The Rich History of the African Methodist Episcopal Church

A look at the institution's importance to Black history.

The AME Church - The rich history of the African Methodist Episcopal Church is powerful and uncompromising. Those who fear the organization and the empowerment of Black people may perceive it as dangerous. The June 17 attack on Emanuel AME church was in response to that fear. But undoubtedly, the church’s leaders and followers will recover, continuing to rise in power and strength with the same spirit as the AME church’s founders. Take a look as BET.com talks about the institution's importance to Black history. (Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Richard Allen and the Black Episcopal Church - The African Methodist Episcopal Church dates back to 1787, when Richard Allen and Absalom Jones, both formerly enslaved in Delaware, formed the Free African Society in Philadelphia. Fed up with segregation in their Methodist Episcopal Church that prevented Black worshippers from attending service with whites, the prominent religious leaders created a safe and supportive space for Philadelphia’s free Black population. Throughout the organization’s existence, it faced hatred and resistance from whites. W.E.B. Du Bois would later call the Free African Society "the first wavering step of a people toward organized social life."  (Photo: Kean Collection/Getty Images)
Richard Allen and the Black Episcopal Church - In 1794, Richard Allen, along with several other Black Methodists, moved on to found the Bethel Church, a Black Episcopal Church. The church basement became a stop on the "Underground Railroad," hiding and aiding those who were escaping slavery. (Photo: Kean Collection/Getty Images)The First African Methodist Episcopal Church - After Allen became ordained in the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal Church, he founded the African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church in 1816. It was the first national Black church in the United States. Allen was the church’s first bishop. One of Allen’s collaborators in the founding of the church was Rev. Morris Brown, who traveled to Philadelphia from Charleston, S.C. (Photo: MPI/Getty Images)

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The AME Church - The rich history of the African Methodist Episcopal Church is powerful and uncompromising. Those who fear the organization and the empowerment of Black people may perceive it as dangerous. The June 17 attack on Emanuel AME church was in response to that fear. But undoubtedly, the church’s leaders and followers will recover, continuing to rise in power and strength with the same spirit as the AME church’s founders. Take a look as BET.com talks about the institution's importance to Black history. (Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

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