blacksdahistory
1945
January 1: The first black regional conferences begin operations: Lake Region Conference, Northeastern Conference, and Allegheny Conference.
February: Louis B. Reynolds becomes the first black editor of Message Magazine.
June 23: The Tucson Church, a black congregation, is organized in Tucson, Arizona.
December 6: The General Conference Committee votes: "That beginning with April of 1946 a periodical be published monthly, called The North American Informant, devoted to the interests of the colored conferences and membership of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination." G.E. Peters was appointed editor.
Andrews Memorial Hospital (Jamaica) is established.
Frank L. Peterson becomes president of Oakwood University.
Churches: 9,496
North American Department Colored Department Membership: 19,008
Beginning Membership: 557,768
End Membership: 576,378
1946
June 3: Irene Morgan vs. Commonwealth of Virginia rules that segregated buses violated the Constitution's protection of interstate commerce.
June 5-June 15: 45th General Conference Session, Washington, D.C.
July 21: The Douglas B. Simons family flies from New York City for Freetown, Sierra Leone, as missionaries sent by the General Conference.
Summer: E.E. Cleveland conducts an evangelistic campaign in Greensboro, North Carolina, assisted by E.C. Ward, Warren Banfield, and Margaret Daniels. A 16-year old C.D. Brooks is impressed to enter the ministry from the influence of Cleveland's preaching that summer.
August 1: First issue of The North American Informant, later Regional Voice, appears.
August 7-11: 350 members from ten churches in the Central Union Colored Department hold campmeeting in Topeka, Kansas.
August 23-25: Allegheny Conference constituency meeting is held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. J.H. Wagner is reelected president and L.H. Bland as secretary-treasurer.
August 30-September 1: The black constituency of the Lake Union Conference hold a camp meeting at Shiloh Church in Chicago.
September 6-8: Black churches in the northeastern section of Lake Region Conference hold camp meeting in the Hartford Avenue Church in Detroit.
September 13-15: Blacks in the Lake Union hold their third camp meeting at Capitol Avenue Church in Indianapolis for believers in Marion, Muncie, Springfield, East St. Louis, and Indianapolis.
September 9: Pine Forge Academy opens in Pottstown, Pennsylvania.
September 21: The Hartford Seventh-day Adventist Company, a company in the Northeastern Conference, is organized in Hartford, Connecticut.
December 16: The African American constituency of the Southwestern Union assembles in Dallas, Texas, and organized the Southwestern Mission (precursor to Southwestern Union Conference), headquartered in Dallas, Texas, with W.W. Fordham as superintendent.
December 31: Message Magazine has a total subscription of 41,170.
General Conference sends its first group of black missionaries to Africa: C.D. Henri and family; G.N. Banks and family; and P.E. Giddings and family.
Three regional conferences begin operations: South Atlantic Conference, South Central Conference, and Southwest Region Conference
Churches: 9,321
North American Colored Department Membership: 20,580
Regional Conference Membership: 15,876
Regional Conference Baptisms: 1,514
Regional Conference Tithes and Offerings: $1,381,393.93
Beginning Membership: 576,378
End Membership: 598,683
1947
January 28-30: Owen A. Troy is elected secretary of the Colored Department at the Pacific Union Conference session.
February 3: Dr. S.O. Cherry dies.
February 22: A company of 18 is organized in Nacogdoches, Texas, as a result of the labors of A.B. Humphrey.
March 1: C.T. Richards is ordained at the Shiloh Seventh-day Adventist Church in Cincinnati, Ohio.
June 5-14: South Central Conference campmeeting is held at Oakwood College.
June 5-14: The first campmeeting of the South Atlantic Conference is held outside Jacksonville, Florida.
June 9: Pine Forge Academy holds is first graduation with six graduates.
July 3-13: Allegheny Conference campmeeting is held at Pine Forge Academy in Pennsylvania.
Regional Conference Membership: 16,703
Regional Conference Baptisms: 1,554
Regional Conference Tithes and Offerings: $1,384,240.32
Churches: 9,554
Beginning Membership: 598,683
End Membership: 628,594
1948
August 19-29: Central States Conference holds what was hailed at the time by T.M. Rowe as "the greatest camp meetins session in the history of our organization."
September 1-4: Southern Union Youth's Congress is held at Oakwood College.
September 5: The main building of Riverside Sanitarium and Hospital (Nashville, TN) is dedicated.
September 18: E.E. Cleveland baptizes 114 persons in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Regional Conference Membership: 17,485
Regional Conference Baptisms: 1,382
Regional Conference Tithes and Offerings: $1,529,514.25
Churches: 9,749
Beginning Membership: 628,594
End Membership: 672,658
1949
May 22: 61 students graduated with a baccalaureate degree from Oakwood College, the largest class of graduates since the school became a college.
June: The South Atlantic Conference camp meeting has an attendance of more than 1,000.
June: T.M. Fountain replaces J.G. Dasent as president of the Lake Region Conference.
Regional Conference Membership: 18,257
Regional Conference Baptisms: 1,626
Regional Conference Tithes and Offerings: $1,618,696.55
Churches: 9,991
Beginning Membership: 672,658
End Membership: 716,538
1950
July 10-July 22: 46th General Conference Session, San Francisco, California.
Regional Conference Membership: 20,447
Regional Conference Baptisms: 1,663
Regional Conference Tithes and Offerings: $1,806,956.31
Churches: 10,237
Beginning Membership: 716,538
End Membership: 756,812
1951
August 3: Charles M. Kinny dies.
September 18: Ben Carson is born.
Calvin E. Moseley, Jr., makes first missionary trip to Africa for the General Conference Colored Department.
