The Education of the Negro Prior to 1861 / A History of the Education of the Colored People of the United States from the Beginning of Slavery to the Civil War

by Carter Godwin Woodson

EXTRACT FROM THE MINUTES OF THE METHODIST CONFERENCE, 1785

"Q. What directions shall we give for the promotion of the spiritual welfare of the colored people?

"A. We conjure all our ministers and preachers, by the love of God and the salvation of souls, and do require them, by all the authority that is invested in us, to leave nothing undone for the spiritual benefit and salvation of them, within their respective circuits or districts; and for this purpose to embrace every opportunity of inquiring into the state of their souls, and to unite in society those who appear to have a real desire of fleeing from the wrath to come, to meet such a class, and to exercise the whole Methodist Discipline among them."

"Q. What can be done in order to instruct poor children, white and black to read?

"A. Let us labor, as the heart of one man, to establish Sunday schools, in or near the place of public worship. Let persons be appointed by the bishop, elders, deacons, or preachers, to teach gratis all that will attend or have the capacity to learn, from six o'clock in the morning till ten, and from two o'clock in the afternoon till six, where it does not interfere with public worship. The council shall compile a proper school book to teach them learning and piety."—Rev. Charles Elliott's History of the Great Secession front the Methodist Episcopal Church, etc., p. 35.