African Methodist Episcopal ChurchHistoric Timeline

1703-1987Transcription of The A.M.E. Church Review, The Book Shelf 1997 Columns

1703 John Wesley born in Epworth, England.

1758 First black was baptized by John Wesley.

1760 Richard Allen was born in Philadelphia. Father, mother, and fourchildren property of William Chew; family sold to a Mr. Stokely in 1767near Dover, Delaware.

1775 First lodge of black Masons organized by Prince Hall; chartered by theGrand 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 Absalom Jones, organized the Mutual AidSociety, 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 Baltimore.

1787 United States Constitution ratified.Richard Allen founded the Free African Society.

1788 Andrew Bryan ordained the first pastor of Savannah’s First AfricanBaptist Church (January).

1789 Josiah Henson, model for Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom in UncleTom’s Cabin, was born a slave in Maryland.

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 outplans for the District of Columbia.

1793 Dr. Benjamin Rush sought help of Richard Allen to administer care forsick 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).Bishop Francis Asbury 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 NewYork City.Application for Articles of Association for Bethel Church set forth(August 23).

1797 Sojourner Truth born a slave in Hurley, New York.

1798 Levi Coffin, organizer of the Underground Railroad, born (October 25).

1799 Richard Allen was ordained a deacon by Bishop Asbury, first Afro-American ordained in American Methodism.

1800 Free blacks of Philadelphia presented a petition to Congress opposingthe slave trade, the Fugitive Act of 1793, and slavery itself.

1807 Supreme Court of Pennsylvania decided in favor of Bethel Churchconcerning the ownership and governance of the church in dispute withSt. 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 New York City (July 5).

1811 Daniel Alexander Payne born in South Carolina (February 24).

1812 Richard Allen and Absalom Jones requested to help organize defensesfor Philadelphia against the British.

1813 Reverends Peter Spencer and William Anderson founded the UnionAmerican Methodist Episcopal Church, the first church in the UnitedStates organized and entirely controlled by blacks. Withdrew fromMethodist Episcopal Church in Wilmington, Delaware.

1816 African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) took on organic form at itsfirst General Conference in Bethel Church. Richard Allen, Jr., waselected secretary. Delegation included Daniel Coker, 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 GeneralConference.

1817 First AME Discipline and Hymnal published.James Forten, black abolitionist, was chairman of the First NegroConvention held in Bethel called by Allen (January 23).Frederick Douglass 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 Statesfor West Africa under the auspices of the American ColonizationSociety.

1822 Denmark Vesey planned one of the most extensive slave revolts everrecorded.

1824 Reverend Boggs was the first AME minister to go to West Africa, as amissionary to Liberia.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).Morris Brown (1770-1849) was consecrated bishop. A South Carolinianhe served as Allen’s assistant and business manager.

1831 Richard Allen died March 26 in Philadelphia. His widow, Sarah, diedJuly 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 fromBaltimore.

1839 Amistad affair, famous slave revolt aboard a slave ship. Cinque wasthe 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 atBaltimore.

1843 Sojouner Truth began her fight against slavery.

1844 General Conference convened at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; M. M.Clark, secretary (May 6-20).William Paul Quinn (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 inPhiladelphia.Methodist Episcopal Church, South, split from the Methodist EpiscopalChurch on the slavery question.Ohio Conference established Union seminary as the first direct effortmade toward the establishment of schools for Afro-Americans(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 AMEChurch. General Book Steward A. R. Green changed the title ofnewspaper 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 ofeducation; founder of Wilberforce University; consecrated bishop.Church divided into episcopal districts, sanctioned by GeneralConference 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 Cincinnati, Ohio; Alexander W.Wayman, secretary (May 5-20).Denominational seal ordered, with “God our Father, Christ ourRedeemer, and Man our Brother,” inscribed on it.Canadian churches request to be separated from their Americancolleagues.Booker T. Washington (1856-1915) born in Virginia.Wilberforce University founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church inOhio (August 30).

1857 Dred Scott decision by the United States Supreme Court openedfederal territory to slavery and denied blacks citizenship (May 6).

1858 William Wells Brown published The Escape, first play written by anAmerican black.

1859 The last slave ship, Clothilde, landed its cargo of slaves at Mobile,Alabama.John Brown raided Harper’s Ferry (October 16).

1860 Abraham Lincoln elected President (November 6)General Conference convened at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; AlexanderW. Wayman, secretary (May 7-25).

