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J. A. Whitted, b. 1860
A History of the Negro Baptists of North Carolina
Raleigh: Edwards & Broughton Printing Co., 1908.

Summary

J. A. Whitted's A History of the Negro Baptists of North Carolina traces the history and development of the black Baptist church in North Carolina, beginning with the pre-Civil War era and ending during the first decade of the twentieth-century. Whitted characterizes the ante-bellum black Baptist church as a loosely knit religious community based upon the sponsorship of slave owners and the preaching activities of illiterate slaves.

Several chapters in Whitted's book are of particular interest. Chapter 4 \"Foreign Missions--The Hayes and Flemming Foreign Mission Society\" traces the establishment of North Carolina based black Baptist foreign mission societies that conducted missionary activities in Africa. The Hayes and Flemming Foreign Mission Society was established to sponsor the work of Rev. J. O. Hayes and Miss Lula C. Flemming, who worked in Liberia and Congo, respectively. This chapter offers interesting insights into the missionary activities of black Baptists in Africa.

Chapter 9 details the history of Shaw University, located in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded on December 1, 1865 in a log cabin on the outskirts of Raleigh by Rev. Henry Martin Tupper, Shaw University grew from its humble beginnings to become a flourishing Baptist University, educating both men and women in theology, law, medicine and other professions.

Other chapters provide biographical sketches of leading black Baptists, and brief histories of the Baptist secondary schools, Associations and Conventions in North Carolina from the 1860s through the 1900s.

Karen Ruffle

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