Wednesday, June 30 at 6 PM
Panel Discussion and Show-and-Tell
Come early at 5:30 PM for a screening of a new documentary about Bishop Richard Allen
This year marks the 250th birthday of Bishop Richard Allen, a revered figure in African American history and one of the nation’s leading abolitionists. Though enslaved at birth, he eventually purchased his own freedom, started several businesses, and created one of the first independent black churches in America — Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, now known as “Mother” Bethel AME. Allen was also the first African American figure to eulogize a president, the first black author (with Absalom Jones) to hold a federal copyright, and the first African American bishop in the United States.
Join the Historical Society of Pennsylvania and the Library Company of Philadelphia for a celebration of Allen’s life and legacy. Pastors from Mother Bethel AME Church, Historic St. George’s United Methodist Church, and Mother African Zoar United Methodist Church, and a historian from the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas will participate in a panel discussion, along with history professor Richard Newman, author of Freedom’s Prophet: Bishop Richard Allen, the AME Church, and the Black Founding Fathers. The moderator will be University of Pennsylvania professor Anthea Butler, who specializes in African American religious history. Learn about Richard Allen’s many contributions to American religion, society, and culture. At the event, guests can view original documents from HSP and LCP that relate to Richard Allen. Some of these documents have also been posted as an online exhibition.
To register for this free event click here.
The panel discussion will be preceded by a showing of an exciting new documentary about the life of one of America’s unsung founding fathers, Apostle of Freedom: Bishop Richard Allen. Primarily utilizing Bishop Allen’s own voice found in his autobiography, the story is well supported by a cast of scholarly experts, church officials, and Allen descendants. This short film, produced by History Making Productions and funded by the Lomax Family Foundation and Mother Bethel AME Church, will leave viewers wanting to know more about Bishop Richard Allen and the events surrounding his exceptional life.
