blacksdahistory
Timeline of Black Adventist History
2000-Present
Compiled by Benjamin Baker
2000
January 3: John Street, a black Seventh-day Adventist, is elected mayor of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
June 29: Matthew Bediako is appointed secretary of the General Conference.
Robert Smith becomes the first black president of the Review and Herald Publishing Association.
Office of Regional Conference Ministry is established at Oakwood University.
Regional Conferences Membership (End of year): 206,716
Regional Conferences Baptisms (End of year): 7,133
Regional Conferences Churches (End of year): 780
Regional Conferences Tithes & Offerings (End of year): $152,934,747.00
Global Church Tithes & Offering (End of year): $1,093,239,507.00
Global Church Membership (Beginning of year): 10,939,182
Global Church Membership (End of year): 11,687,239
2001
January: Regional conferences start on their own retirement plan.
January 28: Calvin E. Moseley dies.
May: Matthew Bediako receives an honorary Doctorate of Divinity from Andrews University.
Regional Conferences Membership (End of year): 211,221
Regional Conferences Baptisms (End of year): 6,838
Regional Conferences Churches (End of year): 820
Regional Conferences Tithes & Offerings (End of year): $159,889,408.00
Global Church Tithes & Offering (End of year): $1,120,268,583.00
Global Church Membership (Beginning of year): 11,687,239
Global Church Membership (End of year): 12,320,844
2002
January 30: C. Dunbar Henri dies.
February 25: Donald King becomes president of Atlantic Union Conference.
June: Dwain N. Esmond becomes the first black editor of Insight.
Regional Conferences Membership (End of year): 215,485
Regional Conferences Baptisms (End of year): 6,179
Regional Conferences Churches (End of year): 823
Regional Conferences Tithes & Offerings (End of year): $159,324,238.00
Global Church Tithes & Offering (End of year): $1,161,698,944.00
Global Church Membership (Beginning of year): 12,320,844
Global Church Membership (End of year): 12,894,015
2003
June 27: Barry Black is elected the 62nd chaplain of the United States Senate, becoming the first person of color to hold the position.
Chanda Nunes is the first black female pastor hired by the Alberta Conference.
Glynn C.W. Scott becomes treasurer of the Lake Union Conference, the first black person to hold that position.
Regional Conferences Membership (End of year): 221,101
Regional Conferences Baptisms (End of year): 6,664
Regional Conferences Churches (End of year): 839
Regional Conferences Tithes & Offerings (End of year): $154,770,993.00
Global Church Tithes & Offering (End of year): $1,234,346,993.00
Global Church Membership (Beginning of year): 12,320,844
Global Church Membership (End of year): 13,406,554
2004
April 29: E.C. Ward dies.
May 2: David R. Williams receives an honorary Doctorate of Science from Andrews University.
August 1: Susan Fenton Willoughby receives an honorary Doctorate of Divinity from Andrews University.
December: Gerald Penick is elected the first black president of Southeastern California Conference.
Regional Conferences Membership (End of year): 224,286
Regional Conferences Baptisms (End of year): 6,465
Regional Conferences Churches (End of year): 860
Regional Conferences Tithes & Offerings (End of year): $166,283,623.00
Global Church Tithes & Offering (End of year): $1,333,482,562.00
Global Church Membership (Beginning of year): 13,406,554
Global Church Membership (End of year): 13,936,932
2005
May: Crucial Moments: Twelve Defining Events in Black Adventist History by Benjamin Baker is published.
June 29-July 9: 58th General Conference Session is held in Saint Louis, Missouri.
July 3: Ella Louise Smith Simmons is elected a vice president of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, the first woman to hold the office and the highest ranking woman in the history of the church.
July 3: Rosa Banks is elected associate secretary of the General Conference, the first woman to hold the position.
July 5: Heather-Dawn Small is elected director of the General Conference Women's Ministries, the first person of color to hold the position.
August 6: Frank W. Hale, Jr. is awarded an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Andrews University.
November 21: The Anna Knight Memorial Nurses' Hostel is dedicated in Nuzvid, India.
December 2-3: Andrews University hosts a commemoration of the 60th anniversary of regional conferences.
Regional Conferences Membership (End of year): 227,511
Regional Conferences Baptisms (End of year): 5,777
Regional Conferences Churches (End of year): 870
Regional Conferences Tithes & Offerings (End of year): $186,331,771.00
Global Church Tithes & Offering (End of year): $1,492,720,001.00
Global Church Membership (Beginning of year): 13,936,932
Global Church Membership (End of year): 14,399,072
2006
February: Ricardo Graham is elected secretary of the Pacific Union Conference.
April 8: John Nixon preaches first sermon as senior pastor of the Collegedale Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Caribbean Union College becomes University of the Southern Caribbean.
Ronald Brisé is elected to District 108 of the Florida House of Representatives.