1861 Fort Sumter fired upon (April 12).

1862 Daniel A. Payne visited Abraham Lincoln in the interest of emancipationof the slaves (April).

1863 Daniel A. Payne purchased Wilberforce University from the MethodistEpiscopal 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 pastorof Bethel Church, Baltimore.Jabez Pitt Campbell (1815-1891) consecrated bishop; pastor ofEbenezer 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 thatPresident Lincoln was assassinated (April 14).Abraham Lincoln died in Washington, D. C. (April 15).Daniel A. Payne organized the South Carolina Conference, whichembraced all of the southeastern part of the United States.The Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution passed, abolishingslavery (December 18).

1866 Semi-Centenary of the AME Church (1816-1866) observed inPittsburgh at the Bishops’ Council (January).Edward Waters College 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 hiselevation.Thomas Marcus Decatur Ward (1823-1894) consecrated bishop. Anative Pennsylvanian, Ward was a missionary in California.John Mifflin Brown (1817-1893) from Delaware consecrated bishopfrom 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 AMEZchurches.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 inJackson, Tennessee, by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.Hiram R. Revels was admitted to the United States Senate fromMississippi as the first black Senator (February 25).The Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution was passed, giving blacksthe 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 laydelegates.The Financial Department was established, with John H. Burley as thefirst Secretary-Treasurer.General Conference ordered the erection of a connectional church inWashington, D. C., to be completed in 1884 and named MetropolitanA.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, Texas, Paul Quinn Collegewas 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 BritishMethodist Episcopal (BME) Church. Maryland born, he was BookSteward and Editor of the Missionary Messenger of the BME Church.

1876 General Conference convened in Atlanta, 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 June15 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 SouthCarolinian by birth, Turner was General Business Manager at the timeof 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.Allen University was established in Columbia, South Carolina(December).

1881 The First Ecumenical Methodist Conference was held in London,England (September)Morris Brown College 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 Charles SpencerSmith who served as its Secretary-Treasurer, 1882-1900.

1884 Benjamin Tucker Tanner founded the AME Church Review, the oldestmagazine published by Afro-Americans.General Conference convened at Baltimore, Maryland, with MansfieldEdward Bryant as secretary (May 5-26).Richard Randolph Disney (1830-1891) born in Maryland and beginninghis 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 GeneralConference, with William D. Dickerson as the first secretary.

1885 An organic union considered again between the AME and AMEZchurches 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 MansfieldEdward Bryant as secretary (May 7-28).Wesley John Gaines (1840-1912) a native of Georgia, was a presidingelder at the time of his consecration as a bishop.Benjamin William Arnett (1835-1906) a native of Pennsylvania, wasFinancial Secretary when he was elected a bishop.Benjamin Tucker Tanner (1835-1915) consecrated bishop. Born inPennsylvania, Tanner was founder and editor of the AME Review.Abraham Grant (1848-1911) consecrated bishop. A Floridian, he was aTexas presiding elder at his elevation.

1889 Daniel Payne 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 atMetropolitan AME.

1892 General Conference convened in Philadelphia, with R. R. Downs,secretary.Benjamin Franklin Lee (1831-1926) consecrated bishop. Born in NewJersey, he was editor of the Christian Recorder at the time of hisselection.Moses Buckingham Salter (1841-1913) consecrated bishop. A SouthCarolinian, he was a presiding elder at the time of election.James Anderson Handy (1826-1811) consecrated bishop. Born inMaryland, 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 MissionaryDepartment.

1893 Dr. Daniel Hale Williams performed the world’s first successful heartoperation at Chicago’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 RussellHawkins, Secretary of Education.William Benjamin Derrick (1843-1913) consecrated bishop. Born inWest Indies, he was Missionary Secretary at the time.Josiah Crawford Embry (1834-1897) consecrated bishop. A NorthCarolinian, he was Business Manager of the Book Concern whenelected.Bishop Henry M. Turner founded the Women’s Home and ForeignMissionary Society, and Lillian F. Thurman was connectional president,1896-1900.Delegates from the Ethiopian Church in South Africa sent to America.Western University was established at Quindaro, Kansas.The United States Supreme Court decision in Plessy v. Fergusonupheld the doctrine of “separate but equal,” (May 18).

