DOCSLIB.ORG

American Women Missionaries and Race Relations, 1870-1920

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
American Women Missionaries and Race Relations, 1870-1920 View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Carolina Digital Repository Careers Across Color Lines: American Women Missionaries and Race Relations, 1870-1920 Kimberly DeJoie Hill A dissertation submitted to the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of History. Chapel Hill 2008 Approved By: Dr. W. Fitzhugh Brundage Dr. Heather Williams Dr. Michael Hunt Dr. Laurie Maffly-Kipp Dr. Grant Wacker © 2008 Kimberly DeJoie Hill ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT KIMBERLY DEJOIE HILL: Careers Across Color Lines: American Women Missionaries and Race Relations, 1870-1920 (under the direction of W. Fitzhugh Brundage) This dissertation traces the careers of three American female missionaries as they interacted with people of different races and nationalities at home and abroad between 1870 and 1920. Each of these women confronted or defied stereotypes to become a spiritual leader. The missionaries modeled various ways that American norms of cultural superiority and racial prejudice played out in a global context during the Jim Crow era. Martha Crawford convinced Southern Baptist leaders that Chinese Christian women were helpless without her, but she grew less reliant on American values near the end of her career. Methodist evangelist Amanda Smith preached a message of spiritual transformation that included criticism of racial prejudice, and she acted out her message by working among white Americans. Finally, Maria Fearing’s career within a racially integrated Presbyterian mission in Congo brought her leadership opportunities that her denomination denied to black people in the United States. Each woman’s experience provided a glimpse of how leaders in the largest American Protestant denominations understood interracial relationships as part of their quest to spread Christianity throughout the world. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This project is a tribute to many family members, colleagues, and friends who provided me with advice, constructive criticism, financial assistance, resources, and quality time. I thank them for taking an active role in the writing process and pointing out mistakes along the way. For guiding this project and giving me encouraging models of academic life, I thank my advisor, W. Fitzhugh Brundage, and my committee members: Michael Hunt, Laurie Maffly-Kipp, Grant Wacker, and Heather Williams. For reading drafts of my work and holding me to a high standard, I thank Sylvia M. Jacobs, my classmates in the UNC History Department, and my writing group: Kate Bowler, Jenette Crowley, Pam Lach, Patrick O’Neil, Brendan Pietsch, Nancy Schoonmaker, and Montgomery Wolf. Professors Jacqueline Hall, Jerma Jackson, Lisa Lindsay, Genna Rae McNeil, Theda Perdue, and Charlene Regester provided generous help. Many people shared intriguing stories about missionary life that helped me consider overall themes. Financial support from the Archie K. Davis Fellowship, Mowry Dissertation Award, and Quinn Fellowship allowed me to finish my dissertation on time. I also thank the staff of Davis Library at UNC, the Presbyterian Historical Society in Montreat, the North Carolina Baptist Collection at Wake Forest University, the Talladega College Library, and Duke University Special Collections. Members of FOCUS Intervarsity, Church of the Good Shepherd, and the African American History Working Group gave me a community. I thank my parents for their continual care and love. I thank God for guiding me, even through shadowy times. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES…………...…………………………………………………………..vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS……………..………………………………………………viii Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………..1 The Woman’s ‘Civilizing’ Missionary Impulse………………………………..8 Racism and the Foreign Missionary Impulse............................................12 Racial Uplift in Women's Mission Work.....................................................20 Results of Mission Work: Conversion and Heathenism……...……………23 Chapter Overviews…………………………………………………………….26 2. “NEXT TO NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE FOR THE COLORED PEOPLE:" DOMESTIC MISSION WORK AND RACIAL ISSUES, 1865-1920………………………………………...