Regional Conferences Membership (End of year): 231,503
Regional Conferences Baptisms (End of year): 6,711
Regional Conferences Churches (End of year): 874
Regional Conferences Tithes & Offerings (End of year): $184,100,303.00
Global Church Tithes & Offering (End of year): $1,617,800,560.00
Global Church Membership (Beginning of year): 14,399,072
Global Church Membership (End of year): 15,115,806
2007
March: A Place Called Oakwood by Benjamin Baker is published.
August 5: Ella Smith Simmons receives an honorary Doctorate of Pedagogy from Andrews University.
August 10: Irene Kirkaldy-Morgan dies in Baltimore, Maryland.
November 15: Ricardo Graham is elected president of Pacific Union Conference.
The Bradford-Cleveland-Brooks Leadership Center opens at Oakwood University.
Yvonne Collins is elected treasurer of Lake Region Conference and becomes the first woman executive of Lake Region.
Regional Conferences Membership (End of year): 239,711
Regional Conferences Baptisms (End of year): 6,038
Regional Conferences Churches (End of year): 879
Regional Conferences Tithes & Offerings (End of year): $182,797,710.00
Global Church Tithes & Offering (End of year): $1,911,649,916.00
Global Church Membership (Beginning of year): 15,115,806
Global Church Membership (End of year): 15,660,347
2008
January 1: Oakwood College becomes Oakwood University.
January: Weymouth Spence becomes first black president of Columbia Union College, later Washington Adventist University.
June: Walter Wright, Sr., retires as president of Lake Union Conference.
Ben Carson receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor.
Chanda Nunes becomes the first black pastor in the history of the Kansas-Nebraska Conference and the first black female pastor in the history of the Mid-American Union Conference.
Regional Conferences Membership (End of year): 246,478
Regional Conferences Baptisms (End of year): 6,437
Regional Conferences Churches (End of year): 896
Regional Conferences Tithes & Offerings (End of year): $182,769,899.00
Global Church Tithes & Offering (End of year): $1,929,768,053.00
Global Church Membership (Beginning of year): 15,115,806
Global Church Membership (End of year): 15,921,408
2009
April 15: Walter L. Wright dies.
June 11: Alma Blackmon dies.
June 17: Heather Knight is elected president of Pacific Union College, the first black or woman to hold the position.
August 30: E.E. Cleveland dies.
September 15: Heather Knight becomes first female and black to be president of Pacific Union College.
Regional Conferences Membership (End of year): 251,371
Regional Conferences Baptisms (End of year): 9,682
Regional Conferences Churches (End of year): 900
Regional Conferences Tithes & Offerings (End of year): $196,030,300.00
Global Church Tithes & Offering (End of year): $1,891,325,291.00
Global Church Membership (Beginning of year): 15,921,408
Global Church Membership (End of year): 16,307,880
2010
February 6: Harold D. Singleton dies.
February 23: Maurice T. Battle dies.
April 8: Charles E. Dudley dies.
May 2: Barry Black receives an honorary Doctorate of Divinity from Andrews University.
May 2: Patrick Williams receives an honorary Doctorate of Laws from Andrews University.
June 10: James Graves, Jr., is elected to the United States Court of Appeals by President Barack Obama and confirmed on February 14, 2011, only the second African American to attain the distinction.
June 15: blacksdahistory.org, a website devoted to African American Seventh-day Adventist history, is launched by Benjamin Baker.
June 23-July 3: 59th General conference Session, Atlanta, Georgia.
June 27: Willie and Elaine Oliver are elected directors of the General Conference Family Ministries department, the first couple of color to hold the position.
July: Ronald A. Brisé is appointed to the Florida Public Service Commission by Governor Charlie Crist. Brisé was reappointed by Governor Rick Scott for a term through January 2018. He served as Commission Chairman in 2012-2013.
August 16: Omerror Dawson dies at age 100 in her home in Shreveport, Louisiana.
August 30: Mary Inez Booth dies in Huntsville, Alabama.
September: Dwain N. Esmond becomes the Review and Herald Publishing Association's Vice President for Editorial Services.
December 1: C.D. Brooks is elected a lifetime member of the Ellen G. White Estate Board, the first black to be thus honored.
December 14: Neal C. Wilson dies.
Regional Conferences Membership (End of year): 255,113
Regional Conferences Baptisms (End of year): 7,642
Regional Conferences Churches (End of year): 906
Regional Conferences Tithes & Offerings (End of year): $200,053,253.00
Global Church Tithes & Offering (End of year): $2,037,618,294.00
Global Church Membership (Beginning of year): 16,307,880
Global Church Membership (End of year): 16,923,239
2011
January: Leslie N. Pollard becomes president of Oakwood University.
February 14: James Graves, Jr.'s election to the United States Court of Appeals is confirmed.
April 10-April 11: Spring Meeting in Huntsville, Alabama.
July 27: Frank Hale, Jr., dies.
September 8: Ron C. Smith is elected president of Southern Union Conference.
October 23: Andrew Holness is inaugurated Prime Minister of Jamaica.
Tricia Payne becomes the first woman pastor in the history of Lake Region Conference.
