f
Ministers of Jesus Christ,* and'serv
ants of God: In another quadrennial
session the Board of Bishops of tile
African Methodist Episcopal Zion
Church greet ybju in the name of God
the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, by
whose Providence we have been
brought to this epoch of Our* history
and by whose hand we have been
led to this v?mtage ground where we
can correlate the larger sweeps in
th march of mind.'
In our last quadrennial session we
were just emerging from a deadly
conflict which staggered tile world
and from the effects of winch man
kind have not yet fully recovered*
^We are living in the reconstructive
period of the-most stupenduous epoch
in human history since the birth of
“The lo(wly Nazarene.v France,
swollen and bleeding in every vein,
impatient of recovery, solidarity and
securityearly in the aftermath re
tired Clemehceau: England, nervous
with anxiety and dread displaced her
brilliant but eratic gehius, Lloyd'
Georgte. These rapid developments, j
were foHbwed by the occupation of ]
'the Rhur under the ministry of Mf j
Roncaire for sanctions of non-pay- ■,
ment of reparation by Germany,
which we hope the Dawes Commis
sion has finally settled. There were,
differences of opinion as to the hd
visability of the occupation vof the
Rhur, apd the pendulum of uncer
tainty and doubt has swung between
the two extremes of peace and or
der, and chaos and confusion. i
The devaluation of the German >
mark and the fall of the frtmc re
structure of .ideftishtion might tL
overthrown.; v We are gratified, how
ever to' know that through the suc
cor and encouragement of the Amer
ican Government conditions are sta
bilized throughout the world and the
material peace;. , and prosperity of)'
mankind from this; angle are assur
ed. Upon this. h»PPy eventuality the
sentiment of our doxdlogy, “Praise •
Good from whom all blessings flour,*’ i
is fitting commenti * ••
Our 'Fallen Fathers. ^
From the 'General Conference at
Knoxville, Tenn., May 1920, there
went forth eleven bishops appointed
to supervise that portion of the
Kingdom of JesuS Christ comrrfitted
to the care and nature of Zion
Methodism. They were not all in
the full bloom and vigor of health
when they were equipped and com
missioned. Nevertheless they went
forth with obedient hearts and anx
ious. souls. Some however, faltered
beneath the weight of physical ira
There were eleven of us, as hopeful
as sons of God might be, determin
ed as good soldiers of Jesus Christ
to fight the good fight of- faith.
There were bishops George Wiley
Clinton, John Wfsley Alstork, Jcteiah
Samuel Caldwell, George Lincolp
Blackwell, Andrew Jackson Warner,
Lynwood W^stinghouse Kyles, Rohr
ert Blair Bruce, William L. Lee,
George C. Clement, John W. Wood
and Paris A. Wallace. Eleven of us
there were when we left Knoxville,
Tennesse, and of this number, only
sevin remain.
Ileath's hurricane has swept thu
th<& human forest of the African
Methodist Episcopal Zion Church and
four stately trees have fallen, rich
in the fnfits of their gathered years,
rad a blessing to the race and the
Church. The passing of these noK^
fcnen of God hag been a distinct loss
ho the Church, the race and the na
Bishop Andrew Jackson Warner;
was the first to join the saints above.
He was a great gospel preacher and
a sweet singer in. Zion, No more will
«• voice be heard in the conferences
Mow. He hae Joined the celestial
choir and now sings "The song of
THE QUADRENNIAL ADDRESS OF THE BOARD OF BISHOPS .
OF THE AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL ZION CHURCH.
, •< v /
Prepared and Read at'. the General Conference \ ■ j' [;Xy ? ] f , '
( j By Bishop Lynwood Westii^honse Kyles* :
| and transferred his studies to blight
| mansions above. Bishop' John Wes
i ley Alstork, genial and humorous,
an organizer and leader, walking1 the.
hills and valleys of Alabama, drama
tized the life of Jesus Christ anew
in ojur hearts and memories and went
to heaven from Montgomery. Bish
op Geo. Wiley Clinton, magnanimous
in spirit, heroic in deeds, eloquqent'l
in speech, one of God’s noblemen,
was the last to go. His passing was j
sudden and unexpected. He loved
his Chtirch and his race and toV?k
advantage of every opportunity to
represent them. He did his Work
well. He preached his best. He
went away*. Disease and death have
burdened, - and Saddened us. Only
seven of us, remain and here we
are, my bre.hren, presenting our
selves us remaining sacrifices of your'
enactments. The passing of our
colleagues left the /work t& us who
survived them. We have done the
best we cduld and are stimulated by
the C&asciousness that those who
have proceeded us look down upon
our efforts with happy approval.
