Chronological History of African American Contributions to the Episcopal Church (1624 - 1970)

This is the fourth installment in a series of posts that celebrate Black History Month. Like many Anglican and Episcopal churches, Black people are an important part of St. Philip's parish family.  This series is offered in respectful appreciation of their esteemed place in our Parish as well as a deferential acknowledgement of the important role of Black people in churches across North America. 

Here is an abbreviated summary of the long and inspiring history of African American clergy and congregations in the Episcopal Church. This 346 year historical review begins with the Baptism of the first African slaves in an American colony in 1624 and ends with the ordination of the first African American Bishop in 1970.

1624 First Baptism of African Slaves in American Colonial (Anglican) Church 

1695 Episcopal Ministry to African Americans is Organized at Goose Creek, South Carolina

1702-1780 Society of the Propagation of the Gospel (SPG)

1776-1781 The American Revolution

1784 Samuel Seabury Consecrated First American Bishop by Scottish Bishops

1789 Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America Established

1789 William White (Pennsylvania), Presiding Bishop

1789 Samuel Seabury (Connecticut), Presiding Bishop

1792 Samuel Provoost (New York), Presiding Bishop

1794 St. Thomas African Episcopal Church Established and Accepted into Union with the Diocese of Pennsylvania

1795 William White, Presiding Bishop

1804 First African American Episcopal Priest Ordained

1818 The Cardinal Black Parish of St. Philip's Church in Harlem, New York is Established

1821 Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society (PECUSA) Formed, the ChurchÂ’s Corporate Form and Missionary

1824 The Cardinal Black Parish of St. Philip's Church in of St. James Lafayette Square in Baltimore, Maryland is Established

1835 General Convention Votes to Send Bishops as Missionaries

1836 Alexander Viets Griswold (Massachusetts), Presiding Bishop

1843 Philander Chase (Illinois), Presiding Bishop

1845 The Cardinal Black Parish of St. MatthewÂ’s in Detroit, Michigan is Established

1849 The Cardinal Black Parish of Calvary Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina is Established

1852 Thomas Church Brownwell (Connecticut), Presiding Bishop

1853 Alexander Crummell Becomes a Missionary and Teacher in Liberia

1854 The Cardinal Black Parish of the Good Shepherd in Mobile, Alabama is Established

1863 Birth of The Reverend George Freeman Bragg

1865 The Protestant Episcopal FreedmenÂ’s Commission Formed

1865 John Henry Hopkins (Vermont), Presiding Bishop

1867 St. AugustineÂ’s Normal School and Collegiate Institute Founded in Raleigh, North Carolina

1867 The First Meeting of Anglican Bishops is held in London at Lambeth Palace

1868 Benjamin Bosworth Smith (Kentucky), Presiding Bishop

1871 Women’s Auxiliary Formed

1874 James Holly Consecrated Missionary Bishop of Haiti

1874 First Ordination of a Black Churchman in Mississippi

1878 Bishop Payne Divinity School Founded

1883 Brotherhood of St. Andrew Founded in Chicago

1883 "Sewanee Conference" of Southern Bishops

1884 First African American Congregation, St. AugustineÂ’s, Galveston, Established in Texas

1884 First African American Delegates Sent to General Convention

1884 Alfred Lee (Delaware), Presiding Bishop

1885 Church Commission for Work Among Colored People (CCWACP)

1887 John Williams (Connecticut), Presiding Bishop

1888 St. Paul Normal and Industrial School Founded in Lawrenceville, Virginia

1889 United Thank Offering Established by the WomenÂ’s Auxiliary

1891 Phillips Brooks Elected Bishop of Massachusetts

1897 Voorhees College Founded in Denmark, South Carolina

1899 Thomas March Clark (Rhode Island), Presiding Bishop

1903 Daniel Sylvester Tuttle (Missouri), Presiding Bishop

1904 Discussion of Suffragan Bishops Commences

1906 American Church Institute for Negroes Established

1910 Amendment of Canon Law

1918 Bishops Demby and Delany Consecrated Suffragan Bishops for Colored Work

1919 Church Missions House at 281 Park Avenue South Becomes Center for Mission Program and Administration of the New National Council.

1919 General Convention Adopts the First Churchwide Anti-lynching Resolution

1923 Alexander Charles Garrett (Dallas), Presiding Bishop

1924 Ethelbert Talbot (Bethlehem), Presiding Bishop

1926 John Gardner Murray (Maryland), Presiding Bishop

1929 Charles Palmerston Anderson (Chicago), Presiding Bishop

1930 James Dewolf Perry (Rhode Island), Presiding Bishop

1930 6,304 Clergy and 1,939,453 Baptized Members

1931 Black Churchmen in Virginia Granted Voting Rights

1935 Diocese of Southern Virginia Gives Vote to Black Clergy

1938 Henry St. George Tucker (Virginia), Presiding Bishop

1940 6,335 Clergy and 2,171,562 Baptized Members

1943 Bi-racial Joint Committee on Minorities Formed in National Council

1946 Federal Council of Churches Condemns Discrimination

1946 Black Churchmen in Southern Virginia Granted Voting Rights

1947 Black Churchmen in South Carolina, Georgia, and Arkansas Granted Voting Rights

1947 Henry Knox Sherrill (Massachusetts), Presiding Bishop

1949 Bishop Payne Divinity School Closes

1949 Pro-Civil Rights Clergy Begin Ministry in Inner City

1950 6,654 Clergy and 2,540,548 Baptized Members

1951 John Walker is Admitted as the First African American Student to Attend Virginia Theological Seminary

1952 General Convention Adopts Resolution on Racial Discrimination

1952 Dr. Caution Presents Report on Post-war Negro Work

1952 Seminary Upholds Exclusion on Grounds of Race

1953 Seminary Reverses Decision under Protest

1953 Diocese of South Carolina Allows Blacks to Participate

1955 General Convention Changes Meeting Site from Houston to Honolulu

1956 National Council Aims for Total Desegregation

1956 National Council Creates the "Southern Project"

1957 The Era of the Racial Episcopate Ends

1958 General Convention Supports Equal Opportunity and House of Bishops Releases Pastoral Letter

1958 Arthur Lichtenberger (Missiouri), Presiding Bishop

1959 Episcopal Society for Cultural and Racial Unity (ESCRU) Forms

1960 ESCRU Supports Church Demonstrations

1960 9,079 Clergy and 3,444,265 Baptized Members

1961 ESCRU Addresses Intermarriage and Alienates Much of Southern Church

1961 15 Clergy Arrested on Prayer Pilgrimage

1961 Church Declares Prejudice to Be Inconsistent with the Gospel

1961 Episcopal Hospital Targeted for Protests

1962 Episcopal Day School Denies Entrance to Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Son

1962 African-American Elected Suffragan Bishop

1963 Presiding Bishop Commits Church to Action

1963 Religious Groups Join March on Washington

1963 National Council Staff Members Arrested at Protest

1964 National Council of Churches Establishes Delta Ministry

1964 General Convention Adopts Policy Prohibiting Racial Discrimination in Churches

1965Seminary Students Work in Selma
1966 “Negro Churchmen" Support Black Power

1966ESCRU Brings Attention to Global Racism

1966 ESCRU Charges the Church with Heresy for Continued Racism  

1969 Special Convention Addresses Racism

1968 Union of Black Clergy and Laity (UBCL) Forms
1969 Special Convention Addresses Racism
1970 ESCRU Disbands
1970 First African American Bishop of the Episcopal Church Consecrated

The contributions of African Americans in the Episcopal Church continue to this day. For more information click on the link below.

Source: Episcopal Church