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TASK FORCE TO STUDY THE HISTORY AND LEGACY OF SLAVERY IN MARYLAND (Final Report) 1999/12/31 MdHR 991422 MdHR 991422, Image No: 377 Print image (82K) |
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TASK FORCE TO STUDY THE HISTORY AND LEGACY OF SLAVERY IN MARYLAND (Final Report) 1999/12/31 MdHR 991422 MdHR 991422, Image No: 377 Print image (82K) |
| While in the process of attempting to secure his freedom, Pennington was selected by the Connecticut Anti-Slavery Society as their delegate to the 1843 London-convened World Anti-Slavery Society Convention, where he also represented the Connecticut Auxiliary of the American Peace Society. In 1850, he also journeyed to Paris, as a delegate to the second World Peace Congress. While on a visit to Frankfurt in August of 1850, Pennington was recognized by the University of Heidelberg, with the Doctor of Divinity, and became the first African-American to graduate from a European university (Blackett 59). In addition to his work with the Underground Railroad and his activities with the convention meetings, he was one of the leading figures in the battle against segregated public transportation in New York City (Blackett 53). Due to the racial climate in the United States, Rev. Pennington came to believe that blacks should be the leaders in their own struggle for equality. He did not deny the importance and contributions of white abolitionists, but he firmly believed that blacks should be in the forefront of their cause. Maybe his most revolutionary views focused on the struggle for equality and the desire for the equality of education. He suggested that blacks should establish their own schools, seminaries, manual labor and normal schools, until those same schools were provided for blacks with equal educational opportunities. He even stated "that black children learned more in segregated schools" (qtd. in Blackett 12), which shocked his supporters, both black and white, because such a stance was unheard of. But, he never recanted on his commitment to fight against slavery, discrimination, and injustice. Later in life he contributed articles to the Weekly Anglo African, a literary journal. Until his death, Pennington always found time to work for the education of black youth. Sources Blackett, R.J. Beating Against the Barriers: The Lives of Six Nineteenth Century Afro-Americans. Ithaca. New York: Cornell University Press, 1989. Pennington, James W.C. The Fugitive Blacksmith; or Events in the History of James W.C. Pennington, Pastor of a Presbyterian Church, New York, Formerly a Slave in the State of Maryland, United States, 3rd Edition. Westport, Connecticut: Negro Universities Press, 1850, reprinted 1971. Washington, Joseph R. Jr. The First Fugitive Foreign and Domestic Doctor of Divinity: Rational Race Rules of Religion and Realism Revered and Reversed or Revised By the Reverend Doctor James William Charles Pennington. Vol. 51 of Studies in American Religion. Lewiston, New York: The Edwin Mellon Press, 1990. Rev. Charles Albert Tindley (1855-1933) Composer Charles Albert Tindley was bom about 1855 in Worcester County, Maryland, the son of a free woman and a former slave. His parents died when he was quite young, so he did not have the benefit of any formal training; however, a local teacher taught him to read and write, though most of his learning was self-taught. Tindley worked during the day and studied correspondence lessons and the Bible at night. He was granted a license to preach and spent twelve years as an itinerant preacher in Delaware, New Jersey, and Maryland. In 1899 Tindley joined the Bainbridge Street Church in Philadelphia, where he had formerly served as a janitor. In 1902, he was offered but refused assignment to the Salisbury District and opted to be assigned at Bainbridge Street Methodist Episcopal Church. He received the assignment at Bainbridge, and his congregation grew rapidly, so rapidly that a new sanctuary was needed to accommodate his flock. 17 |