An Interview with the Author on the History News Network
A Founding Father with a Vision of Equality Richard Newman's
op-ed in "The Philadelphia Inquirer"
Author Spotlight in "The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle"
"Gold" Winner of the 2008 "Foreword Magazine" Book of the Year
Award, Biography Category
Freedom's Prophet is a long-overdue biography of Richard Allen,
founder of the first major African-American church and the leading
black activist of the early American republic. A tireless minister,
abolitionist, and reformer, Allen inaugurated some of the most
important institutions in African-American history and influenced
nearly every black leader of the nineteenth century, from Douglass
to Du Bois.
Allen (1760-1831) was born a slave in colonial Philadelphia,
secured his freedom during the American Revolution, and became one
of the nations leading black activists before the Civil War. Among
his many achievements, Allen helped form the African Methodist
Episcopal (AME) Church, co-authored the first copyrighted pamphlet
by an African American writer, published the first African American
eulogy of George Washington, and convened the first national
convention of black reformers. In a time when most black men and
women were categorized as slave property, Allen was championed as a
black hero. As Richard S. Newman writes, Allen must be considered
one of America's black Founding Fathers.
In this thoroughly engaging and beautifully written book, Newman
describes Allen's continually evolving life and thought, setting
both in the context of his times. From Allen's early antislavery
struggles and belief in interracial harmony to his later
reflections on black democracy and black emigration, Newman traces
Allen's impact on American reform and reformers, on racial
attitudes during the years of the early republic, and on the black
struggle for justice in the age of Adams, Jefferson, Madison, and
Washington. Whether serving as Americas first black bishop,
challenging slaveholding statesmen in a nation devoted to liberty,
or visiting the President's House (the first black activist to do
so), this important book makes it clear that Allen belongs in the
pantheon of Americas great founding figures. Freedom's Prophet
reintroduces Allen to today's readers and restores him to his
rightful place in our nation's history.
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