Regional Conference Membership: 22,264
Regional Conference Baptisms: 2,071
Regional Conference Tithes and Offerings: $2,015,816.07
Churches: 10,585
Beginning Membership: 756,812
End Membership: 803,720
1952
September 1-September 13: Bible Conference held in Washington, D.C.
November 19: Hattie Andre dies.
Central States Conference is organized.
Regional Conference Membership: 28,907
Regional Conference Baptisms: 2,628
Regional Conference Tithes and Offerings: $2,396,401.03
Churches: 10,830
Beginning Membership: 803,720
End Membership: 856,463
Timeline of Black Adventist History
1945-1999
Compiled by Benjamin Baker
1953
June 30: G.E. Peters retires from official work, his lost post as secretary of the Colored Department at the General Conference.
October 10: Louis Harold Bland dies.
C.E. Moseley becomes secretary of the Colored Department.
Regional Conference Membership: 29,512
Regional Conference Baptisms: 2,301
Regional Conference Tithes and Offerings: $2,435,541.34
Churches: 11,158
Beginning Membership: 856,463
End Membership: 924,822
1954
May 24-June 5: 46th General Conference Session, San Francisco, California.
November 11: J.G. Dasent dies.
E.E. Cleveland holds historic evangelistic meeting in Montgomery, Alabama, where over 500 persons are baptized.
E.E. Cleveland is elected Associate Secretary of the Ministerial Association, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. He serves there for 23 years.
F.L. Peterson is elected first Negro Associate Secretary of General Conference and Secretary of North American Colored Department at the General Conference session.
Garland J. Millet becomes president of Oakwood University.
North American Colored Department becomes North American Regional Department.
Regional Conference Membership: 26,139
Regional Conference Baptisms: 2,866
Regional Conference Tithes and Offerings: $2,630,313.44
Churches: 11,447
Beginning Membership: 924,822
End Membership: 972,071
1955
December 1: Minneola Dozier Smith, a Seventh-day Adventist, stands behind Rosa Parks seat on the Cleveland Avenue bus in Montgomery, Alabama, when Parks refuses to relinquish her seat.
Regional Conference Membership: 26,309
Regional Conference Baptisms: 2,243
Regional Conference Tithes and Offerings: $2,853,734.03
Churches: 11,745
Beginning Membership: 972,071
End Membership: 1,006,218
1956
July: Maurice T. Battle begins tenure as president of the Liberian Mission.
ADRA is established under the name Seventh-day Adventist Welfare Service (SAWS).
Regional Conference Membership: 27,872
Regional Conference Baptisms: 2,300
Regional Conference Tithes and Offerings: $2,956,057.10
Churches: 12,018
Beginning Membership: 1,006,218
End Membership: 1,051,452
1957
February: William Robinson begins tenure as president of the Uganda Mission.
September 23: Terrence Roberts, a Seventh-day Adventist and one of the "Little Rock Nine," deals a decisive blow to racial segregationism by attending Little Rock's Central High.
Regional Conference Membership: 29,720
Regional Conference Baptisms: 2,857
Regional Conference Tithes and Offerings: $3,259,276.40
Churches: 12,291
Beginning Membership: 1,051,452
End Membership: 1,102,910
1958
June 19-June 28: 48th General Conference Session, Cleveland, Ohio.
June: C.E. Moseley is elected field secretary of the General Conference.
August 31: Phillips Memorial Hospital in Orlando, Florida, a hospital for blacks, is dedicated.
December 4: Oakwood College receives accreditation.
Regional Conference Membership: 32,191
Regional Conference Baptisms: 3,813
Regional Conference Tithes and Offerings: $3,524,223.49
Churches: 12,421
Beginning Membership: 1,102,910
End Membership: 1,149,256
1959
June 25: James Lamar McElhany dies.
October 5: L.B. Mitchell begins tenure as director of Bassa Mission in Liberia.
Adventist Youth Service (AYS) programs begin.
Regional Conference Membership: 33,835
Regional Conference Baptisms: 2,654
Regional Conference Tithes and Offerings: $3,989,035.88
Churches: 12,707
T&O (51-60): $434,697,327
Beginning Membership: 1,149,256
End Membership: 1,194,070
1960
September 10: Inauguration of new College Church in Loma Linda, California (now known as University Church).
Emmanuel Missionary College becomes Andrews University.
Regional Conference Membership: 34,176
Regional Conference Baptisms: 2,760
Regional Conference Tithes and Offerings: $4,822,362.12
Churches: 12,975
T&O: $59,132,241
Beginning Membership: 1,194,070
End Membership: 1,245,125
1961
June 21: Jeter E. Cox dies on his farm in Kilmarnock, Virginia.
October 27: The Annual Council adopts this statement on "Human Relations:"
HUMAN RELATIONS IN THE SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH
"VOTED, That the following statement be accepted as setting forth human relations in the Seventh-day Adventist Church:
"The Seventh-day Adventist church is a world church. The task that Seventh-day Adventists have assumed is the preaching of the gospel to every tongue and nation. They believe that all men are of one blood and are equally destined for eternity in the heavenly kingdom.
"The stand of our church on these basic principles involved in race and national relationships has been set forth clearly for many decades in many of our standard publications. The following quotations are representative of our belief and teaching:
"Christ cane to this earth with a message of mercy and forgiveness. He laid the foundation for a religion by which Jew and Gentile, black and white, free and bond, are linked together in one common brotherhood, recognized as equal in the sight of God. The Saviour has a boundless love for every human being. In each one He sees capacity for improvement. With divine energy and hope He greets those for whom He has given His life. In His strength they can live a life rich in
good works, filled with the power of the Spirit." -- Testimonies, volume 7, page 225.
