The minister became the most
important leader of his people. However, the full potential
for organizing protest was overlooked. For the most part, the
church taught an other-worldly religion which strove to provide
strength with which to endure the sorrows of this life, but it
did not try too actively to change the situation. Richard Allen,
for example, counseled patience and caution, advising his people
to wait for God to work in His own way. In the meantime, the
Christian was to practice obedience to God and to his master.
Most of the clergy stuck to religious matters and avoided
political questions. However, there were those who took an
active part in politics, and they became leaders in the abolition
movement and in the Negro Convention movement. They included men
like Samuel Ringgold Ward and Henry Highland Garnet.
Another manifestation of group solidarity occurred in the Negro
Convention Movement which began in 1830 and continued until the
Civil War. These meetings brought together leaders from
Afro-American communities throughout the North. They debated
important problems, developed common policies, and spoke out
with a united voice.
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