Why is Richard Allen so important?

Richard Allen (February 14, 1760 – March 26, 1831) was a minister, educator, writer, and one of America’s most active and influential Black leaders. In 1794, he founded the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME), the first independent Black denomination in the United States.

What did Richard Allen believe?

Born into slavery in 1760, Richard Allen became a Methodist preacher, an outspoken advocate of racial equality and a founder of the African Methodist Church (AME), one of the largest independent African American denominations in the country. As a slave, Allen had neither freedom nor a last name.

Who was Richard Allen and what was his dream?

Allen went on to preach throughout South Carolina, New York, Maryland, Delaware and Pennsylvania, before settling in Philadelphia, where he dreamed of founding an African church.

How did Richard Allen get out of slavery?

Allen converted to Methodism at the age of 17, after hearing a white itinerant Methodist preacher rail against slavery. His owner, who had already sold Allen’s mother and three of his siblings, also converted and eventually allowed Allen to purchase his freedom for $2,000, which he was able to do by 1783.

What did Richard Allen do to change the world?

In 1787 he turned an old blacksmith shop into the first church for blacks in the United States. His followers were known as Allenites. In 1799 Allen became the first African American to be officially ordained in the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

What is a famous quote from Richard Allen?

“If you love your children, if you love your country, if you love the God of love, clear your hands from slaves, burden not your children or country with them.”

Who did Richard Allen inspire?

An inspiration to Frederick Douglass and Martin Luther King Jr., Allen was a religious man—and wholly devoted to the African American cause. He was born into slavery and bought his own freedom at the age of 23.

How did Richard Allen contribute to black history?

Was Richard Allen a Founding Father?

Richard Allen is a Founding Father of the United States of America. Born into slavery, Allen was owned by prominent Philadelphia lawyer Benjamin Chew who owned a plantation in Delaware where Allen was born.