Seventh-day Adventist Black History
In the United States of America, February is BLACK HISTORY MONTH!!! This discussion will highlight the contributions of African-Americans to the World and to the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
I pray that you learn alot on this Historical Spiritual Journey....those who wish to contribute with information related to the topic may do so. I am requesting that other discussions be taken outside of this thread.
Much of this infomation (although not all) is available at http://www.blacksdahistory.com.
Tags: Adventist, African-American, Black, Evangelism, God, Holy, Jesus, Lord, Seventh-day, Spirit, More…
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Permalink Reply by Sarah Sulton on -
- 1877 First Black SDA school begins in Missouri.
- 1886 The first Black SDA congregation is formed in Edgefield Junction (Madison), Tennessee.
- 1889 Charles Kinney becomes first Black, ordained SDA minister; was won to the Adventist faith through the preaching of J. N. Loughborough and E. G. White. He goes on to become one of the major pioneers in the black work.
- 1889 The concept of Black conferences is first suggested by Charles Kinney when confronted by efforts to segregate him and his members at camp meeting on the day of his ordination. He suggests this as a way to work more effectively among blacks and to help deal with racial tensions and problems in the church.
- 1890 Marshall Enoch begins SDA work in Bermuda. (Bermuda Mission is organized by J. A. Morrow in 1959 with 35 members.)
- 1891 Ellen White delivers "Our Duty to the Colored People" address to the General Conference constituency on March 21.
- 1892 James Patterson leaves for Jamaica; becomes first Black SDA missionary. Harry S. Shaw is appointed as a special agent by the General Conference to evangelize Blacks in the South.
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Permalink Reply by Dorothy J Harman on -
Sometimes we in the "white" part of the adventist church have little knowledge of the contributions of other people no matter their race. I know I didn't even know we had black conferences until I went to Southern in 1975. I grew up in rural areas in the mountains where there weren't many people that were adventist so we attended the same church. I was shocked at the time to learn we were separated that way but I know some of the reasons for it. And no, I don't think this thread is the place to discuss it!
Just wanted to say thanks for the info. We need to learn all we can about our pioneers and our faith from the viewpoint of all who have been a part of God's church.
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Permalink Reply by Sarah Sulton on
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You're welcome! =)
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Permalink Reply by Sarah Sulton on
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Eva B. Dykes (1893-1986)
Eva B. Dykes was born in Washington, D.C. on August 13, 1893. She graduated from Howard University with a B.A. degree, summa cum laude. She attended Radcliff College and received another B.A. degree, magna cum laude, and an M.A. degree. In 1921, Eva received a Ph.D. degree from the prestigious Radcliff College, specializing in English, Latin, German, and Greek language studies. She was the first African-American woman to complete the requirements for a doctoral degree in the United States.
Dr. Dykes taught at Walden University in Nashville, Tennessee, and Dunbar High School and Howard University in Washington, D.C. At Howard she was voted “the best all-around teacher by her faculty colleagues. In 1944, she joined the faculty of Oakwood College in Huntsville, Alabama, where she served as chair of the English Department and the Division of Humanities. Her willingness to leave prestigious Howard University to teach at Oakwood was a key point in the move toward accreditation for the small Adventist college.
Dr. Dykes left an indelible imprint on the lives of Oakwood’s young people for almost four decades. Caring, but uncompromising in her teaching, she set a high standard for her students and fellow instructors. A devout member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, she never missed an opportunity to help build faith in her students.
Dr. Dykes authored numerous articles and several books, including The Negro in English Romantic Thought. Dr. Dykes was also a columnist for Message magazine for many years. An outstanding pianist and organist, she founded the Aeolians and gave the choral group its unique name.
In 1973, in recognition of her outstanding career as a dedicated educator and mentor of young people, Dr. Dykes received the Certificate of Merit from the Department of Education of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventist. Also in 1973, the newly completed Oakwood University Library was named in her honor. In 1975, Dr, Dykes was recognized at the General Conference session in Vienna, Austria, for her contribution to Christian education. Dr. Dykes taught for more than 50 years. She died on October 29, 1986 at the age of 93.
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Permalink Reply by Adventor Mulbah Trye, Jr on -
I Love this. Thanks and thank God for history.