………28 African Methodist Episcopal Church: Independent/Institutional…………..38 Methodist Episcopal Church: Integrated/Pragmatic………………………..44 Southern Baptist Convention: Separatist/Exclusionary……………………51 Presbyterian Church in the United States: Separatist/Paternalistic ……...55 3. DISGRUNTLED SHEPHERDS AND “FEEBLE LAMBS:” MARTHA FOSTER CRAWFORD’S LEADERSHIP OF CHINESE BAPTIST WOMEN, 1868-1891……………………………….……..65 "All these long years of toil and going from house to house:" Female Mission Work and Martha Crawford's Frustrations……………….71 v “From the Condition of a Thing to the Dignity of a Sister:” Racial Stereotypes and the Role of Chinese Women in American Missions……………………………….…………………………80 “To Save Her by Dismissing Her:” Disciplining the Bible Women…..……89 “It is not our business to foreignize, but to Christianize:” Martha Crawford's Friendship Strategy and Chinese Christian Women’s Responses to Baptist Mission Work………………………….…………….105 4. THE "COLORED WASHERWOMAN" WITH "A VERY NEW THING:” AMANDA BERRY SMITH AND THE SEARCH FOR RACIAL RECONCILIATION IN A SEGREGATED ERA, 1869-1880……………………………………………………………...117 Amanda Smith’s Background……………………………………………….118 Amanda Smith's Traveling Ministry………………………………………...124 Amanda Smith's Camp Meeting Audience………………………………..135 “She Belongs to Us:” Modeling the Christian Race Woman...................141 “Their Successful Effort at Woman Building:” Modeling the Supervised Leader…………………………………………………………...152 5. A FREED WOMAN WHO RESCUED SLAVES: MARIA FEARING AND THE RACIAL INTEGRATION OF THE AMERICAN PRESBYTERIAN CONGO MISSION, 1894 TO 1915…….……………..172 "Aunt Maria Winston:" Seeking Leadership in the Wake of Slavery, 1863-1994………………………………………………….……179 "Mamu" Fearing: Foster Care and Slavery, 1894-1909………………….183 "Miss Maria Fearing:" The Cultural Context of an Official Missionary, 1896-1910………………………………………………………192 Maria Fearing, American: Citizenship, Status, and Racial Uplift, 1903-1915……………………………………………………..205 6. CONCLUSION……..…………………………………………………………..217 BIBLIOGRAPHY……..….……………….…………….……….......…………228 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1 Map of Martha Crawford’s Frequent Destinations in China……………...…...75 3.1 Map Featuring Eight of Amanda Smith’s Destinations in the United States………………………………………………………...128 3.2 Map Featuring Seven of Amanda Smith’s Destinations in the United Kingdom……………………………………………………..155 4.1 Location of Maria Fearing’s Mission Station Within a Modern Map of Congo…………………………………………………....182 vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AME African Methodist Episcopal Church Founded in 1816; Amanda Berry Smith retained membership in this denomination. ME Methodist Episcopal Church/Northern Methodists Founded in 1780; Amanda Smith preached in America and England with members of this denomination. PCUS Presbyterian Church in the United States/ Southern Presbyterians Founded in 1861; Maria Fearing worked for the PCUS in Congo. SBC Southern Baptist Convention Founded in 1845; Martha Foster Crawford worked for the SBC in China. viii Introduction In 1947, an editorial in a Hawaiian newspaper criticized a group of Southern Baptist short-term missionaries visiting the territory. The writer wondered if the missionaries planned to introduce “undemocratic prejudices” during their stay. He could not be sure of their motives, but, as a representative of all Hawaiians, the writer "reserve[d] the right to question the appropriateness of missionaries coming from a bi- racial, segregation-hamstrung, caste culture to bring the light of truth to us.”1 In his opinion, if Christian religion came to Hawaii laden with signs of racial prejudice, then the religion was not worth having. American Christian missionaries traveled to help other groups of people find spiritual salvation, but sometimes their message of freedom contained the legacy of bondage. Missionaries contended with the consequences of American slavery, specifically racial prejudice and segregation. People who dedicated their careers to establishing cross-cultural relationships could not avoid racial issues. Women missionaries in the late nineteenth century faced an extra challenge because of the type of domestic ministry they performed.2 American women 1 Foy Valentine, A Historical Study of Southern Baptists and Race Relations, 1917-1947 (New York: Arno Press, 1980), 3-4. 