Freedom’s Prophet: Bishop Richard Allen, the AME Church, and the Black Founding Fathers

In this truly American story the worlds of slave and free, black and white, saint and sinner, north and south all converge in the story of one man and one group of people based in Philadelphia some 200 years ago. I think you will be especially inspired if you are a) a Christian b) a person of color or c) an American.I've always had questions (and still do) about how Christianity spread in the United States, how Christianity spread among African Americans both slave and free and finally how free blacks could simultaneously live their lives while most other blacks were slaves further south or even nearby. The story of Richard Allen is a great way to get a sense of this. How Christianity gave his life meaning, and literally set him and his master free. Then he gets busy for God, for his community and for his country.It is both a source of pride and finally shame at how white folks enthusiastically shared the Gospel with blacks . . . initially welcomed them into fellowship (Methodists) but finally fell back into segregation and repeated attempts at domination. All of that makes the story of Richard Allen (and his church) even more remarkable, and that he never lost hope in God . . . in the Church . . . and in America.My one critique is that more people should know the story of Richard Allen. And somehow in our visual culture this illustration of him (in my opinion) makes him appear sad and weak. If you read read this book you know that he was quite the opposite.

Surprisingly, despite Richard Allen's towering achievements, no modern biography of his life and work existed before Richard Newman's current work. Newman's detailed research and captivating style fills this void admirably. As suggested by the subtitle (Bishop Richard Allen, the AME Church, and the Black Founding Fathers), Newman's biography of Allen is in many ways also a biography of a race as a lived experience in the early American republic. The engaging account of the establishment of the first black church and the first black denomination are worth the proverbial price of the book.One caveat, the title of chapter six, A Liberating Theology, should not cause readers to assume that Rev. Richard Allen preached liberation theology. As evidenced by The Doctrines and Discipline of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, which mimicked the ideals of Wesley's Methodist Church, Allen's theology maintained the basic doctrinal principles of conservative Methodism. Allen's liberating theology highlighted the equality of all people as image bearers, the conversion experienced based upon faith in Christ alone, the importance of progressive sanctification, and the call to outreach--doing works of service.For a lively portrayal of one of America's great founding fathers, of any race, Freedom's Prophet is the book of choice.Reviewer: Robert W. Kellemen, Ph.D., is the author of  Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction .

In over 40 years teaching history, I rarely read about Rev. Richard Allen. Richard Newman's, FREEDOM'S PROPHET fills this void.Richard Allen, pastor of Philadelphia's African Methodist Episcopalian Church was without question a founding father, not only of black American culture, but American ideals as well. This energetic preacher and his followers, according to George Washington biographer Richard Norton Smith (PATRIARCH), were "... the city's only reliable providers of care... for the dead and dying" in Philadelphia during the 1793 yellow fever epidemic. Both Richard Allen and Absolom Jones, who organized the first Negro Episcopal church, with their followers, "...were kept busy nursing the sick and hauling corpses from the streets." It was not only his Christian charity that motivated Allen but his vision to form a "autonomous black religious institution where none had previously existed." At the end of his second terms as president, George Washington left several of his servants in the care of Richard Allen when he granted those who chose their freedom rather than return to Mount Vernon.

I enjoyed the book overall. I wish there was more info on his life as a slave but Allen didn't provide much detail on that.

I truly love this book; not because I am a member of the AME Church but because this book offers the reader a sense of pride in who they are and perhaps who they would like to become. It recognizes that Richar Allen and Absalom Jones and many others were definitely businessmen of the highest degree. They knew how to start, conduct, and maintain their own endeavors. They also knew how to work with people of all cultures and suggested to others that this is what should be done. They stood up for what was right and did not mind writing rebuttals to articles and/or statements they felt were unfair. They encouraged others to disagree in writing. This is still a good philosophy today.

the book was in great shape. I will be putting it in my AME Church library. Thanks so much

Scholarship and detail are quality. A very worthy unsung American.

Freedom's Prophet is a 'must read' and should be part of any high school/college history or literature curriculum. The trials and tribulations that Bishop Allen overcame and his contributions to the cause of social justice at the beginnings of the United States are a truly good story. As a resident of Philly I associated the name 'Richard Allen' to the housing project and not the great man. After reading this book, I'll never again hear and think about that name in the same way.

I read it ever now and then for refreshing my memory about Afro-American History and Religion. I adore Bishop Mr. Richard Allen.