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Permalink Reply by Sarah Sulton on
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William J. Hardy (1823-1888)
The Hardy family converted to Seventh-day Adventism (not officially incorporated at the time) in 1857-possibly the first blacks to do so-and pioneered Adventism in the Grand Rapids, Michigan, area. In 1872 Hardy was elected supervisor of Gaines Township, Michigan, becoming the first black elected to office.
http://blacksdahistory.org/Important_Black_Seventh-day_Adventists.html
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Permalink Reply by DMJ on
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As a Black African-American SDA, I am proud of my History & Heritage. I am also proud of the prophet of the Remnant Church for obeying the Lord and taking a stand for the Blacks of the Advent movement, and also the many others who helped Blacks along the way during the beginning of the black work. I also want to thank Sarah for starting this thread to recognize SDA Black History during Black History Month. Most importantly, I want to thank God for leading Blacks to the message of truth (The Advent Movement & Message), that have paved the way for Blacks to be apart of Gods Last Day Church today.
Here are some interesting dates & facts of Black Adventism. Check it out!
1830s-1886
(I will post more later)
*1833 ---Frederick Douglass and other blacks witness the falling of the stars. Douglass writes his account in his book My Bondage and My Freedom; his daughter, Rosetta Douglass Sprague, later becomes a Seventh-day Adventist.
1841--- William Still, a black preacher who spent his life working with the Anti-Slavery Society and the Underground Railroad, accepts the Millerite teachings; later experiences the Great Disappointment.
*1842 ---William Ellis Foy, a black Millerite minister, receives the first of four visions relating to the early Advent movement. Foy faithfully carries out his commission. In 1844 he meets with Ellen White and recognizes her prophetic gift and ministry. Though he receives no more visions after 1844, he continues to pastor until his death in 1893. His grave is in the Birch Tree Cemetery in Ellsworth, Maine.
1843---Charles Bowles, another well-known black Millerite minister, becomes instrumental in setting up quarterly Millerite meetings.
*1843---Sojoumer Truth (formerly Isabella Van Wagener) visits at least two Millerite camp meetings. She accepts the Advent teachings. It is believed she was baptized by Uriah Smith in Battle Creek. She dies around 100 years of age and is buried in the Oak Hill Cemetery, close to the grave of Ellen G. White and other pioneers.
1844--- Black Advent believers affected by the Great Disappointment, which effectively ends Millerite movement.
John Lewis, a black Millerite minister, writes biography of Charles Bowles entitled The Life, Labor, and Trials of Charles Bowles.
1859---Ellen G. White instructs church members to disobey the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act that requires American citizens to deliver fleeing slaves to their masters.
1861--- Ellen White receives the historic vision at Roosevelt, New York, revealing the horrible curse and degradation of slavery. She declares God is bringing judgment against America for "the high crime of slavery," and that God will punish the South for the sin of slavery and the North for so long suffering its overreaching and overbearing influence.
1862 ---Abraham Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, effective January 1, 1863. The move opens the door for the Adventist message to move into the South.
1863--- The Seventh-day Adventist Church is officially organized in Battle Creek.
1871---Elbert B. Lane, the first Adventist minister in the South, reports holding meetings in a Tennessee depot building with "white people occupying one room, and the Colored the other."
1877---First black SDA school begins in Missouri.
1886--- The first black congregation is formed in Edgefield Junction (Madison), Tennessee.
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Permalink Reply by Sarah Sulton on
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Sojourner Truth preached at Seventh-day Adventist Churches and did attend Dime Tabernacle SDA Church, but did not have her membership on the roll. My belief is that officially joining a denomination would have been a potential roadblock to what she felt called to do for Blacks and the anti-Segregation Movement, especially since the church was still segregated.
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True, I agree.
But it is reported that she accepted the Advent message & faith, and she took that to her grave.
That is a tremendous honor & blessing:)
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Here is more History (Facts & Dates).
(1889-1920)
* Very Important Dates/Events in SDA Church History
*1889 ---Charles Kinney becomes first black, ordained SDA minister; was won to the Adventist faith through the preaching of J. N. Loughborough and E. G. White. He goes on to become one of the major pioneers in the black work.
*1889 ---The concept of black conferences is first suggested by Charles Kinney when confronted by efforts to segregate him and his members at camp meeting on the day of his ordination. He suggests this as a way to work more effectively among blacks and to help deal with racial tensions and problems in the church.
