RICHARD ALLEN

by Marcia Mathews ‧ RELEASE DATE: N/A

This is a carefully, and not easily, reconstructed life of the first Negro Methodist bishop, Richard Allen, a Delaware plantation slave who purchased his freedom in 1780 and turned to Methodism- the ""Negro's balm in Gilead"". A pacifist, but a persistent crusader for human rights, he experienced prejudice himself when the color of his skin barred him from a church in Philadelphia. Later, after the Yellow Fever epidemic which contributed heavily to the degeneracy of Negro conditions, he formed his own church- Bethel, which was to become the ""most important factor in the religious life of the American Negro"". He also led the protest against colonization and the domestic slave trade and died just before the first Negro Convention was held in 1831. The publishers justly hope for a non-denominational audience for this story which is one of the earliest records of the Negro's struggle for freedom in this country and it has a quiet, firm handling here.

Pub Date: N/A

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Helicon

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1963

Categories: NONFICTION