We have included two files for you to review, one is an infographic timeline of the Methodist church and the other is an article from a local paper from 1922.
Read this article, it provides a timeline of race relations within the Methodist church:
https://www.umc.org/en/content/timeline-methodism-in-black-and-white
- In 1790, 20% of American Methodists were Black. Yet within the next fifty years, the church splits along racial lines. That split was not mended until 1968, almost two hundred years after John Wesley began preaching. What do you think Wesley would have thought if he saw the state of the church in 1920? Or in 2020?
Read this article about the history of the Central Jurisdiction, which was created in 1939 to appease white Methodists who wanted a segregated church:
https://www.umnews.org/en/news/50-years-on-central-jurisdictions-shadow-looms
- A study conducted by the conference in 1948 showed that racial discrimination within the church was a problem that needed to be addressed. Why do you think it took an additional 20 years for the conference to abolish the Central Jurisdiction?
This article addresses discrimination by the Methodist church against Native Americans:
https://www.umnews.org/en/news/letter-act-of-repentance-not-a-one-time-event1
- These articles show that Indigenous and Black Methodists were continually let down by the church and its leadership, yet continued to practice Methodism. What are actions we can take today to acknowledge and remedy past sins?
Finally, the other attached PDF is a page from The Times-Picayune from March of 1922 regarding the dedication of Algiers Methodist Church (the article is in the top left corner with a picture of the church).
- How does this article make you feel? Is it surprising in any particular way?