2 For analysis of women’s mission work, see: Rhonda Anne Semple, Missionary Women: Gender, Professionalism and the Victorian Idea of Christian Mission (Rochester, NY: The Boydell Press, 2003); Peggy Pascoe, Relations of Rescue: the Search For Female Moral Authority in the American West, 1874-1939 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1990); Dana Robert, American Women in Mission (Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 1996); David T. Morgan, Southern Baptist Sisters: In Search of Status, 1845-2000 (Macon, GA: Mercer Univ. Press, 2003); Susan Hill Lindley, “You Have Stept Out of Your Place:” A History of Women and Religion in America (Louisville: missionaries tried to teach through personal connections; they wanted to take the message of Christ into other people's homes or other non-threatening venues. These women needed to integrate themselves into communities in China and Africa so that they could introduce their views on personal topics like housekeeping, education, and spiritual transformation. The missionaries
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Nominees and Bios
    Nominees for the Virginia Emancipation Memorial Pre‐Emancipation Period 1. Emanuel Driggus, fl. 1645–1685 Northampton Co. Enslaved man who secured his freedom and that of his family members Derived from DVB entry: http://www.lva.virginia.gov/public/dvb/bio.asp?b=Driggus_Emanuel Emanuel Driggus (fl. 1645–1685), an enslaved man who secured freedom for himself and several members of his family exemplified the possibilities and the limitations that free blacks encountered in seventeenth‐century Virginia. His name appears in the records of Northampton County between 1645 and 1685. He might have been the Emanuel mentioned in 1640 as a runaway. The date and place of his birth are not known, nor are the date and circumstances of his arrival in Virginia. His name, possibly a corruption of a Portuguese surname occasionally spelled Rodriggus or Roddriggues, suggests that he was either from Africa (perhaps Angola) or from one of the Caribbean islands served by Portuguese slave traders. His first name was also sometimes spelled Manuell. Driggus's Iberian name and the aptitude that he displayed maneuvering within the Virginia legal system suggest that he grew up in the ebb and flow of people, goods, and cultures around the Atlantic littoral and that he learned to navigate to his own advantage. 2. James Lafayette, ca. 1748–1830 New Kent County Revolutionary War spy emancipated by the House of Delegates Derived from DVB/ EV entry: http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Lafayette_James_ca_1748‐1830 James Lafayette was a spy during the American Revolution (1775–1783). Born a slave about 1748, he was a body servant for his owner, William Armistead, of New Kent County, in the spring of 1781.
    [Show full text]
  • Finding Peace Amongst Restless and Unatoned Bones: a Dialogue on Búmùntù from the Democratic Republic of Congo
    FINDING PEACE AMONGST RESTLESS AND UNATONED BONES: A DIALOGUE ON BÚMÙNTÙ FROM THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO. A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Irene Margaret Sephton BFA RMIT University, BSW(Hons) Latrobe University School of Global Urban and Social Studies College of Design and Social Context RMIT University December, 2018 I DECLARATION I certify that except where due acknowledgement has been made, the work is that of the author alone; the work has not been submitted previously, in whole or in part, to qualify for any other academic award; the content of the thesis is the result of work which has been carried out since the official commencement date of the approved research program; any editorial work, paid or unpaid, carried out by a third party is acknowledged; and, ethics procedures and guidelines have been followed. I acknowledge the support I have received for my research through the provision of an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship. Irene Margaret Sephton December, 2018 II DEDICATION “The world of humanity is possessed of two wings: the male and the female.1 So long as these two wings are not equivalent in strength, the bird will not fly.” ‘Abdu’l-Bahá I dedicate this work to our daughters Elikya Areti Dinanga and Ilunga Ida Lorian. Thank you for continually keeping my vision on a hope for the future. May our journey together inspire you both to embody Búmùntù – in each of your respective realities – and to strive towards a future where the (many) wings of humanity are equivalent in strength, that we may fly.
