Bethel Literary and Historical Society information
The Bethel Literary and Historical Society was an organization founded in 1881 by African Methodist Episcopal Church Bishop Daniel Payne and continued at least until 1915.[1] It represented a highly significant development in African-American society in Washington, D.C.[2] Most of its early members were members of the Metropolitan AME Church where its meetings were held, while maintaining an open invitation for black Washingtonians from across the city. It immediately developed into the preeminent debating society and forum for racial issues in Washington, D.C. The prospect of a separation of schools for black children was heatedly debated in 1881–82 as were the ideas of Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois in 1903.[1] It was one of the stops of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's journeys to the West.
The society's presentations attracted a wide swath of speakers:[3] Frederick Douglass ("The Philosophy and History of Reform"), Mary Ann Shadd ("Heroes of the Anti-Slavery Struggles"), Mary Church Terrell ("A Glimpse of Europe"), Belva Ann Lockwood ("Is Marriage a Failure?"), John Mercer Langston ("The Emancipated Races of Latin America"), Kelly Miller ("Higher Education"), Ida B. Wells ("Southern Outrages"), Archibald Grimké ("Modern Industrialism and the Negro in the United States").
While several records of the organization are not preserved, among the presidents of the society listed in various sources are:
Robert J. Smith (1885, First president)[4]
Rev. James Dean (succeeded Smith)[4]
Joseph H. Douglass (succeeded Dean)[4]
John Wesley Cromwell (succeeded Douglass)[4]
James Storum (succeeded Cromwell)[4]
George M. Arnold (succeeded Storum)[4]
Mary Church Terrell (1892, its first woman president[3] succeeded Arnold)[4]
J. K. Rector (succeeded Terrell[4])[5]
R. S. Smith (succeeded Rector[4])
A. E. Clark (1895 immediately preceded Hershaw,[6] succeeded Smith.[4])
Lafayette M. Hershaw (1897)[7]
William H. Richards (1899)[8][9]
Frank Lewis Cardozo (1901)[10]
Kelly Miller[11]
George W Jackson[11]
Shelby J. Davidson (1906)[12]
Marie A. D. Madra (1907)[13]
Louis George Gregory (1909)[14]
Garnet C. Wilkinson (1910)[15]
In various references it is also called Bethel Historical and Literary Society, Bethel Literary. There were also sister organizations with the same name, for example in Philadelphia.[3]
^ abMcHenry, Elizabeth (2002). Forgotten readers: recovering the lost history of African American literary societies. Duke University Press. pp. 141–185. ISBN 978-0-8223-2995-4.
^Moore, Jacqueline M. (10 February 2005). "Bethel Literary and Historical Association". Organizing Black America: An Encyclopedia of African American Associations. Vol. Online. Retrieved 4 March 2010.
^ abcRoberts, Kim (Spring 2010). "The Bethel Literary and Historical Society". Beltway Poetry Quarterly. 11 (2). Retrieved 4 March 2010.
^ abcdefghij"Observing Lincoln's Birthday". Evening Star (Washington (DC), District of Columbia). Tuesday, 11 February 1896, p. 12.
^"Equality under the Merit. System-the Interest of the Negro-American in Civil". Freeman (Indianapolis, Indiana). Saturday, 26 June 1897, volume: 9. issue: 26, p. 3.
^"Todyism". Saturday, 2 November 1895. Washington Bee (Washington (DC), District of Columbia). Volume: XIV Issue: 19, p. 4.
^"The Microcosm of the Negro". Friday, 22 January 1897. Evening Star (Washington (DC), District of Columbia), p. 10.
^Chesnutt, Charles Waddell; Crisler, Jesse S.; Leitz, Robert C.; McElrath, Joseph R. (2002). An exemplary citizen: letters of Charles W. Chesnutt. Stanford University Press. p. 8. ISBN 978-0-8047-4508-6.
^"Founder's Day at Bethel". Colored American (Washington (DC), District of Columbia). Saturday, 11 March 1899. Volume: 6. Issue: 49, p. 5.
^"Bethel Literary Association". Colored American (Washington (DC), District of Columbia). Saturday, 9 November 1901. Volume: IX Issue: 32.
^ ab"The Colored American is Thankful". Colored American (Washington (DC), District of Columbia). Saturday, 28 November 1903. Volume: X Issue: 21, p. 4.
^"Bethel Society Incorporated". Evening Star (Washington (DC), District of Columbia). Thursday, 31 May 1906, p. 16.
^"Bethel Literary". Washington Bee (Washington (DC), District of Columbia). Volume: XXVI. Issue: 34. Saturday, 19 January 1907., p. 5.
^Thomas, Richard Walter (2006). Lights of the spirit: historical portraits of Black Bahá'ís in North America. US Baha'i Publishing Trust. pp. 32–33. ISBN 978-1-931847-26-1.
^"At the National Capital. Hampton Night Was the Stellar Event". Freeman (Indianapolis, Indiana) Saturday, 26 November 1910. Volume: XXIII Issue: 47, p. 1.
and 20 Related for: Bethel Literary and Historical Society information
Gregory had been attracted to the Niagara Movement and active in the BethelLiteraryandHistoricalSociety, a Negro organization devoted to discussing issues...
Washington DC black debate organization Bethel LiteraryandHistoricalSociety Through family connections and social networking, Terrell met many influential...
Frederick Douglass gave a speech in October 1890 before the BethelLiteraryandHistoricalSociety of Washington, D.C.'s Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal...
excluded from larger white literarysocieties. African American literarysocieties included the BethelLiteraryandHistoricalSociety, Philadelphia Library...
Bennett College The Best Man (1999 film) BET Awards BET Her BethelLiteraryandHistoricalSociety Bethune–Cookman University The Betrayal (1948 film) Beyond...
for the meeting are Mr. Henry Cooper, of the Hull Literaryand Philosophical Society, and Mr. Bethel Jacobs, President of the Hull Mechanics' Institute"...
journalist, historian, and civil rights activist in Washington, D.C. He was among the founders of the BethelLiteraryandHistoricalSocietyand the American Negro...
presentation critical to Booker T. Washington in front of the BethelLiteraryandHistoricalSociety on January 6, 1903. Richard W. Thompson spoke in support...
founded the BethelLiteraryandHistoricalSociety, a club which invited speakers to present and speak on topics relevant to African-American life and a part...
community and Gregory's involvement, a group of Baháʼís made a presentation to the DC black community forum, the BethelLiteraryandHistoricalSociety, with...
system and became the superintendent of the Colored School system. He also served as the president of the BethelLiteraryandHistoricalSociety. William...
praise even from far away, as well as being received at the BethelLiteraryandHistoricalSociety, a prominent African-American institution of DC. She took...
college literarysocieties by country. Active societies are indicated in bold. Inactive societiesand institutions are in italics. Active societies are indicated...
Michael D.; Chapman, Cynthia R. (2018). The Old Testament: A HistoricalandLiterary Introduction to the Hebrew Scriptures (4th ed.). Oxford University...
only Uncle Tom's Cabin. In 1901, Bethel Coopwood, reviewing The Chevalier, found it a "well written historical novel" and "above the average of its kind...
Workers receive a small monthly stipend with meals and accommodation provided by the society. The "Bethel family" in the Brooklyn headquarters includes hairdressers...
Thompson and William Dever suggest that these narratives are late literary compositions with ideological purposes rather than historical accounts. According...
and that he would destroy the altar at Bethel. And the only exception to this destruction was for the grave of an unnamed prophet he found in Bethel (2...