"No distinction on account of nationality, race, or caste, is recognized by God. He is the maker of all mankind. All men are of one family by creation, and all are one through redemption. Christ came to demolish every wall of partition, to throw open every compartment of the temple, that every soul may have free access to God. . . In Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, bond nor free. All are brought nigh by His precious blood." --Christ's Object Lessons, page 386
"The religion of the Bible recognizes no caste or color. It ignores rank, wealth, worldly honor. God estimates men as men." --Testimonies, volume 9, page 223.
"Thus Christ sought to teach the disciples the truth that in God's kingdom there are no territorial lines, no caste, no aristocracy; that they must go to all nations, bearing to them the message of a Saviour's love." --Acts of the Apostles, page 20.
"When the Holy Spirit is poured out, there will be a triumph of humanity over prejudice in seeking the salvation of the souls of human beings. God will control minds. Human hearts will love as Christ loved. And the color-line will be regarded by many very differently from the way in which it is now regarded. To love as Christ loves, lifts the mind into a pure, heavenly, unselfish, atmosphere." --Testimonies, volume 9, page 209.
"These truths so clearly enunciated and supported in Holy Scripture, caused a new day to dawn upon our earth. They broke down the partition walls between adversaries, between races, between men. No more was there to be a distinction of a race or caste or people. The elect of God became a universal race, a new humanity. The implication was love and pity and respect toward all men--total love, unrestricted duty. Christians moved with compassion would look upon a dying world with deep concern, for God is the father of mankind and all men are their brothers.
"We believe that a denial in any form of this universal fatherhood of God and brotherhood of man would eat the heart out of a world movement and stifle as nothing else could the spirit of "Abbe, Father."
Alma Foggo York is the first black instructor of nursing at Boston Hospital for Woman, a Harvard University affiliate.
Regional Conference Membership: 31,399
Regional Conference Baptisms: 3,505
Regional Conference Tithes and Offerings: $4,692,394.82
Churches: 13,369
Beginning Membership: 1,245,125
End Membership: 1,307,892
1962
July 26-August 2: 49th General Conference Session, San Francisco, California.
July 29: Frank L. Peterson is elected a general vice president of the General Conference, the first person of color to be in the position.
Donald Blake becomes a professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Walla Walla University, among the first black Adventists to be a faculty member in an Adventist college in the United States not Oakwood.
H.D. Singleton becomes secretary of the Colored Department.
Regional Conference Membership: 37,480
Regional Conference Baptisms: 2,323
Regional Conference Tithes and Offerings: $5,603,741.85
Churches: 13,588
Beginning Membership: 1,307,892
End Membership: 1,362,775
1963
Addison V. Pinkney becomes president of Oakwood University.
Regional Conference Membership: 39,871
Regional Conference Baptisms: 13,207
Regional Conference Tithes and Offerings: $5,998,101.35
Churches: 13,856
Beginning Membership: 1,362,775
End Membership: 1,428,352
1964
June 4: Ground is broken for Loma Linda Hospital (now Loma Linda University Medical Center).
September: Andrews High School (Trinidad) opens.
Regional Conference Membership: 42,221
Regional Conference Baptisms: 3,551
Regional Conference Tithes and Offerings: $6,386,084.37
Churches: 14,316
Beginning Membership: 1,428,352
End Membership: 1,508,056
1965
April 13-14: Spring Meeting votes the following resolution on "Human Relations:"
WHEREAS, The Seventh-day Adventist Church in its Autumn Council of 1961 took action rededicating our denomination to the basic principles contained in the following representative statement by Ellen G. White:
"No distinction on account of nationality, race, or caste, is recognized by God. He is the Maker of all mankind. All men are of one family by creation, and all are one through redemption. Christ came to demolish every wall of partition, to throw open every compartment of the temple, that every soul may have free access to God. . . . In Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, bond nor tree. All are brought nigh by His precious blood."— Christ's Object Lessons, p. 386.
WHEREAS, It is our belief and conviction that all persons should be given full and equal opportunity within the church to develop the knowledge and skills needed in the building up of that church, and that all service and positions of leadership on all levels of church activity should be open on the basis of qualifications without regard to race; therefore,
We recommend, That the following principles and practices be adopted and carried out in our churches and institutions:
1. Membership and office in all churches and on all levels must be available to anyone who qualifies, without regard to race.
2. In our educational institutions there should be no racial bias in the employment of teachers or other personnel nor in the admission of students.
3. Hospitals and rest homes should make no racial distinction in admitting patients or in making their facilities available to physicians, interns, residents, nurses, and administrators who meet the professional standards of the institution.
It is further recommended that these recommendations be given very serious consideration and that every effort be put forth to implement them as rapidly as is consistently possible.
June 30: George E. Peters dies.
Alice Princess by Alice P. Siwundhla is published.
E.E. Cleveland holds evangelistic meeting in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad where 812 are baptized and another 400 in follow-up meetings.
Regional Conference Membership: 44,881
Regional Conference Baptisms: 4,846
Regional Conference Tithes and Offerings: $6,791,880.81
Churches: 14,651
Beginning Membership: 1,508,056
End Membership: 1,578,504
1966
January 25: Loma Linda University Hospital is completed.
June 16-June 25: 50th General Conference Session, Detroit, Michigan.
June: F.L. Bland is elected a general vice president of the General Conference, the second person of color to be elected to the position.
June: Frank W. Hale becomes president of Oakwood University.
November 20: Vote is taken to organize two new conferences in Allegheny territory: Allegheny East and Allegheny West.
December: George R. Earle is elected president of Northeastern Conference following the death of R.T. Hudson.
