IMAGE Richard Allen Richard Allen (1760-1831), who was born a slave in Pennsylvania. Soon after his birth, his family was soon sold to Stockley Sturgis who lived near Dover, Delaware. Converted at an early age, he began evangelizing and eventually his preaching convinced Stockley that slavery was wrong, and he therefore offered his slaves an opportunity to buy their freedom. In 1816 Richard founded the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia and was elected its first bishop.
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