    [Show full text]
  • Methodist Interracial Cooperation in the Progressive Era: Amanda Berry Smith and Emma Ray
    Methodist History, 49:2 (January 2011) METHODIST INTERRACIAL COOPeration IN THE PROGRESSIVE ERA: AMANDA BERRY SMITH AND EMMA RAY1 PRISCILLA POPE-LEVISON More than two decades ago, in a volume dedicated to American Methodism’s bicentennial celebration, Lewis V. Baldwin proffered a list of desiderata to engage Methodist scholarship for the next centennial. The fol- lowing item on Baldwin’s list has gone largely unheeded: “More time and energy could be devoted to studies of blacks who were affiliates with white Methodist churches in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.”2 This study takes up Baldwin’s challenge by offering a thorough analysis of two African American evangelists, Amanda Berry Smith and Emma Ray, who were long-time affiliates with white holiness Methodist churches in the Progressive Era. For both women, their interracial cooperation was pro- pelled by the transformative experience of sanctification that simultaneously created division within the African American Methodist community and ac- ceptance among white holiness folks. In addition, this study further instantiates Methodism into the bour- geoning historiography of interracial cooperation, a term that emerged in the Progressive Era to give expression to joint ventures between African Americans and whites. Amidst a recent flurry of studies on interracial cooper- ation in cities, women’s organizations, and religious communities,3 attention 1 A version of this article was presented at the 2010 meeting of the Historical Society of The United Methodist Church and the Western Jurisdiction Commission on Archives and History at Seattle Pacific University. Participants in the Methodist History working group at the Oxford Institute of Methodist Theological Studies provided insightful responses to an earlier draft.
    [Show full text]
  • Imperium in Imperio” 49
    The Roots and Routes of “Imperium in Imperio” 49 The Roots and Routes of “Imperium in Imperio”: St. Clair Drake, The Formative Years Andrew J. Rosa Chicago: like the back of your hand; the earlier railroad the same. Just as heavily veined and stressed, you know and carry with you whole all of our suffering; a spread of pain which, we know, you conceal quietly. Andrew Salkey, 1973.1 My earliest memories of a black college involve an episode fifty-six years ago . My father had taken me . with him on a visit to his alma mater, the school that had fashioned him into a preacher and my mother into a schoolteacher, Virginia Theological Seminary and College . He had come there as a young immigrant from Barbados; my mother had come across the mountains from Staunton in the Shenandoah Valley. I remember that visit . Years later I watched black Baptists giving suppers and begging “to keep the Seminary alive” . The Seminary was theirs. It is still alive, impecunious and struggling. They refuse to let it die. St Clair Drake, 1971.2 0026-3079/2012/5201-049$2.50/0 American Studies, 52:1 (2012): 49-75 49 50 Andrew J. Rosa Introduction In 1899, Sutton Griggs published Imperium in Imperio, an obscure work of utopian fiction that unfolds around the creation of a separate black empire within the United States. One of the two main protagonists of the novel, Belton Piedmont, is a patriotic American, who believes that black people must make an attempt to persuade whites to grant them justice before wholly surrendering to a separate racial destiny.
    [Show full text]
  • The Challenge Ahead 25 Years of Ministry
    A publication of The Mission Society Winter 2009 | 43 The challenge ahead 25 years of ministry. Much to celebrate. Much to do. Join us in The Mission UNFINISHED Winter 2009, Issue 43 Publisher/CEO When you partner with The Mission Society, not only do you join us in Philip R. Granger The Mission to offer Christ to the world, but you join us in embracing Editor our core values. Ruth A. Burgner Researcher/Contributing Writer Reed Hoppe INCARNATION Design The Mission Society seeks to minister to others by following the example of Point of Vision / www.pointofvision.com Jesus, who fully entered the human experience. In our cross-cultural ministry, Information Technology Director we are committed to learning the local language, living among the people, Phyllis Hughes ministering in culturally appropriate ways, demonstrating love for God and Founding President/President Emeritus H.T. Maclin neighbor, and disciple-making among the nations. Unfinished is a publication of The Mission Society. Subscriptions are free upon request. INTEGRITY Send subscription requests, change of The Mission Society desires to reflect the holiness of God in all we do. addresses, and all correspondence to P.O. Box 922637, Norcross, Georgia 30010 or call Personally and corporately we endeavor to make the character of Christ 800.478.8963 (FAX 770.446.3044). The Mission manifest in our lives and our ministry. Society is funded entirely by gifts from indi- viduals and local congregations. All gifts are tax-exempt and are gratefully acknowledged. PASSION The Mission Society’s publication is a member of the Evangelical Press Association.