First edition of the Seventh-day Encyclopedia is published.
Regional Conference Membership: 47,204
Regional Conference Baptisms: 3,771
Regional Conference Tithes and Offerings: $7,697,674.52
Churches: 14,980
Beginning Membership: 1,578,529
End Membership: 1,661,657
1967
April: Walter M. Starks is elected president of Allegheny West Conference.
April 19: Douglas B. Simons is elected president of Allegheny West Conference.
Regional Conference Membership: 49,184
Regional Conference Baptisms: 3,454
Regional Conference Tithes and Offerings: $8,368,148.43
Churches: 15,303
Beginning Membership: 1,661,657
End Membership: 1,747,614
1968
April 5: In tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr.'s, death, more than 1,000 students and staff dressed in black gather in the Ashby Auditorium at Oakwood College. President Frank Hale declares an indefinite state of morning on the Oakwood College campus, and the American flag in the center of the campus at the Bell Tower should be flown at half mast for 30 days. A program in honor of King is held in Ashby.
June 2: Andrews University confers Doctor of Divinity degree on E.E. Cleveland, the first black to receive a doctorate from Andrews.
Regional Conference Membership: 52,211
Regional Conference Baptisms: 4,720
Regional Conference Tithes and Offerings: $10,145,567.03
Churches: 15,744
Beginning Membership: 1,747,607
End Membership: 1,845,183
1969
November 10: W.J. Cleveland is elected president of Southwest Region Conference.
Regional Conference Membership: 55,053
Regional Conference Baptisms: 4,497
Regional Conference Tithes and Offerings: $11,611,580.71
Churches: 16,257
T&O (61-70): $886,947.488
Beginning Membership: 1,845,183
End Membership: 1,953,078
1970
March 26: C.D. Henri is elected president of the East African Union.
April 2, 1970: The North American Division issues a 16-point recommendation on "Regional Conferences and Human Relations"
June 4: C.L. Brooks is elected Sabbath School and Religious Liberty Secretary for Southern Union.
June 11-June 20: 51st General Conference Session, Atlantic City, New Jersey. At the session, the following blacks are elected or reelected:
M.T. Battle: Associate secretary, Lay Activities Department (first black elected to position)
F.L. Bland: General vice president
C.E. Bradford: Associate secretary, General Conference (first black elected to position)
E.E. Cleveland: Associate secretary, Ministerial Association
W.W. Fordham: Associate secretary, North American Regional Department
G.J. Millet: Associate secretary, Education Department (first black elected to position
C.E. Moseley: General field secretary
A.V. Pinkney: Associate Temperance secretary
L.B. Reynolds: Associate Sabbath School secretary
H.D. Singleton: Secretary, North American Regional Department
W.M. Stark, Secretary, Stewardship and Church Development Department
June 12: W.A. Thompson is elected executive secretary of the Columbia Union Conference.
June 28: Edward Dorsey is elected president of Allegheny East Conference.
July 6: John R. Wagner is elected president of Lake Region Conference.
November 1: Vincent L. Roberts is appointed treasurer of the Southwestern Union Conference, the first black to be a union officer.
Cave Memorial clinic and Nursing Home (Barbados) opens.
E.G. White and Church Race Relations by Ronald Graybill is published.
Free at Last by E.E. Cleveland is published.
W.W. Fordham inaugurates the "Inner City Program" at the North American Division. Its purpose it to provide for the spiritual and physical needs of blacks in large urban centers.
Regional Conference Membership: 58,235
Regional Conference Baptisms: 4,346
Regional Conference Tithes and Offerings: $13,336,665.22
Churches: 16,505
T&O: $124,046,447
Beginning Membership: 1,953,078
End Membership: 2,051,864
1971
October 1: Adventist World Radio (AWR) begins broadcasting.
November 17: Anna Knight is presented the Medallion of Merit Award, the highest recognition given by the General Conference for extraordinary meritorious service to Seventh-day Adventist education.
Adventist Media center (AMC) is instituted.
Byron Spears becomes an evangelist with the Voice of Prophecy.
Calvin B. Rock becomes president of Oakwood University.
Charles D. Brooks is elected general field secretary of the General Conference, replacing C.E. Moseley.
Mission to Black America by Ronald D. Graybill, a work on the efforts of Edson White, Will Palmer, and the Southern Missionary Society for African Americans in the Deep South at the turn of the century, is published by Pacific Press.
Regional conferences sponsor multi-conference Youth Congresses and the collaborative United Youth Congresses after three to five years.
Regional Conference Membership: 61,312
Regional Conference Baptisms: 4,832
Regional Conference Tithes and Offerings: $14,693,320.08
Churches: 16,726
Beginning Membership: 2,051,864
End Membership: 2,145,061
1972
January 6: Victory Lake Nursing Home in Hyde Park, New York, begins operation.
March 25: James L. Moran dies.
June 3: Anna Knight dies in Huntsville, Alabama.
C.D. Henri is elected a general vice president of the General Conference.
Clarence and Carol Barron Thomas leave for Brazil, becoming the first black missionaries to South America.
The Apollo 15 mission is successful. Tires for the moon buggy created by Adventist inventor Robert Shurney are used.
Regional Conference Membership: 65,630
Regional Conference Baptisms: 5,696
Regional Conference Tithes and Offerings: $16,525,196.18
Churches: 17,150
Beginning Membership: 2,145,061
End Membership: 2,261,403
1973
January 1: Washington Sanitarium and Hospital becomes Washington Adventist Hospital.
June 4: Arna Bontemps dies.
December 28: Association of SDA Historians is founded.
Eva B. Dykes Library is dedicated at Oakwood College.
