Allen, Richard
1760-1831 · Contribution: 1787-1816
Founded the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the first independent Black religious denomination in the United States; became its first bishop
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Impact on the world
Co-founded the Free African Society in 1787 with Absalom Jones, then in 1794 established Mother Bethel AME Church after walking out of a Philadelphia congregation that had physically pulled Black worshippers off their knees during prayer; in 1816 he united several independent Black Methodist congregations into the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the first fully independent Black-led Christian denomination in the United States, and was elected its first bishop, a position he held until his death.
Life & background
Born enslaved in Philadelphia in 1760, Allen was later sold along with his parents and siblings to a Delaware plantation owner, where he converted to Methodism around 1777 and was eventually permitted to purchase his own freedom through extra paid work. After returning to Philadelphia and becoming a licensed Methodist preacher, he joined St. George's Methodist Episcopal Church, where his preaching dramatically grew the congregation's Black membership until white church leaders, uncomfortable with the church's increasing integration, built a segregated gallery and physically interrupted Black congregants' prayer to enforce its use. Allen and fellow preacher Absalom Jones led a mass walkout in response, founding the Free African Society that same year as a mutual aid organization assisting newly freed and enslaved people regardless of denomination; the two men remained lifelong friends even as they pursued separate religious paths, with Jones becoming the first Black priest ordained in the Episcopal Church and Allen remaining committed to Methodism. Allen purchased a former blacksmith's shop in 1794, transformed it into Mother Bethel, and successfully sued in Pennsylvania courts in 1807 and 1815 to establish his congregation's independence from white Methodist oversight, before uniting several similarly independent Black congregations in 1816 into the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the first fully independent Black-led Christian denomination in American history, and was elected its first bishop. He also helped operate a station on the Underground Railroad from his church's basement, founded schools for Black children, organized a Free Produce Society boycotting goods made with enslaved labor, and influenced later civil rights leaders including Frederick Douglass; the AME Church he founded now claims membership across five continents.
Sources
- Biography.com; National Archives; AME Church official history; African American Registry
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