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Name:
Richard Allen
Dates:
Born: February 14, 1760 in Philadelphia
Died: March 26, 1831
Freed from Slavery: 1786
Founded the Free African Society: April 12, 1787
Opened the Bethel African Church: April 9, 1794
Founding of the African Methodist Episcopal Church: April 9, 1799
Consecrated as the first AME bishop: April 11, 1799
Biography:
Born a slave of Bejamin Chew and later sold to Stockley Sturgis who owned a plantation in
Dover, Delaware, Richard Allen would eventually save enough money to buy his own freedom
($2,000 at the time, about $50,000 in today's money). Allen needed more then six years to
accumulate the money and in the end he was successful purchasing his freedom in part
because Allen had already converted to Methodism and, in turn, converted his owner.
Once free, Allen returned to Philadelphia where he began preaching the Methodist version of Christianity. In 1784 he was accepted as a "minister of promise" by the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church and he concentrated his preaching among freed blacks in the Philadelphia region. Although he occupied a position of prestige within the denomination, he and other blacks continued to experience a great deal of discrimination - even to the point of physical violence. Indeed, it was one incident where he and two others were assaulted by a church usher which convinced Allen that blacks were not likely to be accepted as equals by white Christians and that blacks would have to seek true Christian communion on their own.
In 1787 Allen and some others made a formal break with the Methodist Episcopal Church and founded the Free African Society; however, this group gradually moved away from Allen's theological position and became increasingly associated with Quaker ideas, something which displeased Allen greatly and caused him to found a new church altogether. In 1799 six black Methodist congregations came together and founded the African Methodist Episcopal Church, consecrating Richard Allen as their first bishop.
Allen's primary goals were always the moral, religious, and intellectual education of blacks in America. In pursuit of those goals, he founded a number of organizations dedicated to education, particularly for black children. He also opposed the efforts of some to return blacks to Africa for the purpose of colonization, fearing that such a project would be less voluntary and more mandatory that it appeared. Allen had a very strong personality and could be single-minded in the pursuit of his goals, leading to any number of conflicts with other religious leaders. As a result, many black congregations broke away from the A.M.E church or refused to join altogether. When he died, however, the A.M.E. church comprised over 7,000 members in congregations throughout the United States.
Also Known As: none
Alternate Spellings: none
Common Misspellings: none
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