Regional Conference Membership: 70,500
Regional Conference Baptisms: 6,428
Regional Conference Tithes and Offerings: $18,451,564.00
Churches: 17,448
Beginning Membership: 2,261,403
End Membership: 2,390,124
1974
Easter: Oakwood College begins the annual Alumni Homecoming Weekend in Huntsville, Alabama.
July: C.D. Brooks becomes speaker-director of Breath of Life and tapes his first telecast at the Adventist Media Center in Thousand Oaks, California.
June 2: Anita Johnson Mackey receives honorary doctorate degree from Andrews University, the first black woman to be thus honored.
October 27: Prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago Eric Williams receives an honorary doctorate from Andrews University.
DeWitt Williams is appointed assistant secretary of General Conference Department of Communication.
Oakwood College enrollment exceeds 1,000.
Regional Conference Membership: 74,878
Regional Conference Baptisms: 6,517
Regional Conference Tithes and Offerings: $20,891,489.00
Churches: 17,841
Beginning Membership: 2,390,064
End Membership: 2,521,429
1975
January 12: Breath of Life telecast is first aired in Detroit, Michigan.
September 10: F.L. Bland dies.
The Colored Department becomes the North American Office of Regional Affairs. W.W. Fordham is its first director.
Regional Conference Membership: 80,399
Regional Conference Baptisms: 7,960
Regional Conference Tithes and Offerings: $23,486,834.00
Churches: 18,437
Beginning Membership: 2,521,402
End Membership: 2,666,484
1976
November 16: Lottie Blake dies.
Regional Conference Membership: 82,756
Regional Conference Baptisms: 6,965
Regional Conference Tithes and Offerings: $25,517,644.00
Churches: 19,225
Beginning Membership: 2,666,484
End Membership: 2,810,606
1977
Regional Conference Membership: 88,283
Regional Conference Baptisms: 8,503
Regional Conference Tithes and Offerings: $30,383,880.00
Churches: 19,761
Beginning Membership: 2,810,606
End Membership: 2,949,758
1978
March 15: GC president Robert Pierson issues nine recommendations to the South England Conference for racial equity in Britain.
April 23: Jacob Justiss dies.
June 4: Andrews University awards Charles Bradford an honorary Doctor of Divinity.
"Black Caucus of Seventh-day Adventist Administrators" is formed.
The North American Office of Regional Affairs becomes the Office of Ethnic Relations. W.S. Banfield is its first director.
Regional Conference Membership: 93,290
Regional Conference Baptisms: 9,373
Regional Conference Tithes and Offerings: $32,773,674.00
Churches: 20,446
Beginning Membership: 2,949,758
End Membership: 3,117,535
1979
January 3: Neal C. Wilson becomes seventeenth president of the General Conference.
January 11: Charles E. Bradford becomes first black president of the North American Division.
March 22: Thomas Milton Rowe dies in Sweetwater, Tennessee.
June 3: B.L. Archbold receives an honorary Doctorate of Divinity from Andrews University.
Atlanta Adventist Academy (AAA) opens.
E.E. Cleveland founds the Annual Council on Evangelism (Pastoral Evangelism Leadership Council, PELC) held each winter at Oakwood University.
Regional Conference Membership: 98,215
Regional Conference Baptisms: 8,060
Regional Conference Tithes and Offerings: $37,414,353.00
Churches: 21,061
T&O (1971-80): $2,520,612,522
Beginning Membership: 3,117,535
End Membership: 3,308,191
1980
April 25: The 27 Fundamental Beliefs are voted at the Fifteenth Business Meeting at the GC Session in Dallas, Texas. Fundamental Belief 13 "Unity in the Body of Christ" states:
"The church is one body with many members, called from every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. In Christ we are a new creation; distinctions of race, culture, learning, and nationality, and differences between high and low, rich and poor, male and female, must not be divisive among us. We are all equal in Christ..."
Thompson U. Kay becomes first director of Deaf Services (now Christian Record Services) at the General Conference.
The Southern Publishing Association merges with the Review and Herald.
April 16-April 28: 53rd General Conference Session, Dallas, Texas.
April 17: G. Ralph Thompson is elected executive secretary of the General Conference, the first person of color to hold the position.
Robert H. Carter becomes president of Lake Union, the first black president of a union in North America.
Regional Conference Membership: 103,861
Regional Conference Baptisms: 8,201
Regional Conference Tithes and Offerings: $40,084,026.00
Churches: 21,555
T&O: $398,880,407
Beginning Membership: 3,308,191
End Membership: 3,480,518
1981
January 1: Southeastern Conference begins operations, headquartered in Altamonte Springs, Florida.
April 11: Addison Pinkney dies.
Church Manual contains 27 Fundamental Beliefs for the first time.
Regional Conference Membership: 109,024
Regional Conference Baptisms: 7,919
Regional Conference Tithes and Offerings: $46,393,273.00
Churches: 22,094
Beginning Membership: 3,480,518
End Membership: 3,668,087
1982
March: Helen Harris Turner becomes treasurer of Southwest Region Conference, the first black woman to be a conference treasurer.
April 9: Benjamin W. Abney, Sr., dies.
Jannith Lewis becomes the first Seventh-day Adventist woman to earn a doctoral degree in library science.
Regional Conference Membership: 114,610
Regional Conference Baptisms: 8,389
Regional Conference Tithes and Offerings: $50,415,399.00
Churches: 23,302
Beginning Membership: 3,668,087
End Membership: 3,897,814
1983
June 5: G. Ralph Thompson receives an honorary Doctorate of Divinity from Andrews University.
July 26: Harvey Ward Kibble dies in a car accident in Huntsville, Alabama.
