The Northwest Enterprise

A look at the history of Negro denominations shows that they came out of the white denominations partly because their treatment in them was intolerable. Negro denominational organization began back in 1805, with the Methodists in Wilmington, Delaware. They incorporated in 1813. In 1816 the A. M. E. Denomination was organized in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with Richard Allen the first Bishop. In 1821 the A. M. E Zion organized with James Warrick as district chairman. The next year he became its first Bishop.

The Providence Baptist Association in Ohio was organized in 1836. This was the beginning of Baptist group organization. In 1838 the Hood River Baptist Association in Illinois was organized. The organization of associations went forward rapidly and in every section of the country until 1880 the National Baptist Convention was organized in Montgomery, Alabama. There have been two major splits in the National Baptist Convention. I have been informed, on what I regard good authority, that after its organization it applied to the American Baptist Publication Society for Negro representation on its board. Such representation was refused them. They, therefore, decided to build their own publishing house. They built a publishing house in Nashville, Tennessee with Dr. H. R. Boyd, Secretary. This publishing house incurred a large debt. It became necessary to take the money sent up for foreign missions and apply it to the publishing house debt. A large bloc of the brethren, especially of North Carolina and Virginia, were not satisfied with this arrangement. So they pulled out and organized the Lott Carey Foreign Mission Society. This organization is named for Lott Carey, a slave, who purchased freedom for himself and family and went to Africa as a missionary. The organization does foreign mission work, exclusively. Eighty-five per cent of the money it raises is sent to the foreign fields, and fifteen per cent goes into operating expenses. We maintain a beautiful headquarters building in Washington, D. C.

The National Baptist Convention split again in 1916, the center of the quarrel being this same publishing house. It seems that Dr. Boyd had advanced the publishing house several thousand dollars. He had begun to press for payment. A fight ensued in which the convention split in two. One crowd followed Dr. E. C. Morris of Helena, Arkansas, and the other followed Dr. R. H. Boyd. Today there are two National Baptist Conventions, the National Baptist Convention Incorporated, Dr. L. K. Williams, president and the National Baptist Convention of America, Dr Prince of Fort Worth, Texas, President. There are two Baptist Publishing houses both in Nashville, Tennessee. Dr. A. M. Townsend is secretary of the publishing house of the National Baptist Convention Incorporated. Dr. Henry Allen Boyd succeeded his father as the owner and secretary of the old publishing house.

Negroes belong to many sects and denominations. We have Father Divine who has accomplished some things that no other church group has accomplished. I understand that he has kept his followers off Federal Relief, he has succeeded in getting white people and Negroes to worship in the same buildings on a basis of equality he has broken into some of the exclusive residential districts. and thereby, has done more than any other church group to break the backbone of racial discrimination in America. We have also black Jews and Moorish sects. There are many Holiness groups; and all of the denominations represented among the whites have some Negro communicants.

In recent years we have heard a great deal of criticism of the Negro Church by Negro leaders in other fields. It is suspected that they criticize the church because they are jealous of its power. Many of these very leaders who cry out against the church try to use it as a stepping stone to personal power. And let me say further, that if the church people did not furnish it, they frequently would not have a platform on which to speak.