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African Methodist Episcopal Church Historic Timeline 1703-1987

Transcription of The A.M.E. Church Review, The Book Shelf 1997 Columns

1703 born in Epworth, England. 1758 First black was baptized by John Wesley. 1760 was born in . Father, mother, and four children property of William Chew; family sold to a Mr. Stokely in 1767 near Dover, . 1775 First lodge of black Masons organized by Prince Hall; chartered by the Grand Lodge of England in 1784 as the African Lodge No. 459. Charter delivered to Prince Hall at Boston, May 2, 1787. 1776 Declaration of Independence signed at Philadelphia (July 4). 1777 Richard Allen converted near Dover at the age of 17. He joined St. George Methodist Church after moving to Philadelphia. 1778 Richard Allen, assisted by , organized the Mutual Aid Society, first mutual insurance group by and for blacks in the world (April 12). 1782 Richard Allen licensed to preach. 1784 Methodist Episcopal Church organized at . 1787 United States Constitution ratified. Richard Allen founded the . 1788 Andrew Bryan ordained the first pastor of Savannah’s First African Baptist Church (January). 1789 Josiah Henson, model for Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom in Uncle Tom’s Cabin, was born a slave in . 1790 First census showed black population of 757,181, with 59,557 free born. 1791 Benjamin Banneker appointed as a member of commission to lay out plans for the District of Columbia. 1793 Dr. sought help of Richard Allen to administer care for sick during yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia. 1794 Richard Allen and associates adopted a declaration of independence (June 10). Bethel Church organized in Philadelphia. (June 10). dedicated the new church built by the “Allenites,” Bethel church located at Sixth and Lombard Street (July 29). St. Thomas Church, Philadelphia, first black Episcopal Church; Absalom Jones, first priest. 1796 African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church (AMEZ) organized in City. Application for Articles of Association for Bethel Church set forth (August 23). 1797 born a slave in Hurley, New York. 1798 Levi Coffin, organizer of the , born (October 25). 1799 Richard Allen was ordained a deacon by Bishop Asbury, first Afro- American ordained in American . 1800 Free blacks of Philadelphia presented a petition to Congress opposing the slave trade, the Fugitive Act of 1793, and itself. 1807 Supreme Court of decided in favor of Bethel Church concerning the ownership and governance of the church in dispute with St. George’s Methodist Episcopal Church. British Parliament abolished slave trade (March 25). 1808 Federal law barring the African slave trade went into effect. 1809 Abyssinian Baptist Church organized in (July 5). 1811 Daniel Alexander Payne born in (February 24). 1812 Richard Allen and Absalom Jones requested to help organize defenses for Philadelphia against the British. 1813 Reverends Peter Spencer and William Anderson founded the Union American Methodist Episcopal Church, the first church in the United States organized and entirely controlled by blacks. Withdrew from Methodist Episcopal Church in Wilmington, Delaware. 1816 African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) took on organic form at its first General Conference in Bethel Church. Richard Allen, Jr., was elected secretary. Delegation included , Richard Allen, Richard Williams, Peter Spencer, Jacob Marsh, William Anderson, Henry Harden, Edward Jackson, Edward Williamson, Stephen Hill, Nicholas Gilliard and Reuben Cuff (April 9). Richard Allen was elected and consecrated bishop of the AME Church. Daniel Coker had been elected first but declined. Church Extension Society established at organizational General Conference. 1817 First AME Discipline and Hymnal published. , black abolitionist, was chairman of the First Negro Convention held in Bethel called by Allen (January 23). was born in Maryland (February 14). 1818 AME Book Concern established in Philadelphia by Allen. 1820 Harriet Tubman born a slave in Maryland. First General Conference convened at Philadelphia; Richard Allen, Jr., was secretary (July 9). Richard Allen delivered first Episcopal Address. 1821 Daniel A. Coker, representing the AME Church, left the United States for West under the auspices of the American Colonization Society. 1822 planned one of the most extensive slave revolts ever recorded. 1824 Reverend Boggs was the first AME minister to go to West Africa, as a to . General Conference convened in Philadelphia, Jacob Matthews, secretary (May1-11). 1827 Baltimore Conference dispatched Scipio Bean as a missionary to Haiti. 1828 General Conference convened at Philadelphia; Joseph M. Corr, secretary (May 12-27). (1770-1849) was consecrated bishop. A South Carolinian he served as Allen’s assistant and business manager. 