1. The Emergence of Free Black Communities
5.3

2. Free Black Communities
After the Revolutionary War in the North and upper South many cities had a growing free black population
As theses communities acquired wealth and education they established institutions that shaped African American life

3. Free Black Communities
Factors that encouraged the growth of these black institutions included…
The knowledge that they would be considered inferior to whites and be excluded from white groups
The desire to perpetuate African heritage

4. Black Societies
The earliest black institutions were mutual aid societies
These groups provided medical and burial expenses as well as support for widows and children
These institutions became self improvement groups as well and encouraged the middle class aspirations of poor African Americans

5. The Origins of Independent Black Churches
Black churches emerged and eventually became the core of the African American community
Pastors became the primary African American leaders
Integrated churches that resulted from the Great Awakening often treated blacks as unequal to whites and led to the emergence of black churches

6. The First Independent Black Church
The first independent black churches were founded in Philadelphia by Richard Allen and Absalom Jones
They were former slaves who had purchased their freedom and became preachers at St. George’s Church in Philadelphia
They were insulted by the white preacher’s segregation within the church and formed their own congregations

7. The First Independent Black Churches
The black congregation split over differences of opinion and resulted in two black churches
The St. Thomas’s Episcopal church led by Jones and Mother Bethel’s church led by Allen
Allen’s church became the birthplace of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) which quickly spread to other cities

8. The First Black Schools
Schools for African Americans, slave or free, date back to the 1700’s
These early schools were run by white priests, abolitionists and missionaries
The first African American led schools arose after the Revolution

9. The First Black Schools
Philadelphia’s Mother Bethel church was the first school entirely run by African Americans
Threats of violence against black schools were common due to fear that an educated free black population would encourage slave revolts
Nevertheless, black schools continued to operate producing a growing class of literate African Americans

10. Assignment
1. What factors led African Americans to form their own separate institutions?
2. Describe the role of mutual aide societies in the black community.
3. Why did black churches split from the integrated churches of the Great Awakening?
4. What were the first independent black churches to form? Describe the role of Richard Allen and Absalom Jones.
5. Who ran the first schools for black students? Why were the early black schools threatened?