Haynes, Lemuel

1753-1833 · Contribution: 1780-1818

Congregational minister; antislavery writer

Became the first Black American ordained by a mainstream Protestant denomination when the Congregational church ordained him in 1785, and went on to lead a mostly white Vermont congregation for 30 years while authoring some of the earliest antislavery writings by an African American author

Religious & Spiritual Leadership: collage image
Religious & Spiritual Leadership

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Quick facts

Born
1753, West Hartford, Connecticut
Active since
1780
Category
Religious & Spiritual Leadership
Best known for
First Black American ordained by a mainstream Protestant denomination

Impact on the world

Haynes broke the color line of American Protestant ordination and, from a white pulpit, made one of the nation's earliest Black-authored cases that revolutionary liberty required the end of slavery.

An alternative history

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Sources

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