1831 Richard Allen died March 26 in Philadelphia. His widow, Sarah, died July 16, 1849. Six children survived Allen: Richard, Jr., Peter, John, Sarah, Ann and James. Nat Turner led slave revolt in Virginia (August 21-23). Turner executed (November 11). 1832 General Conference convened in Baltimore, Maryland; Joseph M. Corr, secretary (May 10-21). 1833 The Philadelphia Negro Library was organized. 1836 General Conference convened at Philadelphia; George Hogarth, secretary (May 2-11). Edward Waters (1780-1847) consecrated as bishop; pastor from Baltimore. 1839 Amistad affair, famous slave revolt aboard a slave ship. Cinque was the leader. 1840 General Conference convened a Philadelphia; George Hogarth, secretary (May 4-14). 1841 First number of the AME Magazine was published; George Hogarth, editor. First AME Church choir organized in Bethel Church, Philadelphia. 1842 Daniel A. Payne introduced first of his educational resolutions at Baltimore. 1843 Sojouner Truth began her fight against slavery. 1844 General Conference convened at , Pennsylvania; M. M. Clark, secretary (May 6-20). (1788-1873) consecrated bishop. Born in India, Quinn was general missionary of Western United States. General Conference gave lay membership in the Conference. Missionary Department established. Philadelphia Conference authorized establishment of a high school in Philadelphia. Methodist Episcopal Church, South, split from the Methodist Episcopal Church on the slavery question. Conference established Union seminary as the first direct effort made toward the establishment of schools for Afro- (September 21). 1846 AME and AMEZ churches considered organic union. 1848 General Conference convened at Philadelphia; M. M. Clark, secretary (May 1-23). Bishop Quinn delivered first written Episcopal Address. Purchase of The Mystery, edited by Martin R. Delaney; by the AME Church. General Book A. R. Green changed the title of newspaper to the Christian Herald.

1852 General Conference convened at New York City; M. M. Clark, secretary (May 3-20). Willis Nazrey (1808-1874) consecrated bishop, pastor of Bethel Church, Philadelphia.

Daniel Alexander Payne (1811-1893) a South Carolinian; apostle of education; founder of ; consecrated bishop. Church divided into episcopal districts, sanctioned by General Conference of 1876. Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin published. 1853 William Wells Brown wrote Clotel, first novel by a black. 1855 Black troops mustered into Confederate service (March 24). 1856 General Conference convened at , Ohio; Alexander W. Wayman, secretary (May 5-20). Denominational seal ordered, with “God our Father, Christ our Redeemer, and Man our Brother,” inscribed on it. Canadian churches request to be separated from their American colleagues. Booker T. Washington (1856-1915) born in Virginia. Wilberforce University founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in Ohio (August 30). 1857 Dred Scott decision by the United States Supreme Court opened federal territory to slavery and denied blacks citizenship (May 6). 1858 William Wells Brown published The Escape, first play written by an American black. 1859 The last slave ship, Clothilde, landed its cargo of slaves at Mobile, . John Brown raided Harper’s Ferry (October 16). 1860 elected President (November 6) General Conference convened at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Alexander W. Wayman, secretary (May 7-25). 1861 Fort Sumter fired upon (April 12). 1862 Daniel A. Payne visited Abraham Lincoln in the interest of emancipation of the slaves (April). 1863 Daniel A. Payne purchased Wilberforce University from the Methodist Episcopal Church for $10,000 and merged with Union Seminary. President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation (January 1). 1864 General Conference convened at Philadelphia; Alexander W. Wayman, secretary (May 22-27). Alexander W. Wayman (1821-1895) consecrated; Maryland born pastor of Bethel Church, Baltimore. Jabez Pitt Campbell (1815-1891) consecrated bishop; pastor of Ebenezer Church, Baltimore. General Conference elected first Secretary of Missions: John M. Brown. AME and AMEZ churches consider organic union at Philadelphia. Henry M. Turner proposed union with AMEZ Church. 1865 Wilberforce University was a victim of arson on the same night that President Lincoln was assassinated (April 14). Abraham Lincoln died in Washington, D. C. (April 15). Daniel A. Payne organized the South Carolina Conference, which embraced all of the southeastern part of the United States. The Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution passed, abolishing slavery (December 18). 1866 Semi-Centenary of the AME Church (1816-1866) observed in Pittsburgh at the ’ Council (January). established in Jacksonville, Florida. 