1890---Marshall Enoch begins SDA work in Bermuda. (Bermuda Mission is organized by J. A. Morrow in 1959 with 35 members.)
*1891---Ellen White delivers "Our Duty to the Colored People" address to the General Conference constituency on March 21.
1892---James Patterson leaves for Jamaica; becomes first black SDA missionary.
Harry S. Shaw is appointed as a special agent by the General Conference to evangelize blacks in the South.
*1894 ---White and Will Palmer begin to evangelize Southern blacks via the steamship Morning Star; they land in Vicksburg, Mississippi, in 1895.
1895---Southern Missionary Society, devoted to working for blacks in the South, is begun, headed by Edson White. It is incorporated in 1898 and becomes part of the Southern Union Conference in 1909.
*1896---Oakwood Industrial School begins operation; becomes junior college in 1927. J. L. Moran becomes first black president in 1932; school becomes senior college in 1943; receives accreditation in 1958 (Presidents: J.L. Beardsley, 1917-1923; J.A. Tucker, 1923- 1932; J.L. Moran,1932-1945; F.L. Peterson, 1945-1954; G.J. Millet, 1954-1963; A.V. Pinkney, 1963-1966; F.W. Hale, 1966-1971; C.B. Rock, 1971-1985; B.F. Reaves, 1985- 1996; D.W. Baker, 1996-2010, L. Pollard, 2010-present).
1898 ---The Gospel Herald is published by Edson White at Yazoo City, Mississippi. Designed to be an evangelistic journal for black people; Message Magazine, its successor, begins in 1934.
*1900s---Booker T. Washington is among notable persons to visit Battle Creek Sanitarium; becomes acquainted with Adventist health message.
*1901---First black SDA camp meeting, Edgefield Junction, Tennessee.
*Anna Knight arrives in India; becomes first black woman of any denomination to serve as a missionary there.
*First black SDA medical facility is founded in Nashville, Tennessee; it is later expanded to Riverside Hospital in 1927 under the direction of Mrs. Nellie Druillard. Turned over to the General Conference in 1935; further expanded with the purchase of 46 acres adjacent to property. Modern hospital building constructed in 1947; sold in 1983.
1906---In Los Angeles, Furlong Track church, the first black SDA congregation on the West Coast still in existence, is organized. (Later becomes Wadsworth church and then University church.)
1907---John Ragland, a product of Adventist education and church worker, leaves the Adventist Church because of discrimination and segregation. He later rejoins in the 1960s.
*1909---Testimonies, vol. 9, is published; section entitled "Among the Colored People," dealing with work among blacks, is included.
*Negro Department of the General Conference is formed (name changed to North American Colored Department in 1941; changed to North American Regional Department in 1954; discontinued in 1978). The department is created in the General Conference to deal with the growing issues of the black work. W.H. Green becomes first black head of the department. His successors are G. E. Peters, F. L. Peterson, C. E. Moseley, H. D. Singleton, and W. W. Fordham.
*1910---Black membership in the Seventh-day Adventist Church is 1,000.
1912--- Lottie Blake becomes first black physician in the Adventist Church.
1914---Hadley Memorial Hospital opens.
*1920---Black membership in the Seventh-day Adventist Church is 4,000.
...(I will post more later! Praise God for the "black work"!)
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1920---Harlem (later Northeastern) Academy opens.
1921---Eva B. Dykes becomes first black woman in the United States to complete requirements for the Ph.D. degree.
1929---James K. Humphrey, a black Baptist minister who became an Adventist in
1902, a gifted leader, founds the First Harlem Seventh-day Adventist Church. Plans to create Utopia Park, consisting of an orphanage, a nursing home, a training school, an industrial area, and health-care facilities. Conference administration feels that Humphrey is not cooperating and moves to defrock him. Harlem congregation stands with Humphrey, and the Greater New York Conference votes to defrock him and disfellowship the entire congregation. It adopts the name United Sabbath-day Adventist Church.
1930---Black membership in the Seventh-day Adventist Church is 8,000.
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Permalink Reply by Alexander on -
But, blacks had a lot of opportunities in the northern states. It was the northern states that initiated the colonization society to form the first free state for blacks on the continent of Africa! That country is Liberia and officially recognized in 1847. Liberia initially considered themselves American, not African. The root word for Liberia being liberty.
I am so blessed to be part of the white race who first gave freedom to the blacks in the world.
God Bless, Alex.
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