Augsburg Seminary MiJineajiolis, Minn.

Western Theological Seminary Hoi la ml, Mich.

Cobb Divinitv School Lewiston, Me.

Bangor Theological Seminary Bangor, Me.

Wart burg Seniiiiarv Dubuque, la.

Charles CItv College Charles City, la.

Union Biblical Institute Naperville, 111.

Chicago Luthern Theological Seminary Chicago, 111.

Berkeley Divinity School Middletown, Conn

San P'ra'ncisco Theological Seminary San Anselmo, Cal.

Ooncordiu Theological Seminary St. Louis, Mo.

Redemptorist College of Ilchester Ilchester, Mo.

In the following schools there have ])een no Negro applicants, and it

is not certain whether Negroes would be admitted :

Chui-ch 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 Philndflphia, Pa.

Erskine Theolouical SiMuinary 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 Seniiiiarv 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 :

Hart wick 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 BulTalo, N. Y.

Norwegian Danish Theological Seminary Evanston, Ind.

'Jewish Theological Seniinary New York, N. Y

German Theological School of Newark Madison, N. J.

The following schools do not admit Negroes:

Denver Theological Semlnarv Denver, Col.

St. Viateur's College Kankakee, 111.

St. Meinrad's Ecclesiastical Seminary St. Meinrad, Ind.

THE NEGRO CHURCH 197

Grfi art View Collese Des Moines, la.

Preslivterinn Tho(ilo<_ncal Seminary Danville, Ky.

Southern Baptist Thi'oloLiical Seminary Louisville, Ky.

Westminster Theoloiiical Seminary Westminster, Md.

Redemptorlst Seniinarv of St. Louis Province .... Kans.as ( Mty, Mo.

Central Weslevan College Warrenton, Mo.

Seminarv of the Immaculate Conception South orange, N. J.

St. Marv's College Belmont, N. C.

St. Charles's Seminary Carthagena, O.

Presbyterian Theological Seminary Columtiia, S. (!.

Evantrelical Lutheran Seminary Mount Pleasant, S. O.

(irant Universltv Chattanooga, Tenn.

Southwestern Pi-esbvterlan University Clarksville, Tenn.

Vanderhilt Universltv Nashville, Tenn.

T'niversitv of the South Sewanee, Tenn.

Kpiscopal Theological Seminary Theological Seminary, Va.

Provincial Seminarv of St. P'rancls of Sales St. Francis, Wis.

Kvaiigellcal Lutheriin Theological Seminary Wauwatosa, Wis.

Theolouical Seminary of Kden 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. Marv's Theolouical Seminary Cleveland, O.

St. "Vincent's Seminary Philadelphia, Pa.

Rio (Jrande Congregational Training School El Paso, Te.x.

Kansas City University, College of Theology Kansas City, Kan.

We have, therefore, a record of at least 185 Negro g-radiiates of
Northern theological schools. They have not gone to these schools in
large enough ninnber 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 ntimber 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 his 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.

Very 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 e<jual. — 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 amone the best. The others were averae:e 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 jDossible must be
based on the individual opinion of the one entertaining it. There is no one person
living who knows all of the 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 si.x 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," i. 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 of 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. We 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

In ability the average of the colored students has certainly not been below that
of others. — Auburn Theological Seminary.

As far as I can learn they have. — Drake University, Bible Department.

Very favorably in most cases. During the past six years while I have been con-
nected with the institution, we have had two colored students. One took a very
high stand in the class and was elected president of the class. The other was so
deficient in intellectual powers that he was dropped after six weeks' trial. — Western
Theological Seminary.

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 trouole 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.

Very 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 ditt'erence. — 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.

Very 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. — Ei^iscopal
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. Jose^jli'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

Some have had marked success; some have done fairly well and a few have
proved failures, but I judge as large a proportion have succeeded as among our
white students. — University of Chicago, Divinity School.

So far as I have been able to judge from rather scanty information, they have
had a fair degree of success in their work. — Meadville Theological School.

All, without exception so far as my own knowledge extends, have been excep-
tionally faithful and successful. But my personal knowledge does not cover all
the cases. — Oberlin Theological Seminary.

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.

So far as I know, it has been good. They are useful and influential men. — Xenia
Theological Seminary.

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 wnth 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
most 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. Two
stood low. One of these was "of high character and morals", the other was prob-
ably an "impostor." — Harvard LTniversity.

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 of
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 in the solution of the
race problem in the South.— Meadville Theological School.