September 12: Louis B. Reynolds dies.
October: AWR begins broadcasting in Africa.
Literature evangelism sales in regional conferences exceed $3 million.
Regional Conference Membership: 121,832
Regional Conference Baptisms: 9,222
Regional Conference Tithes and Offerings: $48,660,941.00
Churches: 23,722
Beginning Membership: 3,897,814
End Membership: 4,140,206
1984
April 7: The Flushing SDA Korean Church is organized by Northeastern Conference, one of the first ethnically Asian congregations to join a Regional Conference.
Mary Kate Stovall-Tapley becomes the first black mayor of Hurtsboro, Alabama.
We Have Tomorrow by Louis B. Reynolds is published.
Regional Conference Membership: 125,375
Regional Conference Baptisms: 7,914
Regional Conference Tithes and Offerings: $53,383,136.00
Churches: 24,663
Beginning Membership: 4,140,206
End Membership: 4,424,612
1985
June 27-July 6: 54th General Conference Session, New Orleans, Louisiana.
June 27: "After consultation with the 16 world vice presidents of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, General Conference president Neal C. Wilson issued the following public statement:
"One of the odious evils of our day is racism, the belief or practice that views or treats certain racial groups as inferior and therefore justifiably the object of domination, discrimination, and segregation.
"While the sin of racism is an age-old phenomenon based on ignorance, fear, estrangement, and false pride, some of its ugliest manifestations have taken place in our time. Racism and irrational prejudices operate in a vicious circle. Racism is among the worst of ingrained prejudices that characterize sinful human beings. Its consequences are generally more devastating because racism easily becomes permanently institutionalized and legalized and in its extreme manifestations can lead to systematic persecution and even genocide.
"The Seventh-day Adventist Church deplores all forms of racism, including the political policy of
apartheid with its enforced segregation and legalized discrimination. Seventh-day Adventists want to be faithful to the reconciling ministry assigned to the Christian church. As a worldwide community of faith, the Seventh-day Adventist Church wishes to witness to and exhibit in her own ranks the unity and love that transcend racial differences and overcome past alienation
between races.
"Scripture plainly teaches that every person was created in the image of God, who "made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth" (Acts 17:26). Racial discrimination is an offense against our fellow human beings, who were created in God's image. In Christ "there is neither Jew nor Greek" (Gal. 3:28). Therefore, racism is really a heresy and in essence a form of idolatry, for it limits the fatherhood of God by denying the brotherhood of all mankind and by exalting the superiority of one's own race.
"The standard for Seventh-day Adventist Christians is acknowledged in the church's Bible-based
Fundamental Belief No. 13, "Unity in the Body of Christ." Here it is pointed out: "In Christ we are a new creation; distinctions of race, culture, learning, and nationality, and differences between high and low, rich and poor, male and female, must not be divisive among us. We are all equal in Christ, who by one Spirit has bonded us into one fellowship with Him and with one another; we are to serve and be served without partiality or reservation."
"Any other approach destroys the heart of the Christian gospel."
August 4: C.D. Brooks receives an honorary Doctorate of Divinity from Andrews University.
Benjamin F. Reaves becomes president of Oakwood University.
First NAD Pathfinder Camporee is held in Camp Hale, Colorado.
Lorenzo Paytee becomes president of Southern California Conference.
Regional Conference Membership: 127,943
Regional Conference Baptisms: 7,132
Regional Conference Tithes and Offerings: $60,092,371.00
Churches: 25,547
Beginning Membership: 4,424,612
End Membership: 4,716,859
1986
October 22: E.E. Cleveland is invited to the White House for a briefing with President Ronald Reagan on International and National Affairs.
October 29: Eva Beatrice Dykes dies.
Bermuda Mission becomes Bermuda Conference.
Richard W. Simons becomes president of Northern California Conference.
Regional Conference Membership: 135,302
Regional Conference Baptisms: 5,238
Regional Conference Tithes and Offerings: $59,320,039.00
Churches: 26,684
Beginning Membership: 4,716,859
End Membership: 5,092,503
1987
September 6: Ben Carson successfully separates conjoined twins.
The Unknown Prophet by Delbert W. Baker is published. It transforms the church's thinking on William Ellis Foy, a black Millerite prophet.
Regional Conference Membership: 147,832
Regional Conference Baptisms: 7,860
Regional Conference Tithes and Offerings: $67,523,566.00
Churches: 27,791
Beginning Membership: 5,092,503
End Membership: 5,445,249
1988
June 5: Alma Blackmon receives an honorary Doctorate of Music from Andrews University.
December: Phyllis Ware Lee becomes secretary-treasurer of Central States Conference, making her the second officer of the conference and the first black woman to hold that administrative position.
Regional Conference Membership: 143,982
Regional Conference Baptisms: 6,619
Regional Conference Tithes and Offerings: $74,408,365.00
Churches: 29,039
Beginning Membership: 5,445,249
End Membership: 5,816,767
1989
June 4: George W. Brown receives an honorary Doctorate of Divinity from Andrews University.
June 4: Ben Carson receives an honorary Doctorate of Science from Andrews University.
December 23: Charles Lee Brooks dies.
Rosa Banks becomes secretary of North American Division Office of Human Relations.
Regional Conference Membership: 150,181
Regional Conference Baptisms: 8,487
Regional Conference Tithes and Offerings: $89,623,697.00
Churches: 30,711
T&O (1981-90): $5,069,051,968
Beginning Membership: 5,816,767
End Membership: 6,260,617
1990
February 21: Natelkka Burrell dies.
July 5: George W. Brown is nominated General Conference president, but declines.
