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SATURDAY, FFfiftUYRY 13. Wco The Slave With the Golden Tongue: the Story of Richard Allen By EMORY 45. DAVIS Director Public 'Relations, AME Chufch (Written 'rrchtsivt'ly for ANP 1 ) Drip of the most remarkable per¬ sonalities in the field of religion whs Richard Allen, founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, who was born 200 years ago this month. His life was full of ironic twists. A slave with a golden tongue, Allen converted his master who became conscience stricken and allowed him to purchase his free¬ dom and that of his brothers. He became an evangelist, preach¬ ing mostly to white congregations, but became the father of the old¬ est Negro religious denomination ill “America. A religious leader with an eye on the practical welfare of his followers, he also founded an in¬ surance company, the first institu¬ tion of its kind established by Ne¬ groes in the United States. Richard Allen was born in Feb¬ ruary 14, 17(10 in Philadelphia, slave of Benjamin Chew, an attor¬ ney, who later became attorney general of the State of Pennsyl¬ vania and chief justice of the High Court of Appeals. Allen was sold to a Mr. Stockley, Dover, Del. along with his par¬ ents and three other children in 17(17. It was during his teen-age years that Richard Allen had an aware¬ ness of sin and salvation. “During which time I was awakened and brought to see myself, poor, wretched and undone, and with¬ out the mercy of God must be lost.” “After nights and days of fev- vent prayer he was converted, “my sins were a heavy burden. I cried unto him who delighteth to hear the prayers of a poor sinner, and all of a sudden my dungeon shook, my chains flew off, and glory to God, I cried. Immediately, he began exhorting with great eloquence his com- panions and family and joined the Methodist Society. He attended the Methodist class meeting in a forest near Dover, under the lead¬ ership of Benjamin Wells. Allen described his master as a tender, humane man. Allen, how¬ ever felt he was giving too much time and interest to the Methodist services and not enough to his slavd^f&b. Feeling that he was n<Blacting his chores, he volunteer¬ ed not to attend so Often. rfHlis master decided that Allen i$jd his companions should “strive to be good,” and urged them to continue attending wor¬ ship services. Later upon invitation of Rich¬ ard Allen, Freeborn Garrettson, a Methodist Evangelist went to Stockley’s house and preached. Stockley was converted. The newly-converted master be¬ came conscience-stricken about the ispue of slavery and consented for Allen and his brothers to pur¬ chase their freedom for $2000 in continental currency. 'This Allen did in .777, the same year of his master’s conversion. Allen began traveling and preaching and for several years supported his misionary crusade with odd jobs. He traveled throughout Delaware, New Jersey, t ' Pennsylvania these Interestingly travels and most enough, Maryland. of his preach¬ during ing was to whites, many of whom marveled at the power of his preaching, and were converted. He ofttimes traveled with Methodist circuit adders. He attended the Christmas con¬ ference of the Methodists in 1784 at "Baltimore when Methodism in America was formally organized . and saw Francis Asbuvy consec¬ rated America’s first Methodist Bishop. set ' “Many of the ministers were apait In holy orders at this con¬ ference, and were said to be en¬ titled to the gown, and I have thought religion has been declin¬ ing itrtfre church ever since.” The next year, Bishop Asbury asked Ailed to travel with him, however he warned Allen that he would not be allowed to “inter¬ mix with the slaves, in the slave countries, lounuiw, and I would -— frequently * - have to 'sleep in his carriage, and he would ,, allow I,-------- me my victuals and and clothes. “After some discussion with Bishop Asbury, Allen made up his niind, “I would not accept of his proposals.” traveling min¬ He continued his istry settling in Philadelphia in February,of 1786. Here he joined St. George Methodist Church on Fourth St., preaching to the slaves at 6, a.m.