Curious Connections: Quaker Seminary and Richmond's African
American Churches
Henry McNeal Turner
Born into a free African-American family,
Henry McNeal Turner was the first black chaplain in
the Union Army.
He saw the Civil War as God’s plan to free the oppressed
blacks, much as the people of Israel were finally released
from Egypt. Optimistic about the prospects for true democracy
and racial harmony following the war, Turner ran for
public office. He was one of 31 black ministers elected
to the Georgia State House in 1868. His optimism was
crushed, however, when the whites refused to seat the
black legislators and undertook reprisals against them
and their families.
Black ministers such as Turner saw
their dreams for freedom and full participation in American
democracy
die. They turned away from politics and put their energy
into building churches and helping blacks rise above
their deplorable circumstances. Turner eventually moved
to Canada, too disillusioned with the United States to
live out his life in this country. However, his legacy
lives on with the African-American church which has,
in the words of Steve Angell, “over many centuries, served
as a testament to the God who makes a way out of no way.”
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Henry McNeal Turner’s style of worship could hardly be more
different from that of ESR Professor of Quaker Studies Stephen
W. Angell. This Civil War-era black minister shouted and danced,
squealed and kicked, when he was moved by the Spirit. Angell,
on the other hand, is not typically known for jumping up from
the stillness of unprogrammed Quaker worship and bleating like
a goat.
So what do these two dissimilar men have in common? Both believe
that genuine faith in God results in a complete transformation
of the individual. The outward form of the spiritual experience
may differ markedly, but the inward reality is identical. When
we let God into our lives, we can become the people we are meant
to be. Apparently some of us are just meant to be quieter than
others.
The connection between Steve Angell and Henry McNeal Turner
provided the opportunity recently for ESR to make a similar connection
across a cultural divide in the local Richmond community. Turner
was the subject of Angell’s dissertation, later published as
a biography by the University of Tennessee Press. Because of
his expertise, Angell was invited by the producers of the PBS
documentary This Far by Faith to serve as a consultant
for the program and to tape an on-air cameo. This Far by
Faith is a six
hour series chronicling the history of the African-American church.
The segment for which Angell served as a consultant is entitled
"God is a Negro" and focuses exclusively on the life and works
of Henry McNeal Turner.
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Jay Marshall recently invited members of African-American churches
in the Richmond area to attend a special showing of the segment
"God is a Negro" at ESR and to hear more from Angell concerning
his study of Turner and his participation in the television production.
About a dozen church members gathered with representatives of
the School of Religion and Earlham College for this purpose on
the evening of July 10.
All agreed it was a worthwhile event and an important step in
making a connection between the seminary and the local African-American
church community. Joan Randle, a member of Mt. Olive Baptist
Church in Richmond, had been aware of the PBS documentary but
reported she “didn’t know we had someone from this community
involved in its production.”
Marshall hopes to spread the word that the resources of ESR,
including faculty such as Steve Angell, are available to assist
churches right here in Richmond. He announced that ESR would
be purchasing videotapes of the entire PBS documentary and would
lend those tapes to area churches at no cost. The congregations,
however, may have to provide their own shouting and dancing.
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