1897 Work in South Africa began, and Bishop H. M. Turner held the first AMEConference.

1898 Campbell College at Vicksburg and at Friar’s Point, Mississippi, weremerged 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, hewas pastor of St. John Church, Nashville.Morris Marcellus Moore (1856-1900) consecrated bishop. Born inFlorida, he was Financial Secretary at the time of his election. Mooreserved 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. AnOhioan by birth, he was Secretary of Church extension Society.Levi Jenkins Coppin (1848-1924) consecrated bishop. Born inMaryland, he was editor of the AME Review.The Western Christian Recorder was adopted by the Conference.The Allen Christian Endeavor League was established, with BenjaminW. 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 assignedbishop.

1902 Bishop Shaffer visited West Africa and established a high school.The AME Church took an active role in the first Young People’sCongress 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. AVirginian, he was Financial Secretary at the time of his election.Henry Blanton Parks (1858-1936) consecrated bishop. A Georgian, hewas Secretary of Missions at the time of his selection.Joseph Simeon Flipper (1858-1944) consecrated bishop. He was anative of Georgia and President of Morris Brown College at the time ofelevation.James Albert Johnson (1857-1928) consecrated bishop. He was aCanadian and a pastor.William Henry Heard (1850-1937) consecrated bishop. A native ofGeorgia at the time of his elevation, he was secretary of theConnectional Preachers Aid Association.Bishops of the AME, AMEZ and CME Churches met together inWashington, D. C.Ira T. Bryant elected Secretary of the Sunday School Union. Bryantwas a layman.AME Seminary opened in Freetown, 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 inJamaica, British West Indies.National Urban League founded in New York City.First convention of the Women’s Home and Foreign Missionary Societyheld in Birmingham, Alabama.Tri Council of Colored Methodist Bishops convened for the second timein 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 Haitiand was Financial Secretary at the time of his election.William David Chappelle (1875-1925) consecrated bishop. He wasborn in South Carolina and was President of Allen University at the timeof his election.Joshua Henry Jones (1856-1934) consecrated bishop. A SouthCarolinian, he was President of Wilberforce University.James Mayer Conner (1863-1925) consecrated bishop. A native ofMississippi, he was a presiding elder.Women’s Missionary Recorder established.

1915 Carter Goodwin Woodson founded the Association for the Study ofNegro 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 inSouth Carolina, he was President of Allen University.Isaac Nelson Ross (1856-1927) consecrated bishop. He was a Districtof Columbia pastor prior to his election.Richard Robert Wright, Jr., published and edited the first Encyclopediaof 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 atBirmingham, 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 aGeorgia presiding elder when elevated.Archibald James Carey (1868-1931) consecrated bishop. Born inGeorgia, he was a Chicago presiding elder at the time.William Sampson Brooks (1865-1931) consecrated bishop. He wasborn in Maryland and was pastor of Bethel Church, Baltimore at thetime of his selection.William Alfred Fountain (1870-1955) consecrated bishop. The nativeborn Georgian was President of Morris Brown College.Reginald Grant Barrow led 800 people from the Holy Cross in GrovePlace, 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 ofthe 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 aGeorgia pastor at the time of his election.Reverdy Cassius Ransom (1861-1959) consecrated bishop. Born inOhio, he was the editor of the AME Review at the time of his selection.John Andrew Gregg (1877-1953) consecrated bishop. Born in Kansashe was President of Wilberforce University at the time.

1925 The New Negro edited by Alain LeRoy Locke was published, aprecursor of the Harlem Renaissance.A Philip Randolph organized the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, alabor 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 aFloridian and pastor of Jacksonville’s Grant Church.Sherman Lawrence Greene (1886-1967) consecrated bishop. AMississippian by birth, he was an Arkansas presiding elder.George Benjamin Young (1865-1950) consecrated bishop. He was apastor of Bethel Church in his native Texas.Monroe Hortensius Davis (1885-1953) consecrated bishop. The SouthCarolinian was pastoring in Baltimore.General Conference gave laymen equal representation in theConference.

1929 Martin Luther King, Jr. born in Atlanta, Georgia (January 15).

1930 Fard Muhammad founded the black Nation of Islam in Detroit.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, beganin Alabama (April 6).

1932 General Conference convened in Cleveland, Ohio. R. S. Jenkins,secretary (May 2-16).Noah Wellington Williams (1876-1952) consecrated bishop. Missouriborn, he was pastor of St. Paul AME Church, St. Louis.David Henry Sims (1889-?) consecrated bishop. He was born inAlabama and was Allen University’s President.Henry Young Tookes (1882-1952) consecrated bishop. He was aFlorida 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 thetime he was President of Wilberforce University and Editor of theChristian Recorder.Edward James Howard (1871-1941), consecrated bishop. Born inMissouri, he was a pastor of Wesley Chapel, Houston, 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 atMemphis (June).