    [Show full text]
  • Inafrica Inafrica
    PRESBYTERIAN MISSION AGENCY | Fall 2017 pcusa.org/missioncrossroads GOD’SGOD’S MISSIONMISSION ININ AFRICAAFRICA The road to Chasefu | Pastoring in war | Community Health Evangelism | Belhar: Living it out AT THE CROSSROADS | Jose Luis Casal, director of Presbyterian World Mission Mission Crossroads is a Presbyterian Mission Agency publication about God’s mission around the world The faith of Maria Fearing, through the PC(USA) and our church partners. a slave freed to serve EDITOR Kathy Melvin n God’s mission we show our faith by our obedient service. In other words, as Francis of Assisi is believed to have said, “Preach the gospel at all times; when DIRECTOR OF WORLD MISSION necessary, use words.” This is the task and mission of disciples of Jesus — to let Jose Luis Casal Iour lives speak for themselves of the gospel, and if necessary to use words to help enhance and amplify our faith. CONTENT MANAGER Presbyterian mission personnel face challenges around the world where Debbie Braaksma actions are more needed than words. Special Africa Issue In this issue of Mission Crossroads, you’ll find stories and examples of the actions and work of our mission co-workers and partners in Africa. They are PROJECT MANAGER making an incredible difference for the future and proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ in word and Tammy Warren deed on that continent. Speaking about stories of faith and witness — where actions speak louder than words — I am ART DIRECTOR reminded of the story of Maria Fearing, born into slavery near Gainesville, Alabama, in 1838. Her Mark Thomson biography, The Maria Fearing Story, written by Darius L.
    [Show full text]
  • BRETHREN HISTORICAL REVIEW Editor: Dr Neil T.R
    Vol. 8 2012 -4- Timothy C. F. Stunt An Early Account of the Brethren in 1838 -13- Óli Jacobsen Daniel J. Danielsen (1871–1916): The Faeroese who Changed History in the Congo -46- Neil T. R. Dickson The Stone in the Water: Scottish Baptist-Brethren Dialogue, 2004-6 -76- Reviews -101- Obituary F. Roy Coad BRETHREN HISTORICAL REVIEW Editor: Dr Neil T.R. Dickson, 3 Arran Road, Troon, South Ayrshire KA10 6TD, UK (e-mail: [email protected]). Reviews Editor: Dr Crawford Gribben, School of English, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland (e-mail: [email protected]). Consulting editors: Dr Peter Lineham, Dr Harold H. Rowdon, Mr Michael Schneider, Dr Timothy Stunt, Dr Neil Summerton. Secretary: Dr Alison Muir, 1 Brands Row, Crossgates, Fife KY4 8DE, UK (e-mail: [email protected]). Treasurer: Mr Euan Menzies, 24 Balcombe Road, Haywards Heath, West Sussex RH16 1PF (e-mail: [email protected]) © Brethren Archivists and Historians Network http://brethrenhistory.org/ ISSN 1755-9383 Subscriptions (see p.110) Subscriptions are £15 per year if paying in pounds sterling or £15.50 by credit card, and the equivalent of £21 if paying in any other currency at current rates of exchange (50% discount for registered students), payable with each issue. This also enlists the subscriber in the Brethren Archivists and Historians Network. All monies should be sent to the Secretary. Submissions Where possible, submissions should be sent as an e-mail attachment to the editor; alternatively they should be typed (double spaced). A style sheet is available on application to the editor. BRETHREN HISTORICAL REVIEW is the journal of the Brethren Archivists and Historians Network.