July 5-July 14: 55th General Conference Session, Indianapolis, Indiana.
Regional Conferences Membership (End of year): 160,434
Regional Conferences Baptisms (End of year): 7,899
Regional Conferences Churches (End of year): 689
Regional Conferences Tithes & Offerings (End of year): $95,928,755
Global Church Membership (Beginning of year): 6,260,617
Global Church Membership (End of year): 6,694,880
1991
June 9: Chessie Harris receives an honorary Doctorate of Humane from Andrews University.
Adventist Health Systems is reorganized.
Gifted Hands by Ben Carson with Cecil Murphy is published.
The Seventh-day Diet by Chris Rucker and Jan Hoffman is published.
Regional Conferences Membership (End of year): 160,434
Regional Conferences Baptisms (End of year): 7,899
Regional Conferences Churches (End of year): 689
Regional Conferences Tithes & Offerings (End of year): $95,928,755.00
Global Church Membership (Beginning of year): 6,694,880
Global Church Membership (End of year): 7,102,976
1992
May 24: Eleanor Wright dies.
August 9: C.E. Dudley receives an honorary Doctorate of Divinity from Andrews University.
October 1: Delbert Baker becomes the first black associate secretary of the Ellen G. White Estate.
December 8: The Atlantic Union Executive Committee elects David Taylor to serve as president of Atlantic Union Conference.
Charles Bradford is inducted into the Martin Luther King Jr. Board of Preachers and Scholars at Morehouse College.
Think Big by Ben Carson with Cecil Murphy is published.
Regional Conferences Membership (End of year): 165,909
Regional Conferences Baptisms (End of year): 8,292
Regional Conferences Churches (End of year): 700
Regional Conferences Tithes & Offerings (End of year): $86,006,001.00
Global Church Membership (Beginning of year): 7,102,976
Global Church Membership (End of year): 7,498,643
1993
January: David Taylor begins as the first black president of Atlantic Union Conference.
June 6: Herbert Doggette, Jr. receives an honorary Doctorate of Laws from Andrews University.
Regional Conferences Membership (End of year): 171,692
Regional Conferences Baptisms (End of year): 8,025
Regional Conferences Churches (End of year): 701
Regional Conferences Tithes & Offerings (End of year): $95,961,952.00
Global Church Membership (Beginning of year): 7,498,653
Global Church Membership (End of year): 7,962,210
1994
October 7: Harley E. Flack is inaugurated as the fourth president of Wright State University, becoming the first African American president of a major metropolitan university in Ohio.
November 6: The Atlantic Union Executive Committee elects Theodore T. Jones, II, to serve as president of the Atlantic Union Conference.
Phyllis Ware Lee becomes interim president of Central States, making her the first woman to serve in the office of conference president in the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
The Power of a Dream by Wintley Phipps with Goldie Down is published.
Regional Conferences Membership (End of year): 176,735
Regional Conferences Baptisms (End of year): 7,718
Regional Conferences Churches (End of year): 712
Regional Conferences Tithes & Offerings (End of year): $97,941,764.00
Global Church Membership (Beginning of year): 7,962,210
Global Church Membership (End of year): 8,382,558
1995
January: Theodore T. Jones, II, begins as president of the Atlantic Union Conference.
March-April: C.D. Brooks conducts his last evangelistic series as speaker-director of Breath of Life.
June 29-July 8: 56th General Conference, Utrecht, Netherlands.
July 4: Baraka Muganda is elected director of the General Conference Youth Ministries Department, the first person of color to hold the position.
If My People Pray by Randy Maxwell is published.
The Anita Mackey Minority Merit Scholarship Endowment Fund is established at the University of Chicago School of Social Services.
Regional Conferences Membership (End of year): 180,436
Regional Conferences Baptisms (End of year): 7,022
Regional Conferences Churches (End of year): 713
Regional Conferences Tithes & Offerings (End of year): $108,881,154.00
Global Church Membership (Beginning of year): 8,382,558
Global Church Membership (End of year): 8,812,555
1996
January 1: C.D. Brooks officially retires as a General Conference field secretary; starting in 1971, he is the longest individual to hold the position.
March: Telling the Story: An Anthology on the Development of the Black SDA Work by Delbert Baker, is published.
September: Delbert W. Baker becomes president of Oakwood University.
Oakwood! A Vision Splendid by Mervyn Warren is published.
Regional Conferences Membership (End of year): 186,260
Regional Conferences Baptisms (End of year): 7,990
Regional Conferences Churches (End of year): 741
Regional Conferences Tithes & Offerings (End of year): $108,043,896.00
Global Church Membership (Beginning of year): 8,812,558
Global Church Membership (End of year): 9,296,127
1997
Spring: C.D. Brooks retires as the first speaker-director of Breath of Life Ministries. He is succeeded by Walter Pearson.
Regional Conferences Membership (End of year): 190,836
Regional Conferences Baptisms (End of year): 7,657
Regional Conferences Churches (End of year): 766
Regional Conferences Tithes & Offerings (End of year): $114,835,782.00
Global Church Membership (Beginning of year): 9,296,127
Global Church Membership (End of year): 9,702,834
1998
January 11: Harold L. Lee is elected the first black president of Columbia Union Conference.
Regional Conferences Membership (End of year): 194,678
Regional Conferences Baptisms (End of year): 7,767
Regional Conferences Churches (End of year): 777
Regional Conferences Tithes & Offerings (End of year): $133,200,923.00
Global Church Membership (Beginning of year): $9,702,834
Global Church Membership (End of year): 10,163,414
1999
February 7: Upon Robert Folkenberg's official resignation, G. Ralph Thompson, a black man, becomes the interim General Conference president.