- on Sunday. He was a class leader of “Black Class No. 1” and developed ft into 42 mem¬ bers. Irtchided was one, Sarah Bass, who later became his wife. Referring to the African ‘Slaves as “Adams’ lost ’race," Allen dis¬ covered that few of them attended public worship. He felt the slaves would respond more if they had a house of worship of their own. His efforts to establish a place met with strong ^opposition and threats of expulsion from St. George’s ministry. The growing attendance of the slaves at St. George Church brought about a change in seating Slaves were required to sit in the seats around the waR *r.d later ordered into the gallery. One Sornlay, after service had begun and the congregation had knelt for prayer, one of the trus¬ tees ordered the slaves, who were in the gallery, up off their knees. Although they offered to leave the service after piayer, they were pulled from their knees during prayer by t’ustees of the church who objected to their kneeling in the gallery. "We all went out of the church in a body, and they were no more plagued with us in the church.” Despite the fact that Allen ‘and his companions had subscribed and solicited funds for building St. George Church, they now were faced with the task of soliciting funds for their own house of wor¬ ship. A Philadelphia physician, Dr. Benjamin Rush, and a prominent Methodist laymen, Robert Ralston, who served as treasurer for the fund drive, gave Allen consider¬ able help in securing a meeting place. Richard Allen and Rev. Ab solom Jones solicited $300 on the first day. Threats of expulsion still came from St. George’s officials but Allen felt that the Methodist doc¬ trine suited his people best, or¬ ganizing his group to accept the Methodist discipline of church gov- ernmwit. Allen purchased an old frame blacksmith shop and hauled it the lot Of Sixth near had carpenters repair it and July 29, 1794,. Bishop Francis bury dedicated it as Bethel can M E Church, preaching dedicatory sermon. Subsequently, the Conference tried to maintain trol of the church and Allen from preaching by ing ministers who demanded horbitant salaries, one preaching only five times a for a cost of $200. After months of threats and intimidations from Methodist Conference, a vania Supreme Court ' freed the church from the odists Allen served as pastor, Bishop Asbury maintained a sistent interest in the group and its problems. Richard Allen’s interest in plight of the early slaves beyond their religious needs. along with Absalom Jones, liam White and five others an insurance society, known the “Free African Society” was chartered in May 17, 1787. The premium (subscription) one shilling per month, with ments to the needy of three ings and nine pence per week. mands on the Society during yellow fever epidemic of bankrupted it. Benefits for and children of deceased bers were provided. From early September of into January of 1794, Allen dered heroic service during yellow fever epidemic, burying dead and arranging nursing ice for suffering victims. He received a letter of mendation from Mayor Clarkson, Jan. 23, 1794. Dr. Ben¬ jamin Rush worked with Allen in the process of “bleeding” the suf¬ ferers. “We have bled upwards of 800 people, and do declare we have not received to the value of $1.50 therefor.” By 17% Allen had organized the African Evening Free School which met at Bethel, in an to stamp Out illiteracy. Richard Alien became the first --------- A ME bishop when the church was formally organized in April, 1816. He whs the father of six children, four boys and two girls. Allen died in 1831 and his wife Sarah died 19 years later. Mementoes of Allen’s life and ^perience are enshrined at Mother Bethel AME Church, Philadelphia. Among these ate first pulpit desk, Said to Be hand made by him; the first pulpit Bible from which he preached and his tomb which many hundreds will visit during the Episcopal Church Photo THREE EPISCOPAL BISHOPS confer during coffee break at the final quarterly meeting of the Church’s National Coun¬ cil in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, last month. Host bishop is the Rt. Rev. Donald H. V. Hallock (center) of Milwaukee, and (ieft) the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the U. S., the Rt. Rev. Arthur Lichtenberger, and (right) the Rt. Rev. Stephen F. Bayne, Jr., who became Executive Officer of the worldwide Anglican Communion on January 1, I960. Agriculture Aids Hard Pressed Farm Families in More Income By SHERMAN BRISCOE USDA Information Specialist Many hard pressed colored farm families in the South are putting to good use credit aid from the U. S. Department of Agriculture to help them develop income sources , in addition to cotton and tobacco and other crops now in surplus. This opinion is based on obser¬ vations made during a recent field trip into South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. In these States Farmers Home Administra¬ tion county supervisors and their aides took me to visit more than a score of Negro farm families that have received loans from this USDA agency. The loans in some