SPARKS FROM THE ANVIL OF OPPRESSION PHIlADELPHIA'S African Methodists and Southern Migrants, 1890-1940 Copyrighted Material South Street, South Philodelphia, 1930. Courte:,}' Philadelphia City Archives Copyrighted Material SPARKS ANVIL FROM THE OF OPPRESSION PHILADELPHIA'S African Methodists and Southern Migrants, 1890-1940 ROBERT GREGG TEMPLE UNIVERSITY PRESS Co!WI~fJMfIbI Temple University Press, Philadelphia 19122 Copyright © 1993 by Temple University. All rights reserved Published 1993 Printed in the United States of America The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences-Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984 @ Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Gregg, Robert, 1958- Sparks from the anvil of oppression : Philadelphia's African Methodists and Southern migrants, 1890-1940/ Robert Gregg. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1-56639-063-X (hard) 1. African Methodist Episcopal Church-Pennsylvania-Philadelphia History-20th century. 2. Methodist Church-Pennsylvania Philadelphia-History-20th century. 3. Afro-American churches Pennsylvania-Philadelphia-History-20th century. 4. Philadelphia (Pa.)-Church history-20th century. 5. Philadelphia (Pa.)-Race relations. 6. Race relations-Religious aspects-Methodist Church. I. Title. BX8445.P5G74 1993 92-34589 287'.874811-dc20 CIP Copyrighted Material To Madhavi Copyrighted Material Copyrighted Material Contents Maps and Tables IX Acknowledgments Xl 1 Introduction PART 1 Churches and Ghettos Z "Drowned by a Torrent of Migration" 21 3 Evangelism and Social Service 45 PART /I "In the Pulpit and the Pew" 4 Uplifting "Backward Peoples" 69 5 "Pulpit Extension" 87 6 Service and Prestige 105 7 "Flaming Torches" 129 PART 111 The "Great Migration" 8 Many "Promised Lands" 147 9 The Earnest Pastor's Heated Term 175 10 "Let This Be Your Home" 193 11 Conclusion 217 Notes 223 copyh8Rfe'd Ma2fltlial Copyrighted Material Maps and Tables Map I Concentration of African American Population in Philadelphia's Wards, 1900 22 Map 2 Concentration of African American Population in Philadelphia's Wards, 1930 26 Table 2.1 Black Laborers Employed in Industrial Plants in 1917 34 Table 2.2 Businesses Employing Blacks ca. 1923 35 Table 2.3 Black Professionals in 1908 and 1935 41 Table 7.1 Place of Birth of A.M.E. Ministers, 1880-1940 133 Table 7.2 Origins of Pastors by Region for Each Decade, 1880-1950 133 Table 7.3 Ministers' Membership in Orders by Licensing Date 137 Table 7.4 Mean Number of Years Served by Pastors at Churches to Which They Were Appointed between 1870 and 1949 143 Table 8.1 Reasons for Moving North by Rural and Urban Groupings 152 Table 8.2 Date of Arrival of Head of Household by Rural and Urban Groupings 153 Table· 8.3 Mean Number of Children per Family by Age Groups and Rural and Urban Groupings 154 Table 8.4 Mean Wage of Household Head by Age Groups and Rural and Urban Groupings 156 Table 8.5 Type of Place of Origin of Letter-Bearers from Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina 162 Table 10.1 Distribution of Migrants among the Denominations, 1923 212 Copyrighted Material