THE POWERFUL VERTEBRAE OF BLACK AMERICA

Melting the hearts of Ole Massa and Ole Missus was a very hard task to perform whatever their Christian professions, pretensions, impulses. Their black slaves were their property, primary income source, human stock-in-trade, and personal prime status symbols. They were also their chattel, as in cattle. "What value is freedom to a cow or a pig or a horse?" They reasoned. " None!" The slaves of course looked at things differently. And went to any lengths to acquire their much-coveted freedom. Some took flight; some took up arms; some took up Christ. This master-mindset above was the norm, not the exception. That is what makes Richard Allen's religious conversion of his slavemaster all the more remarkable! Nevertheless, it still cost Richard Allen and his brother $2,000 to purchase their freedom from that master, whether he was converted by the Allens' studied and steady deportment, testimonials, and devotionals, or not! Richard Allen would later become a founder of the Free African Society in Philadelphia along with Absalom Jones, and others, in 1787. Allen would later be a founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church and would become its first Bishop. Absalom Jones would be a founder of the Episcopal Church for black Americans, following ordination as s priest. Both churches came from the same benevolence society, the Free African Society and Masonic Lodge. Both men were also Free Masons, belonging to the Prince Hall Lodge, which was founded by their friend and contemporary, Prince Hall of Boston, Massachusetts, who obtained his charter from England, when white America's lodge balked. These are the powerful vertebrae of black American society upon which all else rests: Slavery, Christ, money, Freedom, churches and their schools, Prince Hall Masonry. So mote it be.