1868 General Conference convened at Washington, D. C., with Benjamin T. Tanner as secretary (May 4-26). James Alexander Shorter (1817-1887) of Washington, D. C., consecrated bishop. He was a pastor in Pittsburgh at the time of his elevation. Thomas Marcus Decatur Ward (1823-1894) consecrated bishop. A native Pennsylvanian, Ward was a missionary in . John Mifflin Brown (1817-1893) from Delaware consecrated bishop from his secretarial post of the Parent Missionary Society. The office of Presiding Elder was instituted. An organic union was considered between the AME and the AMEZ churches. William E. B. DuBois was born in Massachusetts (February 23). 1870 John C. Urling started missionary work in British Guiana. The Colored Methodist Episcopal Church (CME) was organized in Jackson, Tennessee, by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Hiram R. Revels was admitted to the United States Senate from Mississippi as the first black Senator (February 25). The Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution was passed, giving blacks the right to vote (March 30). 1872 General Conference convened at Nashville, Tennessee, with James H. A. Johnson as secretary (May 6-24). First delegated conference: 7 bishops, 155 ministerial and 33 lay delegates. The Financial Department was established, with John H. Burley as the first Secretary-Treasurer. General Conference ordered the erection of a connectional church in Washington, D. C., to be completed in 1884 and named Metropolitan A.M.E. The “Dollar Money” system was introduced. 1873 The Women’s Christian Temperance Union was organized. 1874 At an educational institute held at Austin, , was proposed to be built at Waco. Women’s Parent Mite Missionary Society founded in Washington, D. C., by Harriet Wayman, Mary Campbell and C. M. Burley (May 17). 1875 Richard R. Disney (1830-1891) consecrated a bishop in the British Methodist Episcopal (BME) Church. Maryland born, he was Book Steward and Editor of the Missionary Messenger of the BME Church. 1876 General Conference convened in , Georgia, with Benjamin W. Arnett as secretary (May 1-18). The Stewardess Board was instituted. 1877 Henry O. Flipper, the first black graduate of West Point, was born June 15 in Georgia. 1880 General Conference convened in St. Louis, Missouri, with Benjamin W. Arnett as secretary (May 3-25). Henry McNeal Turner (1831-1915) consecrated bishop. A South Carolinian by birth, Turner was General Business Manager at the time of his election. William Fisher Dickerson (1844-1884) consecrated bishop. Dickerson, a native of New Jersey, was a New York pastor when elected. Richard Harvey Cain (1826-1887) consecrated bishop. Born in Virginia, Cain was a presiding elder in South Carolina at his election. was established in Columbia, South Carolina (December). 1881 The First Ecumenical Methodist Conference was held in London, England (September) was established in Atlanta, Georgia. Paul Quinn College was chartered by the state of Texas. 1882 Bishop Henry M. Turner established the Southern Christian Recorder. The AME Sunday School Union was founded by who served as its Secretary-Treasurer, 1882-1900. 1884 Benjamin Tucker Tanner founded the AME Church Review, the oldest magazine published by Afro-Americans. General Conference convened at Baltimore, Maryland, with Mansfield Edward Bryant as secretary (May 5-26). Richard Randolph Disney (1830-1891) born in Maryland and beginning his career in Massachusetts, was elected a bishop. The BME Church united with the AME Church. W. D. Johnson was made Commissioner of Education. The Division of Educational Institutions was authorized by the General Conference, with William D. Dickerson as the first secretary. 1885 An organic union considered again between the AME and AMEZ churches at a meeting in Washington, D. C. 1886 Kittrell College established in Kittrell, North Carolina. Shorter College was founded in Little Rock, Arkansas. 1887 Campbell College was founded at Vicksburg and Friars Point, Mississippi. Turner Normal Institute was founded at Shelbyville, Tennessee. 1888 General Conference convened at Indianapolis, Indiana, with Mansfield Edward Bryant as secretary (May 7-28). Wesley John Gaines (1840-1912) a native of Georgia, was a presiding elder at the time of his consecration as a bishop. Benjamin William Arnett (1835-1906) a native of Pennsylvania, was Financial Secretary when he was elected a bishop. Benjamin Tucker Tanner (1835-1915) consecrated bishop. Born in Pennsylvania, Tanner was founder and editor of the AME Review. Abraham Grant (1848-1911) consecrated bishop. A Floridian, he was a Texas presiding elder at his elevation. 1889 College was established in Birmingham, Alabama. 1890 Lampton College was chartered under the laws of Louisiana. 