The Colored Man in the Methodist Episcopal Church

The author surveys the historical relationship between the Methodist Episcopal Church and African Americans, documenting institutional attitudes, internal debates over slavery and emancipation, exclusion and secession along the color line, wartime developments, and postwar controversies including the role of Black pastors and calls for episcopal representation. The work combines chronological chapters and topical discussion of conferences, educational and ministerial institutions, and proposals for denominational unity, arguing that much of the Church's struggle arose from tensions between policy and practice despite professed commitments to equality.