Book Minute

Founder of the Methodist movement, John Wesley, once called slavery "the scandal of religion, of England, and of human nature.” Nonetheless, in some Methodist churches in the United States, segregation was common practice. African American Methodist preachers would often preach in the evenings to African American audiences who were forced to sit in the balconies. One of these was Richard Allen, of St. George’s Church in Philadelphia—a rising star in Methodist circles. Tired of the continued refusal to provide adequate facilities for African American Methodists, Allen left St. George’s to eventually found the African Episcopal Methodist Church in 1816. Allen passionately campaigned against slavery, and addressed slaveholders, referencing the exodus story from the Bible: “I do not wish to make you angry, but excite attention to consider how hateful slavery is, in the sight of that God who hath destroyed kings and princes, for their oppression of the poor slaves. Pharaoh and his princes…were destroyed by the protector and avenger of slaves.” His tireless opposition to slavery and injustice made him admired by many, especially by later abolitionist leaders.