The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1916-05-27
MANHOOD OF RICHARD ALLEN.
BY r. r. Wright,

Editor OF the Christian Recorder.
It Is said that Richard Allen was
born a slave. That is untrue. No
man is born slave, and certainly
Allen was not. If we knew his an
cestry 1t might be that his father and
mother were African royalty; that
through Aliens veins there coursed
more royal blood than in the veins of
those 1t is said owned him.
But Allen not only was not born
a slave; he never became a slave
Ihere is nothing to indicate that he
had anything of a slave nature about
him.
There are today men who are
slaves; their wills belong to other
men, and they dare not do anything
but what others, their masters, tell
them. There are today thousands of
men whose minds, if they have any,
belong to other men, and they dare
not think anything but what their
masters think for them.
Furthermore, not all the slaves are
owned by men. Whiskey holds thou
sands in slavery, passion holds it's
| thousands and prejudice it's thousands.
Abraham Lincoln did not set all the
slaves free. He could not. Only God
can do so.
Richard Allen, we say, was not a
! slave. No man owned his body; no
man owned his soul; no man owned
his thoughts.
| Richard Allen was not a slave. No
man could enslave his soul, though
one might have title to his body. No
man could hold down his mind; no
man could subjugate his thought.
Richard Allen was one of Gods
princes, noble in thought and great
! in action. This is illustrated by the
fact that while still slave in name,
his word was everywhere taken at
the very highest value. His word was
indeed his bond. -.- ."
On one occasion preacher wanted
permission to preach in his masters
house. Richard Allen was sent to
convey the message that permission
had been given. The preacher asked
OF Richard Allen if he had note
stating the fact, and he promptly re-
| piled that he needed no note. Such
was the standing of Richard Allen that
notes were not needed.
Again, when Richard Whatcoat
was preaching in the south, he wanted
Richard Allen to accompany him, but
to accept accommodations which were
not in keeping with a minister of the
gospel. Richard Allen promptly re-
| fused, stating that he would not &C.
company him on such terms.
Practically all the references which
we have to Richard Allen reflect not
only upon his good Judgment, but
upon his courage. We will never
know the full history of the first few
days Of the African Methodist Epis-
copal Church, but the facts which we
have point to the fact that the strong
character of Richard Allen, his un-
daunted courage and strong manhood
qualities were those which saved the
day for African Methodism in the
early days of it's organization.
When Richard Allen came to Phila-
delphia the colored people had been
segregated for some little time in st.
Georges Church, and had, so far as
we knew, offered but little objection.
1t was his great spirit, which in less
than two years Of his residence in this
city, put him at the head of the COL
ored population here and which re-
volted at the idea of being brother
in Christ, and yet being separate from
his fellowC Christians, and for this
cause he led forth the group which
formed the African Methodist Epis-
copal Church.
1t was Richard Aliens keen sense
of justice which scented the injustice
in the Colonization Movement started
by so-called friends of the Negro,
who wanted to show their friendship
by deporting the free Negroes to
Africa, Richard Allen fought this
action with great many others who
were less outspoken. We might we'll,
at this time, emulate the manly quail
ties of our great leader.
r. r. w.