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1 1898 and Before.
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3 Because of this indignity, they left that church and founded churches more suited to the needs of their congregations . As Payne explained, they then held their own services, which were more in accord with their style of worship. Their determination to erect a house of worship, where they could worship God as they wished, came as a result of their unhappiness with their treatment; but the discontent among the Negroes did not end in Philadelphia . It continued in churches across the nation, including Texas, and in , more than one hundred years later, the situation repeated itself in a San Antonio congregation of Negro worshippers. Unhappy with the services in the African Methodist Episcopal Church and feeling unwelcome in the white Episcopal Church, they sought a place of their own to worship. Worship in the Episcopal tradition was important to them; but like the Pennsylvania worshippers, they wanted to worship as they pleased, in a church of their choice. In San Antonio, the discontented congregants took their petition to Rev. Robert Woodward Barnwell Elliott (Rev. R. W. B. Elliot), first Bishop of the Missionary District of Western Texas. The bishop, sympathetic to their request, outlined a plan of consideration for the Church. As far back as , the bishop recognized the problems created by the growing numbers of former slaves and freedmen living among the white population and he often spoke about the problem of racism and the challenges it presented to the Episcopal Church. He also made mention of the important role the slaves played by providing their physical labor. We begin this history with a look back at some of the events in San Antonio and in the nation that influenced the history of St. Philip’s College. Many Africans, brought to America as slaves, suffered extreme hardships and deprivations. Central to the indignities suffered was the denial of their right to practice their native religion. They were, however, allowed to attend the churches of their masters, but even then they were required to sit in special sections set aside for Negro worshippers. In , as the number of Negro worshippers at St. George Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania , increased, some of the white congregation became uncomfortable with the arrangement. Absalom Jones, a Negro worshipper who attended St. George’s, was “almost dragged from his knees,” as he prayed. Richard Allen, a former slave who had purchased his freedom, was with Jones at the time. Tensions arose from this incident, which ignited flames of racial hatred. The incident began when Negro worshippers were told to vacate the seats around the wall where they usually sat and to move to a gallery that had been set aside for them. Misunderstanding the instructions, the Negro worshippers sat in the wrong section and, in the confusion, were forcibly removed. Bishop Allen explained: We had subscribed largely toward furnishing St. George’s Church, in building the gallery and laying new floors; and just as the house was made comfortable , we were turned out from enjoying the comforts of worshipping therein. 1898 and Before The seeds of St. Philip’s history were planted many years before the story actually began, for they were sown in the bowels of the ships that took the first Africans against their wills and brought them to the New World to labor without financial compensation. These seeds took root with the indignities, scorn, and hatred that the prisoners suffered as the ships docked in the South, where they were sold as chattel and ended up as slaves. More than a hundred years later, these roots, along with other events that occurred in San Antonio, had a major influence on the history of St. Philip’s College. 4 • Chapter 1 aration of the races—succeeded Bishop Elliott. Though reared in the South, Johnston brought to San Antonio a zeal for improving the conditions of the Negro citizens of the community. Much like Elliott, he believed that the only way to make productive and moral citizens was through the education of the whole person, the mind and the soul. And just as his predecessor’s feelings for the Negroes’ situation did not reflect those of the majority in the South, neither did Johnston’s. As a child, Johnston attended the local Episcopal church, a congregation that served persons of all denominations . This afforded him opportunities to meet and mingle with people from other religious congregations and where he was exposed to a doctrine of inclusion, principles he passionately espoused as...