Richard Allen was the founder of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, the first independent Black denomination in the U.S., and a pioneering leader in organizing Black communities against racism.
Richard Allen (1760–1831) was born enslaved in Philadelphia. He purchased his freedom in 1783 and became a preacher. In 1787, he and Absalom Jones founded the Free African Society, the first Black mutual aid organization in the U.S. After being denied seating in a white church, Allen and Jones established the St. George Methodist Episcopal Church's Black congregation, which later became the first AME Church in 1816. Allen became the first bishop of the AME Church and a central figure in Black community building, education, and abolitionism. He was a key organizer of the first National Convention of Black Men in 1830.