We bow in humble submission to
Him who commissions us to < “Go
into all the world and preach the gos
pel to every creature/*
America an# the N«pro.
The African Methodist Episcopal
o* >•'free';^htdridah!
Republic in 179<> 'which had revolted
from the rule qf England: and in the
same year, Jas, Varick the founder
of bur Church became the leader of
a_. great spiritual denominational
democracy which had wrested itself
from the bands of racial caste and'
spiritual dependence. It is signif
vicantt that God called into being at
the same time and commissioned'
these two agents the state to unify
add diVilize the peoples who.had as
sembled on the Western Hemi
sphpere, and the Church to emanci
pate and chrisiianize a race that had
been iiitroduuced into bondage. We
therefore study th rise and prog
ress of the Church and the advances
rfnd recessions of the- government
with compatible emotions. oW gov
ernment is the greatest in material
wealth and natural resources, in
science and invention and in the won- j
derful universality of its benefac
tions. , |
Our ’nation has been overshadowed
with gloom recently by the passing
of two of its great men, the Presi-i
dent Warren G. Harding, and x the I
Ex-President, Woodrow Wilson.*
President Harding made a profound
impression on the' nation' and the
world by the infusion of Christian
ideals in his policies for the conduct1
of the- government. The nation was
shocked at hig passing. The death j
of ex-president Woodrow .Wilson sad- |
dened the nation also. We are/ too
near the s'irriitg events of his career
to give a correct appraisal of his
value to the world as a man and a
statesman; but that history will re
cord him as one of* the greaetst
characters of all times we have no
hesitancy in affirming. The patriot
soul of Zion shares the nations sor-j
row and grief. j
The African Methodist Episcopal
Zion Church views with alarm the
ominous signs of deterioation and
decay which it dpschrns in the dim
perspective. Hie recent reVelatitfns
in Washington, separate and distinct
from their political aspects have
shocked the Sensibilities of mankind*
and is a moral consequence Of tbit
general disregard for law as affect
ing smaller racial srcuuns. ^
the scriptures^ “Whatsoever a man
.someth, that shall $e also reap.”
We have reason to rejoice in' the
fact that our nation so recently en
tangled in a terrible war is at peace
with the world and takes it place
among the natuiftis as a leader in
world adjustmeirti: Sihce ~ we dast;
assembled in genereal session Amer
ica has led the nations of the earth
to? the altar of peace at Washington
and plead for tie reduction of thei'
' possibility of war to its minimum.
But may I say tfcat the perpetuity
of a nation depends not So much up
on its .external relations as Upon its
inherent spirit and'a just and equit- i
nesses. Many of tile great nations
of today should beware, lest the same
fate over take them. They have but
to study the weaknesses of those na
tions to the escape their doom. While
the nations have just cause for pride
in their achievements, there is am
ple ground f6r grave appprehension
of danger, for along with the great
material development and. intellect
ual advancement there has been a
corresponding increase in evils which
threaten their mrfstenee.
relations in America. The danger
consists hot so much in ..the possifail
able regulation of its internal af
fairs. The growth of a nation like
that of an individual is frthn within
The history of the fall of nations is
a. revelation of their internal weak
ity of any harm 'the oppressed .may
do, for we am'haw abiding citizens,'
but in the fact that the hand of God
is against the Oppressor. The ques- '
tions affecting race relations in [
America and the rights of Negroes
as citizens, is no longer a question '
to be dealt with by- the South alone.1
•It is rapidly becoming a national1
issue. A question involving such1
great interests and affecting so vi-J
tally the moral of a whole nation
can not be, left to the whims of the
people of any section for adjudica
tion, but must be finally regulated
by the government itself so that the
fifteen millions of black people^ in
America may go on with the work
of race development and character
building. Lincoln uttered a maxium
when he said “This nation can not
exist one-half free and the other
half slave.” It is true today / that
the nation can not enjoy the largest
prosperity with one-half free and
exercising all the rights of , the Con- ,
sutution, and. the other half oppress
ed and denied the fundamental rights
of citizenship. / j
The position/we take on thiB sub
ject is net based upon any desire
oh our part for the amalgamation of
the races. We are content to follow
the divergent trend of the races in
things purely (racial We are .the
descendants of a great and noble
race. We are willing to develop our
distinct racial characterietics and to'
shape our character after the stand
ards of Christianity. We believe
that in the maintenance of our ra
cial identity and the development of
our character after 4he true, the beau-,
tiful and the good in x>ur. Christian I
we ky the foundation for1
