By Larry Ivery, Sr.
As we embrace and celebrate the history of black Americans here in America this month, it is worth looking at the role the Church has played in shaping the culture of people of African descent. Before we begin to look at the history of the churches here in Chester County, it is good to look at both the history and state of the Black Church here in America.
It is important to understand that the Black Church did not form merely out of slavery. However, the institution of slavery and the attitude and treatment of Africans brought into America heavily influenced the efforts of separate communities of faith. The first African church was the First African Baptist Church of Savannah. This congregation was formed in 1773 and constituted in 1777. This Church predated the official formation of the United States of America in 1776. The formation of this Church came about through the efforts of three men: David George, George Liele and Andrew Brian. Liele is reported to have been the first black Baptist in Georgia. He was licensed in 1773 to preach to slaves on plantations along the river in Georgia and South Carolina. He later was set free and took his family to Jamaica as a missionary and preached to slaves there. Black churches were generally established by freed men. Liele was once a slave but was freed by his slave owner.
The first black denomination that formed here in America is the African Methodist Episcopal Zion. The denomination was established in 1816 to escape the discrimination which had become common in the society. The denomination, established by Richard Allen, broke from the Methodist Church which was divided over the slavery issue. The denomination was established in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by Richard Allen who became the first bishop.
The Colored Methodist Episcopal Church was established in 1870, just following the civil war and the emancipation proclamation. The Methodist Church had split over the slavery issue and the Methodist Episcopal, South was established. The Methodist Church did not know what to do with its people of color and allowed them to make the decision as to what they wanted to do. The decision, was made by the 41 former slaves and Isaac Lane, founder of Lane College, who is considered the founder of the Colored Methodist Episcopal denomination in December of 1870, in Jackson.
Another Black denomination is the Church of God in Christ. It is described as the largest black denomination in the Pentecostal movement. The denomination boasts a membership of over five to six million members. It was established in Memphis, Tennessee in 1907 by C. H. Mason. Initially, the movement had both white and black congregations. However, in 1919 many of the white congregations in COGIC opted to join with other Holiness groups. By 1930 these associations had ended. It is reported that the decisions of white pastors, who were licensed by C. H. Mason, are attributed to the violent outbursts and negative climate in the country at the time. Also, it is surmised that the white pastors were influenced by not having the desire to be led by a black man. Today, as with other predominantly black churches here in the United States, the membership is not one hundred percent black.
There is no single reason for black and white churches here in America, but some main contributions are the slavery issue, Jim Crowe laws and the general attitude of race mixing.
Another reason is that black people wanted to establish their own leadership and be allowed to worship as they chose to do so without the oversight of white leadership. As we witness today there was and continues to be some strong and deliberate differences in the ways of worship in both the black and white churches. We will look at the history of the black Church here in Chester County this month through the testimony of the oral tradition and dialogue about the religiosity of the people of color here then and now.
Larry Ivery, Sr.
