Freedom's Prophet: Bishop Richard Allen, the AME Church, and the Black Founding Fathers - Couverture rigide

Newman, Richard S.

Couverture rigide

ISBN 10 : 0814758266 ISBN 13 : 9780814758267

Editeur : New York University Press, 2008

Synopsis

Book by Newman Richard S

A propos du livre

Présentation de l'éditeur :

"Freedom's Prophet" is a long-overdue biography of Richard Allen, founder of the first major African-American church and the leading black activist of the early American republic. A tireless minister, abolitionist, and reformer, Allen inaugurated some of the most important institutions in African-American history and influenced nearly every black leader of the nineteenth century, from Douglass to Dubois.Allen (1760-1831) was born a slave in colonial Philadelphia, secured his freedom during the American Revolution, and became one of the nation's leading black activists before the Civil War. Among his many achievements, Allen helped form the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, co-authored the first copyrighted pamphlet by an African American writer, published the first African American eulogy of George Washington, and convened the first national convention of black reformers. In a time when most black men and women were categorized as slave property, Allen was championed as a black hero. As Richard S. Newman writes, Allen must be considered one of America's "Black Founding Fathers." In this thoroughly engaging and beautifully written book, Newman describes Allen's continually evolving life and thought, setting both in the context of his times. From Allen's early antislavery struggles and belief in inter-racial harmony to his later reflections on black democracy and black emigration, Newman traces Allen's impact on American reform and reformers, on racial attitudes during the years of the Early Republic, and on the black struggle for justice in the age of Adams, Jefferson, Madison and Washington. Whether serving as America's first Black bishop, challenging slaveholding statesmen in a nation devoted to liberty, or visiting the "President's House" (the first black activist to do so), this important book makes it clear that Allen belongs in the pantheon of America's great founding figures. "Freedom's Prophet" reintroduces Allen to today's readers and restores him to his rightful place in our nation's history.

Revue de presse :

"Newman's lively, lilting biography of Richard Allen is the keen-eyed appraisal of a remarkable founding father that we needed, wanted, and can now cherish. Save a special place on your bookshelf for this exploration of a man who extricated himself from slavery and rose to accomplish what few white Americans of his generation could match." --GARY B. NASH, author of The Forgotten Fifth: African Americans in the Age of Revolution

"In this bold biography, Richard Newman rescues Allen from obscurity to achieve a larger goal: to recognize African Americans as active makers of the American republic. The book's title is provocative, since few people think of blacks as "founding fathers," but instead as passive victims in an era dominated by their owners... Newman's book is animated by a keen sense of the central issues and by thorough research that casts new light... A diligent and creative scholar, Newman weaves a forceful biography from slivers of scattered evidence found in old newspapers, probate inventories, court decisions, and church records. With persistent ingenuity, Newman illuminates Allen's extraordinary struggle for a republic of true freedom.... Newman reflects Allen's legacy: just as Allen sought to redeem the republic from the unbearable burden of whiteness, Newman helps to reform our national memory which insists that our Founders were all white men at the center of power." --Alan Taylor, The New Republic, 3rd June 2009

"This book is at once a wonderful breath of fresh air into 'founder mania,' as well as the new standard in our eternal quest to define the black 'leader.'" --DAVID W. BLIGHT, author of A Slave No More: Two Men who Escaped to Freedom"

À propos de cette édition

• Éditeur: New York University Press
• Date d'édition: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0814758266
• ISBN 13: 9780814758267
• Reliure: Relié
• Nombre de pages: 359