Richard Allen

On This Day In 1816, Richard Allen Was Elected First Bishop Of The African Methodist Episcopal Church. The Church Had Broken Away From The White-Dominated Methodist Church Earlier That Same Year. Today The AME Is One Of The Largest Black Religious Organizations In America.

Allen Was Born A Slave In Philadelphia., In 1760. He Bought His Own Freedom And Became A "Strolling Preacher" In Philadelphia. Together With Absalom Jones, He Organized The Free African Society, One Of The First Black Organizations In America.

In July, 1794, Allen Founded The Bethal African Methodist Espicopal Church Of Philadelphia, The First African American-Controlled Church In America, And Believed To Be The Oldest Property Continually Owned By African Americans.

Known To Be Industrious And Thrifty, Allen Managed A Successful Boot & Shoe Store, Becoming One Of The Richest And Most Prominent Blacks Of His Day.

Richard Allen Was Also The Main Force Behind The First African American National Convention, Held Only Five Months Before His Death In 1831.

"In Order For Black History To Live, We Must Continue To Breathe Life Into It." --Hubert Gaddy, Jr.