We 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 dilTicult 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 how 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
l^ower 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, 1903, in
Ware Memorial Chapel, Atlanta University. The subject for study was
the Negro Church, and tlie following programme was carried out :

• For the lives of these meu, 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."
Address— Rev. W. H. Holloway, of Thomas County, Ga.
Address— Rev. Dr. Washington Gladden, President of the Ameri-
can Missionary Association.

Second Session, 3 P. M.

Mrs. Anna Wade Richardson, of the Lamson School. Marshallvllle,
Ga., presiding.

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. Wllmer, 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. Holloway's address is printed in this treatise as section fifteen,
and tliat 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 jjeople, 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
l)art in contributing to the peace, the order, the security, the welfare of
this great commonwealtli 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 tiine 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 thorouglily fitted for good citizenship, and who show by
their conduct that they liave 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 tlioroughly 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.

W^hat 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 liome. 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 wliolly shut out from such duties and whenever
you liave a chance to exercise them, let every man see that they are
I)erformed with exceptional intelligence and exceptional conscientious-

THE NEGRO CHURCH 205

ness; that the black man holds the suffrage as a high and sacred trust;
that he cannot be bribed or led astray by the arts of the demagogue ;
that he puts aside his own personal interests when he votes ; that he will
not even use the suffrage as a means of extorting benefits for his own
race at the expense of the rest of the community, but will always keep
in view the 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
in public 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 bari'iers 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,-181 young peoi)le under
twenty-one. They are ail 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 yovT 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 wliich 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 lieaven down to earth by
showing men how to live sucli 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 tliink 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 liglat; you must persuade them by lifting up
liigher ideals before them, rather than l)y 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 tlie 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
cliaracter.

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

from character and made the cover of all kinds of immoralities. But,
on the other hand, there are few positions in which a young man can
do more good than as the pastor of a church in which clean living and
unselfish service are exemplified ; a church which stands for all the great
verities of manhood and womanhood and lifts up a standard around
which the elements 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
of things, 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 bertlis, men to
whom life means service, can find, in tlie Christian ministry, a great
opportunity to serve their I'ace 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 strengtliening 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 strengtiiening 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 of
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 EiaHTH 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 noio, to some 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 Church Terrell,

Kelly Miller,
W. E. B. Du Bois.

INDEX

African Methodists (A. M. E.) : Present condition of, 123-131.

Beginning of, 41, 124, 125; board 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 l^Iethodist 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, z02, 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, 185-19<j.

Coker. Rev. Daniel, 33.

210 EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE

Colored Methodists (C. M. E.) : Present condition of, 133-184.

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, (54.

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.

Qarnett, 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.
Holloway, Rev. W. H., 49, 57, 203.
Holly, James Theodore. 138.
Hosier, Harry, .33.

Illinois (local study), 83-92.
Importation of Negroes and slaA^es, 8.

Jack of Virginia, 35. 37.

.Jasper, John J.. 81.
Johns, Bishop. 140.

THE NEGRO CHURCH 211

Jones, Absalom, 82, 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.

Oliio, 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 Methociist Episcopal. 123-131;

Baptists, 111-123; Colored Methodists, 133-134; Congregationalists,

147-153; Episcopalians, 138-142; Methodists, ];S4-1.38; Presbyterians,

142-146; Zion Methodists. 131-i;33.
Price, J. C. 202.
Primitive Negro religion, 1-2.
Proctor, Rev. H. H., 202.
Publications: African Methodist Episcopal, 127-129: Baptist. 11.5. 121;

Zion Methodist. 133.

212 EIGHTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE

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, 136;
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

The Atlanta University Publications

No. 1 — MOKTALITY AMONG NeGROES IN CiTIES ; 51 pp., 1896, (out

of print).

— Mortality among Negroes in Cities ; 24 pp., (2nd ed.,

abridged, 1903), 50 cents.
No. 2 — Social and Physical Conditions of Negroes m Cities ;

86 pp., 1897, 50 cents.
No. 3 — Some Efforts of Negroes for Social Bbtterihent ; 66 pp.,

1898, (out of print-).
No. 4 — The Negro in Business ; 78 pp., 1899, (out of print).
No. 5 — The College-bred Negro; 115 pp., 1900, (out of print).
— The College-bred Negro; 32 pp., (2nd ed., abridged).

25 cents.
No. 6 — The Negro Com3ion School ; 120 pp., 1901. 50 cents.
No. 7— The Negro Artisan ; 200 pp., 1902, 50 cents.
No. 8 — The Negro Church; 1903, 50 cents..
No. 9 — Crime among Negroes in Georgia. (To be published

in 1904.)

A few complete sets are for sale.

We study the problem that others discuss.

I 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 buri-ed 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.

:M