1891 Wayman Institute was founded in Harrodsburg, Kentucky. The Second Methodist Ecumenical Conference was held at Metropolitan AME. 1892 General Conference convened in Philadelphia, with R. R. Downs, secretary. Benjamin Franklin Lee (1831-1926) consecrated bishop. Born in New Jersey, he was editor of the Christian Recorder at the time of his selection. Moses Buckingham Salter (1841-1913) consecrated bishop. A South Carolinian, he was a presiding elder at the time of election. James Anderson Handy (1826-1811) consecrated bishop. Born in Maryland, he was Financial Secretary at the time of his elevation. The Church Extension Department was established, with Cornelius T. Shaffer, first Secretary-Treasurer. The fifth proposal of organic union was considered at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The Voice of Missions was made the official organ of the Missionary Department. 1893 Dr. Daniel Hale Williams performed the world’s first successful heart operation at ’s Provident Hospital (July 9) 1894 Payne Theological Seminary was established at Wilberforce University. Turner Theological Seminary was established at Morris Brown College. 1895 Death of Frederick Douglass (February 20). 1896 General Conference convened in Wilmington, North Carolina, with L. H. Reynolds, secretary (May 4-22). General Conference elected two laymen to fill general offices: Hightower T. Kealing, editor of the AME Review, and John Russell Hawkins, Secretary of Education. William Benjamin Derrick (1843-1913) consecrated bishop. Born in West Indies, he was Missionary Secretary at the time. Josiah Crawford Embry (1834-1897) consecrated bishop. A North Carolinian, he was Business Manager of the Book Concern when elected. Bishop Henry M. Turner founded the Women’s Home and Foreign Missionary Society, and Lillian F. Thurman was connectional president, 1896-1900. Delegates from the Ethiopian Church in sent to America. Western University was established at Quindaro, Kansas. The United States Supreme Court decision in Plessy v. Ferguson upheld the doctrine of “separate but equal,” (May 18). 1897 Work in South Africa began, and Bishop H. M. Turner held the first AME Conference. 1898 Campbell College at Vicksburg and at Friar’s Point, Mississippi, were merged at Jackson, Mississippi. 1900 General Conference convened in Columbus, Ohio, with L. H. Reynolds, secretary (May 7-25). Evans Tyree (1854-1921) consecrated bishop. Tennessee born, he was pastor of St. John Church, Nashville. Morris Marcellus Moore (1856-1900) consecrated bishop. Born in Florida, he was Financial Secretary at the time of his election. Moore served the shortest period of any bishop-six months. Charles Spencer Smith (1852-1922) consecrated bishop. A Canadian, Smith was Secretary of the Sunday School Union. Cornelius Thaddeus Shaffer (1874-1919) consecrated bishop. An Ohioan by birth, he was Secretary of Church extension Society. Levi Jenkins Coppin (1848-1924) consecrated bishop. Born in Maryland, he was editor of the AME Review. The Western Christian Recorder was adopted by the Conference. The Allen Christian Endeavor League was established, with Benjamin W. Arnett, Jr., as the first Secretary-Treasurer. The AME Church made an application for incorporation in Columbus, Ohio. Incorporated under the laws of Pennsylvania (June 25).

Bishop Coppin assigned to South Africa as the first regularly assigned bishop. 1902 Bishop Shaffer visited West Africa and established a high school. The AME Church took an active role in the first Young People’s Congress in Atlanta, Georgia. 1904 General Conference convened in Chicago, Illinois, with L. H. Reynolds, secretary (May 2). 1905 A group of black intellectuals, led by W. E. B. DuBois, organized the “Niagara Movement” (a forerunner of the NAACP) in western New York (July 11-13). 1908 General Conference convened at Norfolk,Virginia, W. D. Johnson, secretary (May 4). Edward Wilkerson Lampton (1857-1910) consecrated bishop. A Virginian, he was Financial Secretary at the time of his election. Henry Blanton Parks (1858-1936) consecrated bishop. A Georgian, he was Secretary of Missions at the time of his selection. Joseph Simeon Flipper (1858-1944) consecrated bishop. He was a native of Georgia and President of Morris Brown College at the time of elevation. James Albert Johnson (1857-1928) consecrated bishop. He was a Canadian and a pastor. (1850-1937) consecrated bishop. A native of Georgia at the time of his elevation, he was secretary of the Connectional Preachers Aid Association. Bishops of the AME, AMEZ and CME Churches met together in Washington, D. C. Ira T. Bryant elected Secretary of the Sunday School Union. Bryant was a layman. AME Seminary opened in , West Africa (February 3). 1909 National Association of the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), founded at New York City (February 12). 