Proceedings of the First Convocation of the Colored Clergy of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America. Held at the Church of the Holy Communion, 6th Avenue and 20th Street, New York City, Sept. 12th, 13th, and 14th 1883

Newark: Starbuck & Dunham, Book and Job Printers, 1883. 24pp. Octavo. Original printed wrappers. Moderate wear and soiling, some tape residue along spine of upper wrapper, spine chipped. Ex-General Theological Library, with small ink stamp in upper margin on verso of title page. Overall, still very good. Following swiftly on the heels of the Suwanee Convention of Southern Bishops in late July 1883, a large gathering of clergy and laymen met in New York City to organize the work of the Afro-American clergy of the Protestant Episcopal Church. It was a historic moment, and "of the forty-two Colored Clergy of the United States only four had responded to the call in the negative, and three others had failed to respond." A Committee was formed, chaired by Alexander Crummell, to draft a statement to the Church in America. Here, the Committee calls attention "to the moral disasters which have come to our race through slavery – how family life, parental authority, and marriage integrity have been broken down by servitude," and issues a call for "an extraordinary effort for the erection of Churches throughout the South," especially in the large urban centers. In addition to the proceedings, the work includes a "Sermon on Church Work by the Colored People" by Rev. Thomas A. Starkey, the Bishop of Northern New Jersey, a brief Finance Committee Report, and concludes with the "Regulations of the Women's Auxiliary of the Convocation of the Colored Clergy." The latter is comprised of five articles and an addendum, plus a listing of twenty women belonging to the New York and Newark branches of the organization. A scarce work, with just over a dozen institutional copies. Not in Blockson.

Library Company, Afro-Americana 8507A.