Vivid

by Beverly Jenkins

Prior to the mid-eighteenth century, most free Blacks in the North worshipped in White Christian churches. Mainstream denominations such as the Baptists, Methodists, and Episcopalians welcomed Blacks into their flocks but rarely allowed them to pray with the main congregation. Instead, Blacks were relegated to uncomfortable benches placed in the back of the church marked B.M., for "Black Members," or forced to sit in balconies and galleries that bore such names as “African Corner" or the more denigrating "Nigger Heaven." Even the Quakers, who until 1830 stood at the forefront of the abolitionist movement, did not allow its Black and White members to pray side by side. In 1794, two Black men sought an alternative to this practice and forever changed the way America worshipped. Richard Allen had been born a slave in Philadelphia. When his lawyer-owner sold the Allen family to a planter in Delaware, Richard Allen became a devout Methodist. His convictions were so strong he converted the planter, who in turn allowed Richard and his brother to buy their freedom in 1777.