1910 W. E. B. DuBois started Crisis as the official organ of the NAACP. 1911 Marcus Garvey formed the Universal Negro Improvement Association in Jamaica, British West Indies. National Urban League founded in New York City. First convention of the Women’s Home and Foreign Missionary Society held in Birmingham, Alabama. Tri Council of Colored Methodist Bishops convened for the second time in Mobile, Alabama (February 9-12). 1912 General Conference convened in Kansas City, Missouri. W. D. Johnson, secretary (May 6). John Hurst (1863-1930) consecrated bishop. Hurst was born in Haiti and was Financial Secretary at the time of his election. William David Chappelle (1875-1925) consecrated bishop. He was born in South Carolina and was President of Allen University at the time of his election. Joshua Henry Jones (1856-1934) consecrated bishop. A South Carolinian, he was President of Wilberforce University. James Mayer Conner (1863-1925) consecrated bishop. A native of Mississippi, he was a presiding elder. Women’s Missionary Recorder established. 1915 Carter Goodwin Woodson founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (September 9). 1916 General Conference convened in Philadelphia. W. D. Johnson, secretary (May 3). Centennial celebration of the organization of the AME Church at Bethel (May 3). William Wesley Beckett (1859-1925) consecrated bishop. Born in South Carolina, he was President of Allen University. Isaac Nelson Ross (1856-1927) consecrated bishop. He was a District of Columbia pastor prior to his election. Richard Robert Wright, Jr., published and edited the first Encyclopedia of African Methodism. 1917 United States entered the first World War. Flipper-Key-Davis College was established in Oklahoma. 1918 First Tripartite agreement among AME, AMEZ, and CME Churches at Birmingham, Alabama.

Bishops of the AME, AMEZ, and CME Churches met at Louisville, Kentucky, to consider organic union (February 14-16). 1919 First Pan-African Congress organized by W. E. B. DuBois at Paris, France (February 19-21). 1920 General Conference convened in St. Louis, Missouri. W. D. Johnson, secretary (May 3). William Decker Johnson (1869-1936) consecrated bishop. He was a Georgia presiding elder when elevated. Archibald James Carey (1868-1931) consecrated bishop. Born in Georgia, he was a Chicago presiding elder at the time. William Sampson Brooks (1865-1931) consecrated bishop. He was born in Maryland and was pastor of Bethel Church, Baltimore at the time of his selection. William Alfred Fountain (1870-1955) consecrated bishop. The native born Georgian was President of Morris Brown College. Reginald Grant Barrow led 800 people from the Holy Cross in Grove Place, St. Croix, United States Virgin Islands, because of indignities. Bishop Fountain later received them into the AME Church. James Weldon Johnson became the first Afro-American secretary of the NAACP. 1922 Second Tripartite agreement on organic union at Washington, D.C. 1924 General Conference convened in Louisville, Kentucky, R. S. Jenkins, secretary. Abraham Lincoln Gaines (1866-1931) consecrated bishop. He was a Georgia pastor at the time of his election. Reverdy Cassius Ransom (1861-1959) consecrated bishop. Born in Ohio, he was the editor of the AME Review at the time of his selection. John Andrew Gregg (1877-1953) consecrated bishop. Born in Kansas he was President of Wilberforce University at the time. 1925 The edited by Alain LeRoy Locke was published, a precursor of the Harlem Renaissance. A Philip Randolph organized the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, a labor union (May 8). 1926 Negro History Week inaugurated by Carter G. Woodson (February) 1928 General Conference convened at Chicago, Illinois, R. S. Jenkins, secretary (May 7-23). Robert Alexander Grant (1878-1939) consecrated bishop. He was a Floridian and pastor of Jacksonville’s Grant Church. Sherman Lawrence Greene (1886-1967) consecrated bishop. A Mississippian by birth, he was an Arkansas presiding elder. George Benjamin Young (1865-1950) consecrated bishop. He was a pastor of Bethel Church in his native Texas. Monroe Hortensius Davis (1885-1953) consecrated bishop. The South Carolinian was pastoring in Baltimore. General Conference gave laymen equal representation in the Conference. 1929 Martin Luther King, Jr. born in Atlanta, Georgia (January 15). 1930 Fard Muhammad founded the black Nation of Islam in . New York Times announced that the “n” in Negro would be capitalized (June 7). 1931 The cause celebre trial of the decade, the Scottsboro Boys trial, began in Alabama (April 6). 