cases were to help sharecropper families buy farms of their own, in others they were for enlargement or develop¬ ment of uneconomic sized units into family-sized farms. But in most cases the credit aid was ex¬ tended to assist farm families in establishing additional sources of income. Through the years, most Negro farmers have depended mainly on cotton or tobacco. These crops once required enormous amounts of hand labor. Twenty years ago, the average farmer spent 170 back-breaking hours plowing, chop¬ ping, and picking one 500-pound bale of cotton off two acres of land. This time has been cut by more than half. The average grower now gets close to a bale to the acre, and some get more than two. To¬ bacco yields have increased simi¬ larly. But demand has not kept pace with production. Therefore, few¬ er acres are now required to pro¬ duce the Nation’s supply of these crops. So, farmers are trying to develop alternative enterprises on their unused acres. Most of these farmers are going in for livestock —hogs and cattle; others are try¬ ing their hand at truck crops and poultry. However, it takes mony to get established in these enterprises on a sound basis. And many small farmers find it difficult to obtain from private sources the funds they need. So, they turn to Farm¬ ers Home for credit. Last year an estimated 94,600 white and colored farm families obtained loans totaling $333,500,- 000 from this agency, bringing the total number of borrowers on the rolls to 178,500 during 1959. Along with the loans go advice and counsel to help assure success. And most of these borrowers are successful. Last year 36,000 repaid their loans in full. Altogether the agency collected $310 million. About 12 per cent of the borrow¬ ers are colored farm families. It is estimated that in the 22 years the agency has been established, 275,000 colored farmers have ob¬ tained loans from it totaling more than $300 million. The borrower families I visited recently certainly are making ex¬ cellent use of the credit extended them. In Mississippi, Assistant County Supervisor D. E. Magee took ine to visit Mr. and Mrs. Bud Gray who were sharecroppers un¬ til the agency made them a loan 20 years ago to buy a 74-acre farm of their own. In recent years, the Grays have obtained enough additional credit to develop 48 acres of pastures and begin raising beef cattle to sup¬ plement their income from cotton. The additional income has enabled three - day celebration February 14-16, marking the 200th anniver¬ sary of his birth. THE SAVANNAH TRII5UNE, SAVANNAn, GEORGIA them to make long-needed repairs on their home. George H. Paris of the Alabama State office of Farmers Home and I visited Jack Wilson of Camp Hill who has been digging and sell¬ ing kudzu crowns ever since the agency made him a loan 18 years ago to buy a tractor. Off his own and neighboring farms, he digs and sells 140,000 crowns a year. These bring him a gross of about $1,100. The kudzu crowns are planted by farmers across the South to help reduce erosion. ‘Without hogs and my kudzu business, I’d give up,” says Mr. j Wilson. “I just couldn’t make it off cotton alone.” In Georgia, Program Loan As¬ sistant Josephus Johnson and I made our first stop at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Leroy James near Montezuma. Cotton is beginning to take a back seat on the farm of this young couple, as income from cattle, hogs, peanuts, sweet- potatoes, and custom work with their corn picker and other equip¬ ment moves to the fore. Their machinery alone earned them close to $2,000 last year. * South Carolina’s Henry H. Ne¬ smith has graduated from Farm¬ ers Home to other sources of cred¬ it, but he and Mrs. Nesmith re¬ main on the rolls as a prized ex¬ ample of top farmers. Three Farmers Home officials accompanied me to the 125-acre farm where hogs and cattle are taking more and more of the load off cotton and tobacco. “We made this loan reluctantly,” said County Supervisor Edward I). Player, “because the land was so poor, we couldn't see how they were going to pay for it.” But the Nesmiths did pay for it within four years—36 years ahead of schedule. They did it by fol¬ lowing improved farming methods, and by raising something more than cotton and tobacco. All the farmers I visited and many, many more have alternative enterprises so they are not depend¬ ent entirely on the traditional crops of cotton and tobacco. This kind of adjustment seems to de¬ termine whether or not a family has a future in agriculture. Patronize Our Advertiser^ T&zngs Ton Sfconli Know \ at. KENNEY?