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

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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.
Sources
- BlackPast.org
1 more sources and references are available to members.
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