1939 Commission of Visitation of the AME Church to the Republic of Cubadrew great crowds of converts. Bishop Ransom led the Commission(January).North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schoolsaccredited 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 ofSouth Carolina, he was pastoring Emmanuel Church, New York City.George Edward Curry (1899-1951) consecrated bishop. Born in SouthCarolina, he was manager of the AME Book Concern.Frank Madison Reid (1898-1962) consecrated bishop. Born inTennessee, 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 Educationas the organ of the Department of Religious Education.General Commission on Evangelism was set up with Edward J. Odomas Director-Secretary.Methodist Church organized at the union of the Methodist EpiscopalChurch, Methodist Episcopal Church, South and Methodist ProtestantChurches.

1941 United States Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, Ohio, awarded the SundaySchool Union property at Nashville to the AME Church, a defeat for IraBryant.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 requestof 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, hewas a pastor of Ebenezer, Detroit, Michigan.John Henry Clayborn (1881-1954) consecrated bishop. An Arkansanby birth he was editor of the Southern Christian Recorder.Department of Pensions was established and Daniel L. Witherspoonwas elected the first Secretary-Treasurer.Woman’s Mite Missionary Society and the Woman’s Home and ForeignMissionary Society were merged into Women’s Missionary Society ofthe 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 wassuspended until February 1947. Bishop Ransom was elected the firstPresident of the Bishops Council (November 20-23).

1947 Second edition of the Encyclopedia of the AME Church was completedand edited by R. R. Wright, Jr.Schism at Wilberforce University led to the loss of state support (June12).

1948 General Conference convened at Kansas City, Kansas, Russell Brown,secretary.Lawrence Henry Hemmingway (1884-1955) consecrated bishop. Hewas a native of South Carolina.Dougal Ormonde Beaconsfield Walker (1890-1955) consecratedbishop. A West Indian, was a former president of WilberforceUniversity.Joseph Gomez (1889-1979) consecrated bishop. He was born inTrinidad.Isaiah Hamilton Bonner (1890-1979) consecrated bishop.William Reid Wilkes (1902- ?) consecrated bishop. He was born inGeorgia and served as pastor there when elected.Cary Abraham Gibbs (1892-1972) consecrated bishop. He was born inFlorida.

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 (October26).Ralph Bunche awarded the Nobel Peace Prize at Oslo, Norway.

1951 Gwendolyn Brooks awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, first black sohonored.

1952 General Conference convened in Chicago, Illinois, Russell Brown,secretary.Howard Thomas Primm (1903-1995) consecrated bishop. A native ofTennessee, he was a pastor at Union Bethel Church in New Orleans.Frederick Douglass Jordan (1901-1979) consecrated bishop. He wasborn in Georgia coming from First AME in Los Angeles.Eugene Clifford Hatcher (1902-1968) consecrated bishop. He was bornin Alabama and editor of the Southern Christian Recorder at the time ofhis election to the bishopric.The General Conference established the Judicial Council.Tuskegee Institute reported that 1952 was the first year in 71 years oftabulation that there were no reported lynchings (December 30).

1954 Landmark United States Supreme Court case Brown v Board ofEducation declared racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional(May 17).Benjamin Oliver Davis, Jr., was appointed the first black general in theUnited 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,Rosa Parks (December 5).

1956 General Conference convened in Miami, Florida, Russell Brown,secretary.Francis Herman Gow (1896-2009) consecrated bishop. He was the firstnative born South African bishop of the AME Church and served as a“suffragan bishop: when American bishops were unable to hold annualconferences in South Africa.Ernest Lawrence Hickman (1903-?) consecrated bishop. A native ofTennessee, he pastored Quinn Church in Louisville, Kentucky, at thetime of his election.Samuel Richard Higgins (1896-1961) consecrated bishop. SouthCarolinian by birth, he was president of Allen University when he waselevated.William F. Ball (1906-1984) consecrated bishop.Oscar (Odie) Lee Sherman (1897-1983) consecrated bishop. He wasactive 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 GeneralConference.Budget Bill was passed.

1957 Southern Christian Leadership Conference founded by Martin LutherKing, Jr., Bayard Rustin, and Stanley Levinson.Martin L. King, Jr., elected president of the Southern ChristianLeadership Conference at its organizational meeting in New Orleans(January 12).United States Congress passed the first Civil Rights Act since 1875(August 29).

