The First African Methodist Episcopal (FAME) Church is today the oldest and one of the largest African American congregations in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1872 by Bridget (Biddy) Mason who arrived as a slave in Los Angeles with her owner in 1856. However, … Read MoreFirst African Methodist Episcopal Church, Los Angeles, California (1872- )
St. Andrews African Methodist Episcopal Church of Sacramento, California was founded in 1850, the same year that California was admitted to the union. It stands to this day as the oldest continuous African Methodist Episcopal (AME) congregation on the west coast. The church began humbly, … Read MoreSaint Andrews African Methodist Episcopal Church, Sacramento, California (1850- )
In 1787, Richard Allen and Absalom Jones, prominent black ministers in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, formed the Free African Society (FAS) of Philadelphia, a mutual aid and religious organization. Allen and Jones envisioned the Society as the foundation of an interdenominational church for the city’s free black … Read MoreFree African Society of Philadelphia (1787- ?)
On July 11, 2000, journalist and clergywoman Vashti Murphy McKenzie became the first female bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church. In 2005 she became the denomination’s first woman to serve as Titular Head. Her commitment to community development is evident in her work … Read MoreVashti Murphy McKenzie (1947- )
Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, the first African Methodist Episcopal Church in the nation, was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1794 by Richard Allen, a former slave. Allen founded Mother Bethel AME after the church he had been attending, St. George’s Methodist Episcopal … Read MoreMother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church [Philadelphia] (1794- )
Joshua Johnston, also known as Joshua Johnson, was a portraitist active in Baltimore, Maryland between 1790 and 1825, and the first African American to gain recognition as an artist. Primarily a painter of members of the slave-holding aristocracy, he was rediscovered by Baltimore genealogist and … Read MoreJoshua Johnston (ca. 1763-1832)
Born two decades before American women won the right to vote, Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander overcame obstacles as a woman and also as an African American in the elite profession of law. In 1927 she became the first black woman to gain admission to the … Read MoreSadie T. M. Alexander (1898-1989)
Hiram Young of Independence, Missouri manufactured freight wagons and equipment in the 1850s. Born about 1812 in Tennessee, he entered Missouri as a slave and worked for George Young of Greene County. In 1847, Young obtained freedom, either from his owner or possibly as a … Read MoreHiram Young (1812-1882)
George Prioleau was chaplain of the 9th Cavalry of Buffalo Soldiers in the late 19th century. After witnessing inequality and mistreatment of his men, he publicly challenged the hypocrisy and racial line being drawn against black soldiers. Born in 1856 to slave parents in Charleston, … Read MoreGeorge Prioleau (1856-1927)
Minister and civil rights activist Robert W. Bagnall served as Director of Branches of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) during the organization’s first significant period of growth in the early 20th century. A graduate of Bishop Payne Divinity School in … Read MoreRobert W. Bagnall Jr.(1883-1943)