*.. ...Former medical director OF JOHN A. ANDREW MEMORIAL HOS- X PfTAL. TUSKEGEE INSTITUTE, ALa/hE TRF/n-FD BOOKER T. WASHINGTON A ND G.W.CARVER/ HE DIED JAN.29,19150 AT AGE 75 IN MONTCLAIR , N.J . *•-- v - CoArr/jJ^AjrAL f^A-ru£-& s~ '—— WITH BILLY GRAHAM II AFRICA by TOM McMAHIN. Ketlglon Editor, The State. Columbia, S. C. ACCRA, GHANA. It was near¬ ly 10 o’clock at night. ‘Clusters of window shoppers eyed shirts and lamps in an imposing Accra department store. On the sidewalk nearby sat a Woman selling bread. Beside her slept four little chil¬ dren. Unwrapped loaves lay in a tiny in the dusty street. In nearby market areas which would soon hustle with activity scores of men slept in doorways, on porches and on the pavement. They had come to Ghana from neighbor¬ ing countries hoping to earn a meager living by carrying head loads and guarding buildings with their bodies. A few hours earlier, 15,000 Ghanaians, including the Lord Bishop of Accra, had thronged the brand new seaside sports arena to hear an American evangelist proclaim Christ’s love as the answer to mankind’s hate, greed and frustration. Dressed in strikingly colorful tribal habits and religious garbs, people had come on foot and in hundreds of taxis, modern buses and “mammy trucks” with plank seats and fas¬ cinating motto signs. Magnificent public and commer¬ cial buildings rising all over this bustling capital reflect the inflow of foreign capital and a new sense of values centering ®n education, trade and prestige. Prime Minister Kwame Nkrumah’s picture is ev¬ erywhere, even on the tie pins of his followers. A few miles up the winding Kumasi Road, astride a mountain ridge, nestles the magnificent country house of Nkrumah, who is hailed in government - controlled papers as Africa’s Messiah, the symbol of a new religion called Africanism, who, they say “may well be the second Christ who cometh when the. babes in the womb are suffering from Strotium Ninety.” Evangelist Billy Grahnm called on Nkrumah at the close of his two day visit here and was cor¬ dially received. Graham told the Prime Minister that every great nation has cherished religious free¬ dom. Nkrumah said that continued freedom of worship is one of Ghana’s goals. Churchmen say there is full freedom to propagate Christianity in Ghana but the gov¬ ernment frowns on anything that suggests political interference. In front of the Parliament Building a statue of Nkrumah bears this in¬ scription, “Seek ye first the politi¬ cal kingdom and all other things shall be added unto you.” Christian leaders protested the obvious para¬ phrase on Christ’s words seeking first the kingdom of God, but they were told in effect to mind their own business and let the poli¬ ticians handle public affairs. Mis¬ sionaries and even some national leaders are deeply concerned about the future of Christian work in Ghana, especially where Europeans are concerned. Thinking moderates appear to share the apprehension although nearly everyone is cau¬ tious about discussing the matter. A student of public opinion said the smiles on Ghanaian faces mask deep worries. An African said, "Christians may have to choose between Christ and the na¬ tion,” and he addl'd quietly that he himself had seen dictatorship ih another country. On the other hand, some lending churchmen say that the detention and deportation act and ex-post- fhoto laws are only temporary ex¬ pedients necessitated by the un¬ rest and violence of the fret' na¬ tion’s infancy. One cited the West African tradition under which the chief and his elders are responsi¬ ble to the people, hut only they have spoken, criticism is treason. Others ’say that Africans can’t take criticism gracefully. If time is short for Europeans helping the African Church, a strategy of careful enlistment and training of key national leaders seems wise. The major significance of Mr. Graham’s tour is the po¬ tential impact on educated Afri¬ cans—practically all of whom are educated in mission schools, hut. comparatively few of whom are all out soldiers of the cross. Billy Graham had spoken to 20,- 000 Ghanaians and was about to address 8,000 others in Kumasi, the capital of the cocoa region, when a violent rainstorm broke up the meeting. Associate evange¬ list Leighton Ford preached to 16,000 others. Overall, 3,000 deci¬ sions for Christ were recorded, about half representing first time professions of faith in Christ. Many left the Kumasi Service quickly when the skies dropped out, ’but hundreds stood for 30 minutes in the downpour. Others crawled under the platform and bleachers while a doughty hand with chairs over their heads marched around singing “God sent the