    [Show full text]
  • Women in the Holiness Movement
    • WOMEN IN THE HOLINESS MOVEMENT Lucille Sider Dayton aM Donald W. Dayton (Prepared originally as a background study for a seminar led by Lucille Sider Dayton under the auspices of the Women's Aldersgate Fellowship and CHA ~~en at the l06th Annual Convention of the Christian Holiness Association, held in Louisville, Kentucky, April 17-19, 1974.) WOMEN IN THE HOLINESS MOVEMENT Introduction We seek to uncover in this paper the important role of women within early Holiness traditions. We concentra~e on outstanding women within the movement and on various defenses of their right to be leaders and preachers. This is just the beginning of the research that needs to be done. A more comprehensive study would include a statistical analysis of women ministers in the early-Holiness traditions as compar.ed to now. It would more carefully discuss the opposition women ministers faced, and it would seek to discover reasons for the decline 'of the participation of women within the Holiness traditions in recent years. We begin this paper with a discussion of the role of women in early Methodism in England. We then notice the influence of revivalist Finney and Oberlin College on woman's participation in early revival­ ism. We see the conjoining of Methodism an~Revivalsim in Phoebe Palmer and her followers. We discuss Maggie Van Cott, the first , woman licensed to preach in the Methodist Church, and other women preachers and writers of the mid-lqth century. We examine the 'Holiness literature as it speaks about woman's role and we trace the influence of women in several Holiness denominations.
    [Show full text]
  • Lecture 28 – “The Last Command”: Missions in “The Great Century”
    Reformation & Modern Church History Lecture 28, page 1 Lecture 28 – “The Last Command”: Missions in “the Great Century” “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Matthew 28: 19, 20 Background Reading Gonzalez, ch. 30 Prayer From Betty Stam “I give up all my own plans and purposes, all my own desires and hopes, and accept Thy will for my life. I give myself, my life, my all utterly to Thee to be thine forever. Fill me with Thy Holy Spirit, use me as Thou will, send me where Thou will, work out Thy whole will in my life at any cost. Now and forever. Amen.” “The Last Command”: Missions in “the Great Century” I. Catholic Missions II. Early Protestant Efforts A. Home missions B. The Huguenot mission to Brazil C. The Dutch Calvinists 1. “Church planting” 2. Missiological writings of Gisbertus Voetius D. The English and New England Puritans Seal of the Massachusetts Bay Company pictured an Indian and the words, “Come over and help us”; Charter charged the company officials to win the natives to “the only true God and Savior of mankind.” 1. John Eliot (1604-90) “Prayer and pains, through faith in Jesus Christ, will do anything.” 2. Thomas Mayhew (1620-57) 3. David Brainerd (1718-47) Diary, Thursday, May 22, 1746: “If ever my soul presented itself to God for His service, without any reserve, it did so now.
    [Show full text]
  • Virginians on the Monument Nominations WORKING DOCUMENT: NOT for DISTRIBUTION
    Virginians on the Monument Nominations WORKING DOCUMENT: NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION 1. The Reverend John J. Jasper, (July 4, 1812‐1901), founder of Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church, Richmond. First located on Brown’s Island. 2. Gabriel and Gabriel's Rebellion of 1800, which, had the conspiracy been undiscovered, would have been the largest slave insurrection in North America. 3. Lucy Goode Brooks, who, with her husband, Albert Royal Brooks, were dedicated to securing their family and gaining their freedom. After the Civil War ended, Ms. Brooks raised money and mobilized support on behalf of displaced and orphaned African American children by founding the Friends' Asylum for Colored Orphans in 1872, which still operates today as The Friends’ Association for Children. 4. Resistance by enslaved men and women of Fauquier County, such as Anthony Burns, who escaped to Boston in 1854 only to be re‐captured and tried under the Fugitive Slave Act, returned and imprisoned under isolation at Lumpkin's Jail, where he nevertheless found ways to communicate with other inmates about his escape experiences and smuggle out letters to abolitionist allies, ultimately regaining his freedom once again. 5. Margie Jumper‐‐On a Sunday afternoon in 1946, Margie Jumper, an African American housekeeper working in an all‐white neighborhood, boarded a crowded — and segregated —Roanoke streetcar to go home. The streetcar was crowded. White passengers sat in the middle and front of the trolley. African American passengers sat in the back. If there was no room to sit, the African American passengers stood. In that day and age, Mrs. Jumper was not allowed to sit where she wanted.