October: North American Division holds race relations summit.
Sabbath Roots by Charles Bradford is published.
Sabine Vatel becomes chaplain of Burman University, the first woman to serve as chaplain of a Seventh-day Adventist institution of higher learning.
Worldwide enrollment in Adventist schools surpasses one million.
Regional Conferences Membership (End of year): 200,764
Regional Conferences Baptisms (End of year): 7,438
Regional Conferences Churches (End of year): 777
Regional Conferences Tithes & Offerings (End of year): $150,711,973.00
Global Church Tithes & Offering (End of year): $8,892,010,360.00
Global Church Membership (Beginning of year): 10,163,414
Global Church Membership (End of year): 10,939,182
Timeline of Black Adventist History
1865-1899
Compiled by Benjamin Baker
1865
May 17: 3rd General Conference Session, Battle Creek, Michigan.
May 23: General Conference Session resolves: “That a field is now opened in the South for labor among the colored people and should be entered upon according to our ability.”
December 25: Ellen White receives vision to establish a health institution.
Churches: 140
T&O: $12,000
End Membership: 4,000
1866
May 16-17: 4th General Conference Session, Battle Creek, Michigan.
June 12: The Visions—Objections Answered by Uriah Smith is published.
September 5: Western Health Reform Institute in Battle Creek, Michigan, opens for patients.
Churches: 150
End Membership: 4,250
1867
May 14-May 19: 5th General Conference Session, Battle Creek, Michigan.
Churches: 160
End Membership: 4,320
1868
May 12-May 18: 6th General Conference Session, Battle Creek, Michigan.
December 25: John West, believed to be the second black Seventh-day Adventist minister, dies in Peterboro, New York.
Churches: 159
Beginning Membership: 4,320
End Membership: 4,475
1869
May 18-24: 7th General Conference Session, Battle Creek, Michigan.
Churches: 167
Beginning Membership: 4,475
End Membership: 4,900
1870
March 15-20: 8th General Conference Session, Battle Creek, Michigan.
December 20: William Hawkins Green is born in Lewisburg, North Carolina.
Churches: 179
T&O: $25,375
T&O (1866-1870): $103,157
Beginning Membership: 4,900
End Membership: 5,440
1871
February 7-February 12: 9th General Conference Session, Battle Creek, Michigan.
May 2: Elbert B. Lane, the first Adventist minister in the South, reports in the Review and Herald of holding meetings in a depot in Edgefield Junction, Tennessee, with "white people occupying one room, and the Colored the other." Black Baptist minister Harry Lowe embraces Adventism at the meetings.
December 29, 1871-January 3, 1872: 10th General Conference Session, Battle Creek, Michigan.
Churches: 185
Beginning Membership: 5,440
End Membership: 4,550
1872
December 29, 1872-January 3, 1873: 10th General Conference Session, Battle Creek, Michigan.
Churches: 204
Beginning Membership: 4,550
End Membership: 4,901
1873
March 11-March 14: 11th General Conference Session, Battle Creek, Michigan.
November 14-November 16: 12th General Conference Session, Battle Creek, Michigan.
Churches: 239
Beginning Membership: 4,901
End Membership: 5,875
1874
March 4: Anna Knight is born to Newton and Georgeanne Knight in Jones County, Mississippi.
June 4: First issue of Signs of the Times, edited by James White, is published in Oakland, California.
August 10-August 15: 13th General Conference Session is held in Battle Creek, Michigan.
1875
April 1: Silas Osborn reports in the Review and Herald of four black converts from meetings he held in Powder Mills, Kentucky.
August 15-August 18: 14th General Conference Session, Battle Creek, Michigan.
Churches: 339
T&O: $33,156
T&O (71-75): $147,690
Beginning Membership: N/A
End Membership: 8,042
1876
March 31-April 6: 1st Special General Conference Session, Battle Creek, Michigan.
June 10: Lottie Cornella Isbell Blake is born.
September 19-September 24: 15th General Conference Session, Lansing, Michigan.
November 12 and 13: 2nd Special General Conference Session, Battle Creek, Michigan.
Churches: 398
Beginning Membership: 8,042
End Membership: 10,044
1877
February 22: A report appears in the Review and Herald from Mrs. H.M. Van Slyke about a "colored school" in Ray County, Missouri, in which she taught black orphans to read the Bible.
May 24: William F. Minisee dies in Solon, Kent County, Michigan.
March 7: James Kemuel Humphrey is born.
September 20-September 28: 16th General Conference Session, Lansing, Michigan.
September 22: Lucille Lewis (later Byard) is born.
Churches: 478
Beginning Membership: 10,044
End Membership: 11,608
1878
January 3: C.O. Taylor reports in the Review and Herald that lawyer and planter W.F. Killen of Houston County, Georgia, is converted to the Adventist faith, along with his family. Killen states that "I have no trouble in getting my laborers (colored people) to keep it [the Sabbath]."
March 1-March 4: 3rd Special General Conference Session, Battle Creek, Michigan.
March 14: C.O. Taylor reports in the Review and Herald that a black minister in Worth County, Georgia, is keeping the Sabbath.
August: Charles Kinny/Kinney is baptized in Reno, Nevada, during a tent meeting conducted by J.N. Loughborough and guest speaker Ellen White.
October 4-October 16: 17th General Conference Session, Battle Creek, Michigan.
Churches: 549
Beginning Membership: 11,608
End Membership: 13,077
1879
July 6: James Gershom (J.G.) Dasent is born.
November 7-December 1: 18th General Conference Session, Battle Creek, Michigan.
Churches: 599
Beginning Membership: 13,077
End Membership: 14,141