Rain,” and “Stand Up for Jesus.” The public address system shorted out and the meeting final¬ ly dispersed. A man who had trudged over 54 miles of bush trails to attend said it was worth it just to see such a throng gather for worship. Copies of Time magazine were burned here a few duys ago in protest of the magazine’s critical barbs. In another recent Incident, the ruling party burned a casket to symbolize the burial of the op¬ position party which lost the elec¬ tion in Kumasi the day Graham was there. Ghana is on the march. Leaders boast that a formidable Navy and Air Force Will join KhiUmah’s al¬ ready sizeable Army. Jet runways are being rushed to completion at the airport public housing is being pushed. The new $26,000,000 uni¬ versity is a showpiece for all Africa. P'rightening indeed are the ar¬ ticles, pictures and cartoons in the government press. But most dis¬ turbing to Christians is the Prime Minister’s open encouragement of the fetish priest and the way he is being glorified, recalling the days when Rome defied her rulers. Meanwhile Graham continues on his way, preaching to multitudes of a Christ tVho belongs to Africa as truly as He belongs to America or Europe or Asia and calling men to surrender totally to Him. THE HEART OF THE PROGRAM Wi q * ■: PATIENT AID. Dr. E. C. Marique, president of the National Medical Association explains that patient aid is still the heart of the new program of The National Foundation. Listening are Mrs. Thelma Austin of the Links, Inc. and Mrs. J. A. Jackson of the Order of The Eastern Star. Funds from the New March of Dimes will offer patient aid to persons of all ages stricken with paralytic polio and to children crippled by arthritis and certain New March birth of defects. Dimes Jan. Help 2-31. thousands to walk again. Join the , Muhammad’s Temples Plan Feb. 26-28 Today, Muhammad's Temples Islam formally opened headquar¬ ters for preparation of their an¬ nual convention which will bo Feb¬ ruary 26th, through February 28th, at the Chicago Coliseum. Messenger Elijah Muhammad, whose headquarters arc* also in Chicago, has been the subject of articles in most of the major news¬ papers and magazines about the country during the past year. Currently the representatives of NBC’s “Meet the Press” are nego¬ tiating for possible live' interview of Messenger Muhammad by the Nation’s top reporters on the last day of the Muslim Convention. Messenger Muhammad returned from a forty-five dnv inspection and observation tour of the Mus¬ lim countries in Africa and Asia on January fith. The high point of this trip came as he made the pilgrimage to the* sacred holy cities of Islam, Mecca and Medina. He was accompanied on the trip by two of his sons, Herbert and Akbar. The younger son, served as his father’s Arabic terpreter. CLYO Mrs. Richard M. Houston Services were well on Sunday, February 7 at Mark Baptist church with Sunday School. At morning service the was delivered by the Rev. R. F. Thompson. at 5 p. m. Mission meeting held and at 6 p. m. the met at the church. Mrs. rah Johnson is president of YOU BE THE For News That's RELIABLE... For Coverage That’s WORLDWIDE... / For Advertising That GETS RESULTS... And For All Your Printing Needs, Your Best Bargain Is THE SAVANNAH TRIBUNE 1009 WEST BROAD STREET Phones ADams 4-3432 A Dams 4-3433 < PAGE TREE* Messenger Muhammad announc¬ ed at the opening of the Muslim Convention headquarters that his topic during the convention will deal with what he has seen, what he heard during his Muslim world tour and what the American Ne¬ gro must now do for himself. Prior to the convention, Mes¬ senger Muhammad will speak rt the Shriner’s Auditorium, Los An¬ geles, California, on Sunday, Feb¬ ruary 7th, at the invitation of fha local community there. A convention headquarter* spokesman said that because of h chain of events locally, nationally and internationally nnd because of the constant desire within the Ne¬ gro to better himself, our precon¬ vention survey indicates this con¬ vention wii! draw the largest and the most historic number of peo¬ ple ever to vist such a convention. A highlight of the convention will ire a Bazaar which will giv* all business people an opportunity to display and sell their wares hi free exhibition space provided rt the Coliseum, Saturday, February Mission and Mrs. Irma Davfi», president of BTU. Mrs. Rich¬ ard M. Houston is secretary. Services were well attended Sunday at Union Spring A. M. E. Church with the pastor, Rev. j, M. Dingle, delivering the morning message. Tremont Temple The pastor’s 13th anniver**- ry celebration will be held ftb. 15 to 21. i L*