Manuscripts Department
Library of the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill
SOUTHERN HISTORICAL COLLECTION
#4825
AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
NORTH CAROLINA CONFERENCE RECORDS
Inventory
Abstract: Proceedings of the annual meetings of the
North Carolina Conference of the African Methodist
Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church for the years 1935, 1937,
1940, 1943-1946, and 1950. The meetings were held in
Wilmington, Fayetteville, Kinston, and Rich Square,
N.C. Presiding bishop for most of them was Monroe H.
Davis of Baltimore, Md., who was suspended by the
National Conference in 1946. Minutes for annual
conferences begin with a roll of elders, deacons, lay
members, prominent visitors, and other groups present.
The Journal of Proceedings documents the activities of
the Conference in three sessions per day over the five
days of the Conference. Reports of the various
committees are transcribed in the minutes, including
most notably reports on the A.M.E. Church's missionary
program and reports of the committees on the state of
the country and the church, on education, and on
temperance. Many of these reports are long essays that
include, for example, statements on the meaning and
value of education in general, for the African-
American community specifically, and the importance of
supporting the A.M.E. Church's own Kittrell College.
Reports on the state of the country describe economic
hardships and work shortages in the Great Depression
and World War II. The report on the state of the
country for 1935 discusses the continuing problem of
lynching, including the apparent tolerance of the
white population for the practice, and notes recent
Supreme Court decisions affecting the rights of
African-Americans. Conference minutes for each meeting
close with detailed A.M.E. Church financial accounts,
including the Dollar Money Report and reports of the
treasurer, the Finance Committee, and others.
Online Catalog Terms:
African Methodist Episcopal Church. North Carolina Conference—
History.
Afro-American missionaries—History—20th century.
Afro-Americans—Education—North Carolina—History—20th century.
Afro-Americans—Education (Higher)—North Carolina.
Afro-Americans—North Carolina—Economic conditions—20th
century.
Afro-Americans—North Carolina—History—20th century.
Afro-Americans—North Carolina—Religion—20th century.
Afro-Americans—North Carolina—Social life and customs—20th
century.
Afro-Americans—North Carolina—Societies, etc.
Davis, Monroe H.
Depressions—1929—United States.
Kittrell College (Kittrell, N.C.).
Lynching—United States—History.
Temperance—United States—History.
United States—History—1933-1945.
United States—History—1945-1953.
World War, 1939-1945—Economic aspects—United States.
Size: 2 items.
Date Span: 1935-1950.
Provenance: Purchased from Chapel Hill Rare Books of Chapel
Hill, N.C., in August 1996 (Acc. 96124).
Access: No restrictions. Microfilm copy available.
Copyright: Retained by the authors of items in these papers,
or their descendants, as stipulated by United
States copyright law.
DESCRIPTION
Proceedings of the annual meeting of the North Carolina
Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church for
the years 1935, 1937, 1940, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1946, and 1950 held
in Wilmington, Fayetteville, Kinston, and Rich Square, N.C.
Presiding Bishop for most of these meetings was Monroe H. Davis
of Baltimore, Md., who was suspended by the National Conference
in 1946.
The minutes for the annual conferences begin with a roll of
elders, deacons, lay members, and prominent visitors present, as
well as many other groups. The Journal of Proceedings documents
the activities of the conference in three sessions a day over the
five days of the conference. The reports of the various
committees are transcribed in the minutes, including most notably
reports on the A.M.E. Church's missionary program, reports of the
committees on the state of the country, the state of the church,
education, and temperance. Many of these reports are long essays
describing such things as the meaning and value of education in
general, for the African American community specifically, and the
importance of supporting the A.M.E. Church's own Kittrell
College. Reports on the state of the country describe the
economic hardships and shortage of work in the Great Depression
and then World War II. The report on the state of the country
for 1935 discusses the continuing problem of lynching and the
apparent tolerance of the white population for the practice, and
notes recent Supreme Court decisions affecting the rights of
African-Americans. The conference minutes for each meeting close
with detailed financial accounts for the A.M.E. Church, including
the Dollar Money Report, the Reports of the Treasurer and of the
Finance Committee, and many others.
Volume is handwritten folio of 468 numbered pages. Some
apparently blank pages have been ripped out. Proceedings from
the N.C. Annual Conventions of 1935, 1937, 1940, 1943, 1944, and
1945 are very detailed with many committee reports included. The
1935 report is 91 pages long; others are somewhat shorter. Those
for 1946 and 1950 are two pages apiece and consist of part of the
official rolls. One sheet of paper with a list of names and
associated dates but no explanatory heading was enclosed in the
volume and is in a folder following the volume.
Folder 1 Volume
2 Enclosure