The Colored Man in the Methodist Episcopal ChurchHagood, L. M. (Lewis Marshall)
History
The Colored Man in the Methodist Episcopal Church
Hagood, L. M. (Lewis Marshall)
African American Methodists; Methodist Episcopal Church
_Would there be anything gained by a separation?_ To our mind there is
nothing to gain, and much to lose, by the colored members of the
Methodist Episcopal Church separating from it. In the first place, it
would have the same tendency that the now existing colored organizations
have, casting reflections upon the wisdom of those good men and women
who all along have contended for general equality; it would weaken the
race politically and socially; widen, instead of narrowing, the chasm
between the white and colored clergy in this country. “Like priests,
like people,” would naturally widen the breach between the laity. This
would naturally cause variance between neighbors because of color. This
would naturally lead to separate schools where they are now mixed, and
keep forever separate those that are now separate. In a word, it would
magnify caste, race prejudice, and eventually lead to a war of races.
The segregation of one million or more colored men in this country into
_one single organization_ would endanger the safety of our Republic in
more ways than one. In the second place, a separation now from the
Methodist Episcopal Church for _anything less than a crime against the
race_ would not only be suicidal, but foolhardy, paying kindness with
contumely, and subjecting not only the members concerned, but the race
to the scorn and laughter of the world. We do not expect to have
everything go our way, to count for more than we number, nor to see
every law we propose adopted, nor to be fondly dandled in the lap of an
affectionate and opulent mother. We expect only what we have always
received from the Church—the privilege of _full membership therein_.
The work which the Church has done in the South, may be seen from the
following tables:
BOARD OF EDUCATION UP TO JANUARY 1, 1887.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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