1932 General Conference convened in Cleveland, Ohio. R. S. Jenkins, secretary (May 2-16). Noah Wellington Williams (1876-1952) consecrated bishop. Missouri born, he was pastor of St. Paul AME Church, St. Louis. David Henry Sims (1889-?) consecrated bishop. He was born in Alabama and was Allen University’s President. Henry Young Tookes (1882-1952) consecrated bishop. He was a Florida born pastor. Bishops Joshua H. Jones and William T. Vernon were suspended. 1934 Fraternal Council of Negro Churches was founded , Bishop Reverdy C. Ransom elected first president. 1936 General Conference convened at New York City, R. S. Jenkins, secretary (May 6-18). Richard Robert Wright, Jr. (1878-1967) consecrated bishop. At the time he was President of Wilberforce University and Editor of the Christian Recorder. Edward James Howard (1871-1941), consecrated bishop. Born in Missouri, he was a pastor of Wesley Chapel, , Texas. Department of Religious Education established. Jesse Owens won four gold medals at the Berlin Olympics (August 9). 1937 Sesquicentennial of the organization of the AME Church celebrated at Memphis (June). 1939 Commission of Visitation of the AME Church to the Republic of Cuba drew great crowds of converts. Bishop Ransom led the Commission (January). North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools accredited Wilberforce University as an “A” Class Institution, D. Ormonde Walker, President (March). 1940 General Conference convened at Detroit, Michigan, George T. Sims, secretary (May 10-24). Decatur Ward Nichols (1900-2005) consecrated bishop. A native of South Carolina, he was pastoring Emmanuel Church, New York City. George Edward Curry (1899-1951) consecrated bishop. Born in South Carolina, he was manager of the AME Book Concern. Frank Madison Reid (1898-1962) consecrated bishop. Born in Tennessee, he was pastor of St. Louis’ St. Paul Church. Alexander Joseph Allen (1887-1956) consecrated bishop. Georgia born, he was a Divisional Secretary of the American Bible Society. The Conference officially endorsed the Journal of Religious Education as the organ of the Department of Religious Education. General Commission on Evangelism was set up with Edward J. Odom as Director-Secretary. Methodist Church organized at the union of the Methodist Episcopal Church, Methodist Episcopal Church, South and Methodist Protestant Churches. 1941 United States Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, Ohio, awarded the Sunday School Union property at Nashville to the AME Church, a defeat for Ira Bryant. United States declares war on Japan (December 7). Dr. Charles R. Drew set up the blood bank at Washington, D.C. 1942 Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) founded in Chicago. 1943 Bishop John Andrew Gregg made a trip to the war areas at the request of the Fraternal Council of Negro Churches. 1944 General Conference convened at Philadelphia, Russell Brown, secretary (May). George Wilbur Baber (1898-1972) consecrated bishop. Ohio born, he was a pastor of Ebenezer, Detroit, Michigan. John Henry Clayborn (1881-1954) consecrated bishop. An Arkansan by birth he was editor of the Southern Christian Recorder. Department of Pensions was established and Daniel L. Witherspoon was elected the first Secretary-Treasurer. Woman’s Mite Missionary Society and the Woman’s Home and Foreign Missionary Society were merged into Women’s Missionary Society of the AME Church. 1946 Extra Session of the General Conference held in Little Rock, Arkansas. Bishops D. H. Sims and G. E. Curry were expelled and M. H. Davis was suspended until February 1947. Bishop Ransom was elected the first President of the Bishops Council (November 20-23). 1947 Second edition of the Encyclopedia of the AME Church was completed and edited by R. R. Wright, Jr. Schism at Wilberforce University led to the loss of state support (June 12). 1948 General Conference convened at Kansas City, Kansas, Russell Brown, secretary. Lawrence Henry Hemmingway (1884-1955) consecrated bishop. He was a native of South Carolina. Dougal Ormonde Beaconsfield Walker (1890-1955) consecrated bishop. A West Indian, was a former president of Wilberforce University. Joseph Gomez (1889-1979) consecrated bishop. He was born in Trinidad. Isaiah Hamilton Bonner (1890-1979) consecrated bishop. William Reid Wilkes (1902- ?) consecrated bishop. He was born in Georgia and served as pastor there when elected. Cary Abraham Gibbs (1892-1972) consecrated bishop. He was born in Florida. 1950 Death of Dr. Charles R. Drew, pioneer in blood research (April 3). Death of Carter G. Woodson, famed black historian (April 3). Althea Gibson was accepted for national tennis competition (October 26). Ralph Bunche awarded the Nobel Peace Prize at , . 1951 Gwendolyn Brooks awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, first black so honored. 