1960 General Conference convened in Los Angeles, California, RussellBrown, secretary.John Douglas Bright (1917-1972) consecrated bishop. He was pastorof Mother Bethel Church at the time of his election.George Napoleon Collins (1896-1972) consecrated bishop. Born inFlorida, he came from a pastorate in New Orleans.Pope John elevated Laurian Rugambwa of Tanganyika to the Collegeof 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 StreetBaptist 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 bornin South Carolina.Harold Irving Bearden (1910-1990) consecrated bishop. Born inGeorgia, he was pastoring Big Bethel in Atlanta at the time.Hubert Nelson Robinson (1909-1999) consecrated bishop. He wasborn 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 afederal 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 UrbanDevelopment (HUD), becoming the first black appointed to aPresidential Cabinet post.Huey Newton and Bobby Seale organized the Black Panther Party inOakland, 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 anative of Arkansas.Henry W. Murph (1910-2006) consecrated bishop. He was born inSouth Carolina and was elected while serving in California.Robert F. Kennedy, brother of President Kennedy, was slain at LosAngeles.James Foreman of Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee(SNCC) delivered the “Black Manifesto” demanding $500,000 fromwhite churches in reparation for the injustices of slavery and racism.Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated at Memphis, Tennessee (April4).

1970 Students killed at Jackson State College in Mississippi (May 14).Angela Davis arrested in New York and arraigned in federal court oncharges of unlawful flight (October 13).

1971 By an 8-0 vote the United States Supreme Court overturned draftevasion charges against Muhammad Ali.Samuel Lee Gravely, Jr., was promoted to Admiral, becoming the firstblack 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 AfricanMethodism: John Hurst Adams (1927- ), a South Carolinian; RichardAllen Hildebrand (1916-2012), also a South Carolinian; SamuelSolomon Morris, Jr. (1916 -1989), Virginia born; Frederick HilbornTalbot (?- ), a native of British Guiana; Hamel Hartford Brookins (1925 -2012), born in Mississippi; Vinton Randolph Anderson (1927-2014),Bermuda bred; Frederick Calhoun James (1922- ), a native of SouthCarolina; Frank Madison Reid, Jr. (1927-1989), born in Kentucky.Barbara Johnson was elected to the United States House ofRepresentatives from Houston, Texas.Shirley Chisholm announced she would seriously seek the DemocraticParty nomination for the office of President of the United States(January 25).Frank Wells, a black security guard as Washington, D. C.’s Watergatecomplex, discovered and detained men breaking into the DemocraticParty national office (June).Reverend W. Sterling Carey, of the United Church of Christ, becamethe first black president of the National Council of Churches.

1973 Henry McNeal Turner’s portrait was hung in the Georgia State Capitolbuilding as one of the state’s outstanding Georgians (February 7).Thomas Bradley, an AME communicant, was elected the first blackmayor of the city of Los Angeles (June).

1974 Henry Aaron of the Atlanta Braves baseball team broke Babe Ruth’shome 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, openedthe Muslim Nation to all races (July).WGPR-TV, the first black-owned and operated television station, wenton 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 Floridaat the time of his election.Donald George Kenneth Ming (1931-2002) consecrated bishop. He wasborn in Bermuda.Rembert Edwards Stokes (1917-1993) consecrated bishop. An Ohioanand former president of Wilberforce University.Cornelious Egbert Thomas (1917-2004) consecrated bishop, He wasborn 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-yearold policy of excluding blacks from the priesthood (June 9).

1979 United States House of Representatives voted and authorized theplacement 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 inPhiladelphia and formed the National Black Independent Party(November 23).

1982 Sandra Antoinette Wilson was ordained as the first black female priestin 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 bornin Enoree, South Carolina.Henry Allen Belin, Jr. (?- ) consecrated bishop. He was born inOakdale, Louisiana and was elected Secretary-Treasury of the AMEChurch Sunday School Union at the 1972 General Conference inDallas, Texas. In 1984, he published The AME Church BicentennialHymnal.Robert Lee Pruitt (1935-1997) consecrated bishop. He was born inGreenville, South Carolina.Harold Ben Senatle (1926-2006) He was born in Christiana, SouthAfrica and was the first African bishop in the USA-based AfricanMethodist Episcopal Church.Jamye Coleman Williams was the first female elected a major generalofficer as editor of the AME Review.

1986 Reverend Floyd Flake of the First Episcopal District was elected to theUnited States House of Representatives (November).

1987 Bicentennial of the AME Church observances began.Bicentennial of the ratification of the United States Constitution began.