    [Show full text]
  • Post-Emancipation Nominees
    Nominees for the Virginia Emancipation Memorial Emancipation to Present Categorized Thematically Most of the nominees could appear in more than one category. I attempted to assign them to the area of endeavor for which they are best known. For highly accomplished individuals, this was extremely difficult and admittedly subjective. For instance, there are many ministers on the list, but in my view quite a few of them fit more comfortably under “Civil Rights Era Leader” than “Religious Leader.” Religious Leaders 1. Reverend John Jasper, 1812‐1901 Richmond Nominated by Benjamin Ross, Historian, Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church Religious leader Rev. Jasper was born into slavery on July 4, 1812 in Fluvanna County, Virginia, to Philip and Tina Jasper one of twenty‐four children. Philip was a Baptist preacher while Tina was a slave of a Mr. Peachy. Jasper was hired out to various people and when Mr. Peachy's mistress died, he was given to her son, John Blair Peachy, a lawyer who moved to Louisiana. Jasper's time in Louisiana was short, as his new master soon died, and he returned to Richmond, Virginia. Jasper experienced a personal conversion to Christianity in Capital Square in 1839. Jasper convinced a fellow slave to teach him to read and write, and began studying to become a Baptist minister. For more than two decades, Rev. Jasper traveled throughout Virginia, often preaching at funeral services for fellow slaves. He often preached at Third Baptist Church in Petersburg, Virginia. He also preached to Confederate Soldiers during the American Civil War (1861‐1865). After his own emancipation following the American Civil War, Rev.
    [Show full text]
  • Ota Benga, the Batetela Boys, and the Promise of Black America Karen Sotiropoulos [email protected]
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Cleveland-Marshall College of Law Cleveland State University EngagedScholarship@CSU History Faculty Publications History Department 3-2015 "Town of God": Ota Benga, the Batetela Boys, and the Promise of Black America Karen Sotiropoulos [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/clhist_facpub Part of the United States History Commons How does access to this work benefit oy u? Let us know! Publisher's Statement This work remains under copyright © 2015 Journal of World History. It can be accessed here: http://muse.jhu.edu/article/611604 Repository Citation Sotiropoulos, Karen, ""Town of God": Ota Benga, the Batetela Boys, and the Promise of Black America" (2015). History Faculty Publications. 91. https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/clhist_facpub/91 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the History Department at EngagedScholarship@CSU. It has been accepted for inclusion in History Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of EngagedScholarship@CSU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ૺ7RZQRI*RGૻ2WD%HQJDWKH%DWHWHOD%R\VDQGWKH 3URPLVHRI%ODFN$PHULFD .DUHQ6RWLURSRXORV Journal of World History, Volume 26, Number 1, March 2015, pp. 41-76 (Article) 3XEOLVKHGE\8QLYHUVLW\RI+DZDL L3UHVV For additional information about this article http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/jwh/summary/v026/26.1.sotiropoulos.html Access provided by Cleveland State University (8 Mar 2016 20:44 GMT) “Town of God”: Ota Benga, the Batetela Boys, and the Promise of Black America1 karen sotiropoulos Cleveland State University “Even your dog knows the homes of your friends.” —Batetela proverb2 hen some New Yorkers asked the central African man Ota WBenga how he viewed their country during his 1906 travels, he replied “Me no like America: me like St.
    [Show full text]