1952 General Conference convened in Chicago, Illinois, Russell Brown, secretary. Howard Thomas Primm (1903-1995) consecrated bishop. A native of Tennessee, he was a pastor at Union Bethel Church in . Frederick Douglass Jordan (1901-1979) consecrated bishop. He was born in Georgia coming from First AME in . Eugene Clifford Hatcher (1902-1968) consecrated bishop. He was born in Alabama and editor of the Southern Christian Recorder at the time of his election to the bishopric. The General Conference established the Judicial Council. Tuskegee Institute reported that 1952 was the first year in 71 years of tabulation that there were no reported lynchings (December 30). 1954 Landmark United States Supreme Court case Brown v Board of Education declared racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional (May 17). Benjamin Oliver Davis, Jr., was appointed the first black general in the United States Air Force (October 27). 1955 Marian Anderson made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera House; renowned contralto was the first black in the company’s history. Bus boycott initiated in Montgomery, Alabama, over an AME layperson, (December 5). 1956 General Conference convened in Miami, Florida, Russell Brown, secretary. Francis Herman Gow (1896-2009) consecrated bishop. He was the first native born South African bishop of the AME Church and served as a “suffragan bishop: when American bishops were unable to hold in South Africa. Ernest Lawrence Hickman (1903-?) consecrated bishop. A native of Tennessee, he pastored Quinn Church in Louisville, Kentucky, at the time of his election. Samuel Richard Higgins (1896-1961) consecrated bishop. South Carolinian by birth, he was president of Allen University when he was elevated. William F. Ball (1906-1984) consecrated bishop. Oscar (Odie) Lee Sherman (1897-1983) consecrated bishop. He was active in Arkansas church circles. Minimum Salary Department was authorized by General Conference; H. Ralph Jackson was elected its first secretary. Brotherhood Movement became the most potent force in the General Conference. Budget Bill was passed. 1957 Southern Christian Leadership Conference founded by Martin Luther King, Jr., Bayard Rustin, and Stanley Levinson. Martin L. King, Jr., elected president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference at its organizational meeting in New Orleans (January 12). passed the first Civil Rights Act since 1875 (August 29). 1960 General Conference convened in Los Angeles, California, Russell Brown, secretary. John Douglas Bright (1917-1972) consecrated bishop. He was pastor of Mother Bethel Church at the time of his election. George Napoleon Collins (1896-1972) consecrated bishop. Born in Florida, he came from a pastorate in New Orleans. Pope John elevated Laurian Rugambwa of Tanganyika to the College of Cardinals, the first black Cardinal in modern times. Student sit-ins were begun throughout the South.

1961 Thirteen “Freedom Riders” began bus trip through the South (May 4). 1963 March on Washington the largest civil rights demonstration in history, 250,000 participated (August 26). Medgar Evars, NAACP leader, was assassinated in Mississippi. Four black children were killed in a bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. President John F. Kennedy assassinated in Dallas, Texas. 1964 General Conference convened at Cincinnati, Ohio, Russell Brown, secretary. Harrison James Bryant (1899-1989) consecrated bishop. He was born in South Carolina. Harold Irving Bearden (1910-1990) consecrated bishop. Born in Georgia, he was pastoring Big Bethel in Atlanta at the time. Hubert Nelson Robinson (1909-1999) consecrated bishop. He was born in Ohio and came from Ebenezer AME Church in Detroit. Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed and signed (July 3). Martin Luther King, Jr., awarded the Nobel Peace Prize at Oslo, Norway (October 15). 1965 Constance Baker Motley became first black woman appointed to a federal judgeship (January 25). Malcolm X was assassinated in New York City (February 24). Martin Luther King, Jr., led the March from Selma (March 25). The Voting Rights Act of 1965 signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson. 1966 Robert Weaver named head of Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), becoming the first black appointed to a Presidential Cabinet post. Huey Newton and Bobby Seale organized the Black Panther Party in Oakland, California. 1967 Thurgood Marshal was appointed to the United States Supreme Court. 1968 General Conference convened at Philadelphia, Russell Brown, secretary. George Wayman Blakely (1905-1972) consecrated bishop. He was a native of Arkansas. Henry W. Murph (1910-2006) consecrated bishop. He was born in South Carolina and was elected while serving in California. Robert F. Kennedy, brother of President Kennedy, was slain at Los Angeles. James Foreman of Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) delivered the “Black Manifesto” demanding $500,000 from white churches in reparation for the injustices of slavery and racism. Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated at Memphis, Tennessee (April 4). 1970 Students killed at Jackson State College in Mississippi (May 14). Angela Davis arrested in New York and arraigned in federal court on charges of unlawful flight (October 13). 1971 By an 8-0 vote the United States Supreme Court overturned draft evasion charges against Muhammad Ali. Samuel Lee Gravely, Jr., was promoted to Admiral, becoming the first black Admiral in the history of the United States Navy (April 15). 1972 General Conference convened at Dallas, Texas, Russell Brown, secretary. Eight Bishops elected, the largest class in the history of African Methodism: John Hurst Adams (1927- ), a South Carolinian; Richard Allen Hildebrand (1916-2012), also a South Carolinian; Samuel Solomon Morris, Jr. (1916 -1989), Virginia born; Frederick Hilborn Talbot (?- ), a native of British Guiana; Hamel Hartford Brookins (1925 - 2012), born in Mississippi; Vinton Randolph Anderson (1927-2014), bred; Frederick Calhoun James (1922- ), a native of South Carolina; Frank Madison Reid, Jr. (1927-1989), born in Kentucky. Barbara Johnson was elected to the United States House of Representatives from Houston, Texas. Shirley Chisholm announced she would seriously seek the Democratic Party nomination for the office of President of the United States (January 25). Frank Wells, a black security guard as Washington, D. C.’s Watergate complex, discovered and detained men breaking into the Democratic Party national office (June). Reverend W. Sterling Carey, of the , became the first black president of the National Council of Churches. 1973 Henry McNeal Turner’s portrait was hung in the Georgia State Capitol building as one of the state’s outstanding Georgians (February 7). Thomas Bradley, an AME communicant, was elected the first black mayor of the city of Los Angeles (June). 1974 Henry Aaron of the Atlanta Braves baseball team broke Babe Ruth’s home run record with number 715 at Atlanta (April). Richard Nixon resigned as President of the United States (August). 1975 Elijah Muhammed, died in Chicago ((February 25). Wallace Muhammed, supreme minister of the Nation of Islam, opened the Muslim Nation to all races (July). WGPR-TV, the first black-owned and operated television station, went on the air in Detroit (September 29). 1976 General Conference convened at Atlanta, Georgia, Russell Brown, secretary. Frank Curtis Cummings (1929- ) consecrated bishop. Philip R. Cousin (1933- ) consecrated bishop. He was serving in Florida at the time of his election. Donald George Kenneth Ming (1931-2002) consecrated bishop. He was born in Bermuda. Rembert Edwards Stokes (1917-1993) consecrated bishop. An Ohioan and former president of Wilberforce University. Cornelious Egbert Thomas (1917-2004) consecrated bishop, He was born in Hamburg, Alabama. First black director of the Detroit Public Library, Clara Stanton Jones, was installed as the first black president of American Library. Association. (July). 1978 The Church of the Latter Day Saints (Mormons) revoked its 148-year old policy of excluding blacks from the priesthood (June 9). 1979 United States House of Representatives voted and authorized the placement of a bust of Martin Luther King, Jr., in the Capitol (August 1). 1980 General Conference convened at New Orleans, Louisiana. James Haskell Mayo (?-2009) consecrated bishop. John Hunter (?-?) consecrated bishop. About 1,000 people from 25 states attended a convention in Philadelphia and formed the National Black Independent Party (November 23). 1982 Sandra Antoinette Wilson was ordained as the first black female priest in New York’s Episcopal Diocese (January 25). Voting Rights Act of 1965 was extended (June 18-23). 1984 General Conference convened in Kansas City, Missouri (July 7-15). Vernon Randolph Byrd (1931-2009) consecrated bishop. He was born in Enoree, South Carolina. Henry Allen Belin, Jr. (?- ) consecrated bishop. He was born in Oakdale, Louisiana and was elected Secretary-Treasury of the AME Church Sunday School Union at the 1972 General Conference in Dallas, Texas. In 1984, he published The AME Church Bicentennial Hymnal. Robert Lee Pruitt (1935-1997) consecrated bishop. He was born in Greenville, South Carolina. Harold Ben Senatle (1926-2006) He was born in Christiana, South Africa and was the first African bishop in the USA-based African Methodist Episcopal Church. Jamye Coleman Williams was the first female elected a major general officer as editor of the AME Review. 1986 Reverend of the First Episcopal District was elected to the United States House of Representatives (November). 1987 Bicentennial of the AME Church observances began. Bicentennial of the ratification of the United States Constitution began.