. great pud prosperous future. Ourj
have tilled the soil, assisted in the
development mid expansion of its i%
ddstries and helped 1he sodth to
retrieve its fortune lost ’ in their
struggle for the continuance of their
enslavement. Until the recent world
upheaval and general Awakening in
our own country which affcted our
people like Other people,' they have
remained "true to southern traditions,
faithful to its sryice, and cheerful
and happy under the most trying and
humiliating jcircurostances. ' Follow
ing the\ war a mass movement be
gan which has resulted in nearly
a half million of our , people cross
ing the Mason and Dixon line, and
settling in the north, east Ond west
The movement was without organ
ization and leadership. It was spon
taneous. ' '■
Judge' Winston of North Carolina
; in an article in the Current History
Magazine said, that the Southern
I^egro, (meaning I suppose the aver
age Negro) was half slave. The
merits of that statement we submit
to others for determination. . It may
be laid down however as a wwTimn
ythat people do not migrate from
conditions that, "are satisfying and
pleasing.. Migration arises from a
disturbance of heart and mind, and
expresses the hope of a people for
greater security of life and limb-and
|itfger avenues lor, the cultural' de
Of the individual and the
It representa-thaa^l
4&nro£ £ people for larger freedom
ana opportunity and for escape from
repression and proscription. No* man
can breathe freely ,wi h lingers of
suspicion and violence upon his
throat* It was thought fdr a ^me
that the restlessness and migratory
movement on thepart of our people
would result disastrously . to' the
business enterprises fostered by the
race in the south and the Church.
A careful study of conditions today
will hot reveal that any permanent
injury has resulted to thev race or
the Church. On the contrary, the
race has profitted materially by the
movement. %
In the first place, it has resulted
in the improvement of^the economic
condition of the race throughout the
country. The infected sentiment
which poisoned pen had made again**
us in fields of industry has
been changed and the ideas of our
hopeless ignorance, irresponsibility
and unreliableness have been ex
ploded. The workshops in the north
and east have been opened to us
and the large wag paid has enabled
thousands of our people to buy and
bnild homes and to relieve many
ocher economic needs. It has chang
ed the attitude of the south toward
Negro labor. The abandonment of
the farm, the helplessness of the'
land owner, and the virtual hhpover
The Volstead Act and Pr
We are pleased at 4fce
I which prohibition is making in this
country. We take great pride in
the contribution which the Methodist
Church has made to the success of
this movement! It his stood Coura
geously and consisently for temper
ance and prohibition; The turn
shop for a century- wai tfte baiie of '
our material life, ft came hear
wrecking the nation. Homes dis
rupted, reason ^ethroned, crimes
committted, treason and arson’ fol
lowed the trail of the rum fiend.
-The victory is not yet won. The
hydraheaded monster of intemper
ance still lurks in dark places of the
nation. We feel that the contest for
sobriety and decency should be con
tinued until, every bootlegger is run
td darth and every, distillery is de-'
molished. ,
Lay Representation.
The demand for increased, lay-rep*
resentation ip the Annual and Gen
eral Conferences is a, question which
should command our serious consid
eration at. this session df our 1*^
making body. That the lafty, as;
well as the ministry have rights is*
tocj obvious for discussioi^4^’^«¥ The
idea of the 'right of self-determu&r
tion has gripped the world. Tax
ation without representation is ah
horent. The restlessness of .the laity
is a manifestation of that resistance
to the restriction of individual and
community rights so hateful to the
American neonle..•“ _ ■*?>■- ■
0* this contention
eliminate the wanto
and . the neediest**:!
maneTfergyinthi
of districting the €
Vising the work
larger results for tl
bishops are disagre
tion, the majority
time not yetripi
rangement of the d
and now is when contiguous* die
tricts should be accepted Ss a set
tled policy of the Church.,
born of a historic coincident that
was unique and interesting:, if not
prophetic. The year Nineteen Hun
dred and ^Nineteen was an epoch
making year in the history of races
and nations. It marked the close
of the, third century of the Negroes
existence in America, the ending of
the most disastrous war of human
history arft recorded the deeds of
the notable Peace Conference which
adjudicated the differences between
the nations engaged in the war and
laid the foundation ,for peace and
world-wide democracy.
The consciousness of
enee of the hand of, fcroi
«to. history mysteriously *yi
course of nation^, impelled
ing on the part of the Gh
there should'be a fitting «
©ess of our race and,, the 1
the nation, and of pur sOd
gation in world reconstn
The African Methodist
Son Church elected tpHps
gratitude to God and & *
self to the obligations d# i
tion through theTercenten
meat. The plait: ■ provide*