Richard Allen

In the beginning, Richard explains to us that he doesn't exactly remember all the dates of which these events happened but he does know that they are all true. He explains to the reader that he was born into slavery and believed that he was not following the life that God wanted for him. He confessed and prayed to God and under one occurrence he believed that God was bestowed upon him. Richard was now convinced that God lived within him. Richard's master did not believe in God but he requested that his slaves attend meetings throughout the week. His master believed that slaves were better people if they were religious. Knowing that his master wasn't religious, Richard requested that one of the ministers preach at his master's house to show him what Christianity was all about.

After this occurrence happened, Richard's master set him free. Richard was very confused with what to do with his freedom. He went out into the working force and found jobs for himself to participate in. Richard started out cutting wood and then moved on to a brickyard. As he traveled throughout the states to find work he used his Christianity to preach and pray amongst others. He met a family that took very good care of him and they appreciated him because they wanted him to stay and preach for them. Richard became tired and burnt out on working all the time and could barely stand on his own feet. Richard began to travel through all the states preaching to numerous amounts of people spreading the gospel and sharing his thoughts and opinions on Christianity. During his travelings, he also worked along the way so he would have money to support himself. After sometime, Richard was embraced with the Methodists and he was against their way of praising God. He believed that after they applied their input to the public, that the way of preaching to others was changed completely.

During all of Richard's travels he preached to so many people. He desired to set up a church of the colored people, but a lot of people were against it. Despite their opinions, Richard went to church with the white people as well as bringing other colored people along with them. This did not satisfy the white people amongst the church, so they forced the colored people to leave. Richard, once again, went in to find out what he could do about getting a house for the colored people to worship in. With the help of Dr. Benjamin Rush and Mr. Robert Ralston, the first colored church in America was created. With the colored people being out of the white people's church, they were still not satisfied. The tried their hardest to get the permission for the church of colored people annulled. Despite their efforts, Richard purchased land for the area where the church was to be built. He began to start the construction of the building, but was faced with the challenge that they lost connection with the Methodist religion and so therefore they changed their religion to the Church of England.

Once the church was built the white people also began to attend it as well, which upset the conference. They demanded that the church be incorporated into it and before they knew it, their property of the church was taken away from them. Richard did not give up and willfully fought for the church for the colored people. He recently learned that this same situation was not only in Philadelphia and Baltimore, but it was throughout the states. So he held a great conference meeting stating that the colored people should be able to have a location in which they worship the Lord and not be disturbed. Upon this meeting they were granted a church to worship in and were granted to be Methodists under the name of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.