The origins of this church are sometimes confusing since it is still considered part of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A).  The history of this group also varies according to geographic location.  In the 1730’s the first African Americans converted to Presbyterian.  They had migrated to the Valley of Virginia with their Scotch-Irish masters.  Slaves who were raised as Presbyterians often received some sort of education since they were taught to memorize the Lord’s Prayer and either memorized or read passages from the Bible.  These slaves “…showed superior intelligence…” compared to slaves of masters of other denominations.
 The first Black Presbyterian preacher was John Chavis, who was taught on his master’s plantation.  This event occurred at the end of the eighteenth century.  Soon afterwards, John Gloucester, who would later become the pastor of the first Black Presbyterian congregation, earned his freedom.  This achievement was partially due to the efforts of Benjamin Rush, a white man who wanted to help the black community and who believed that it was cheaper to build them churches than to build them jails and the former would greatly alleviate the need for the latter (“Brotherly Love”).  John Gloucestor’s congregation lead to the founding of the first African Presbyterian Church in 1807.  As these events occurred in the North, Presbyterianism failed to flourish among Southern blacks since it often took a pro-slavery viewpoint.

After the Civil War the Presbyterian Church split into two separate groups and for a while, the Northern Black Presbyterian groups continued to outnumber the Southern ones.  The groups of the North formed a Committee on Freedmen, which later became the Board of Missions for Freedmen.  This organization provided for a number of educational institutions for blacks.  Their efforts do not stop there however, in 1968 Black Presbyterians created a caucus called Black Presbyterians United.  This caucus was very influential in convincing White Presbyterian Churches to support Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

After the Presbyterian Church merged back into one group in 1863, southern Black Presbyterians gained more support.  The newly reunited groups created the National Black Presbyterian Caucus.

Brotherly Love - maintained by WGBH Educational Foundation, 1998.
This website provides some interesting background information about Benjamin Rush, a white man who made many efforts to help the black community in the early 1800’s.  He is responsible for helping Reverend Gloucester, the founder of the Black Presbyterian Church, to gain his freedom and his means of starting up the church.

Murphy, Larry G., J. Gordon Melton, & Gary L. Ward. ed. Encyclopedia of African American Religions. New York: Garland Publishers, 1993.

Glazier, Stephen D. ed. The encyclopedia of African and African-American religions.  New York: Routledge, 2001.

International Headquarters Church of God in Christ United

Lee, Martha F.  The Nation of Islam: An American Millerian Movement. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1996.

The Nation of Islam

The Nation of Islam Online

Refuge Church of God in Christ, 2001.

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