Regional Conferences Membership (End of year): 260,776
Regional Conferences Baptisms (End of year): 8,773
Regional Conferences Churches (End of year): 927
Regional Conferences Tithes & Offerings (End of year): $198,468,771.00
Global Church Tithes & Offering (End of year): $3,182,943,669.00
Global Church Membership (Beginning of year): 16,923,239
Global Church Membership (End of year): 17,479,890
2012
February 9: Alma Foggo York is killed by a vehicle while crossing a street in Huntsville, Alabama.
June: Carmela Monk-Crawford becomes the first female editor of Message.
June 18: DeVon Franklin appears on SuperSoul Sunday with host Oprah Winfrey and speaks on the merits of the seventh-day Sabbath.
August 14: Emerson Cooper dies.
September 13: Milton E. Nebblett dies.
Regional Conferences Membership (End of year): 268,808
Regional Conferences Baptisms (End of year): 8,500
Regional Conferences Churches (End of year): 937
Regional Conferences Tithes & Offerings (End of year): $206,716,548.00
Global Church Tithes & Offerings (End of year): $3,276,600,259.00
Global Church Membership (Beginning of year):17,479,890
Global Church Membership (End of year): 17,881,491
2013
November 8: Ward D. Sumpter dies.
December: C.D.: The Man Behind the Message by Harold Lee with Benjamin Baker is published.
Regional Conferences Membership (End of year): 275,965
Regional Conferences Baptisms (End of year): 7,950
Regional Conferences Churches (End of year): 936
Regional Conferences Tithes & Offerings: $195,903,821.00
Global Church Membership (Beginning of year):17,881,491
Global Church Membership (End of year): 18,143,745
2014
March 6: Celeste Ryan Blyden becomes vice president for strategic communication and public relations of the Columbia Union Conference, the first woman vice president of a union.
October 15: Oakwood University becomes a North American Division institution.
December 22: W. Augustus Cheatham dies.
Regional Conferences Membership (End of year): 281,873
Regional Conferences Baptisms (End of year): 6,354
Regional Conferences Churches (End of year): 925
Regional Conferences Tithes & Offerings (End of year): $194,614,290.00
Global Church Membership (Beginning of year): 17,881,491
Global Church Membership (End of year): 18,479,257
2015
April: Benjamin Baker becomes the Managing Editor of the Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists.
April 6: Stanley Hickerson discovers that early Sabbatarian Adventist minister Eri L. Barr was black; publishes results in Adventist Review.
May 4: Ben Carson officially announces his candidacy for the presidency of the United States.
June 20: Lake Union president Don Livesay apologizes for the racial failures of white Adventists that led to the creation of regional conference.
July 3: Juan Prestol-Puesan is elected treasurer of the General Conference, the first person of color to hold the position.
July 6: Israel Leito is reelected president of the Inter-America Division, thus holding the record for the longest serving division president at 21 years.
November 1: Milton Brown receives the annual Percy L. Julian Award for his work in new drug discovery and testing against molecular targets.
November 13: Lorenzo Paytee dies.
November 20: Delbert Baker becomes president of Adventist University of Africa, the first African American to hold the position.
December 9: Edward Woods, Jr., dies in Berrien Springs, Michigan.
Brenda Billingy is appointed Associate Director of the NAD Ministerial Association.
Regional Conferences Membership (End of year): 288,295
Regional Conferences Baptisms (End of year): 6,926
Regional Conferences Churches (End of year): 933
Global Church Membership (Beginning of year): 18,479,257
Global Church Membership (End of year): 19,126,447
2016
February 20: Randolph P. Stafford dies.
March 4: Ben Carson officially ends his campaign for the presidency of the United States.
April 24: The Donald Blake Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity, and Culture is inaugurated at Walla Walla University.
May 14: Earvin "Magic" Johnson attends Oakwood University Church and is presented the church's 2016 Humanitarian Award. While there he pledges to donate $550,000.00 to Oakwood.
July 6: "Adventists for Social Justice" is founded to "reflect the character of Christ by seeking justice and defending the oppressed in our communities.”
September 2-4: Pine Forge Academy celebrates its 70th anniversary.
September 24: The Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture opens in Washington, D.C. Several African American Adventists are featured in the museum.
October 25: Luther R. Palmer dies in Madison, Alabama.
November 12: Lloyd Henry becomes the first African American to be named an "Ironman Globe Finisher."
December 5: President-elect Donald J. Trump appoints Ben Carson as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Carson is the first Seventh-day Adventist to be appointed to a cabinet-level position in the United States government.
Regional Conferences Membership (End of year): 319,943
Regional Conferences Baptisms (End of year): 6,990
Regional Conferences Churches (End of year): 1,034
Global Church Membership (Beginning of year): 19,126,447
Global Church Membership (End of year): 20,008,779
2017
February 13: Black Adventist Cynthia Adams is sworn in as a Superior Court Judge in Georgia.
February 18: Black students at Andrews University produce “#ItIsTimeAU,” a video protesting historic and contemporary racism at Andrews, and issuing a one-week ultimatum to the school administration to apologize for its systemic racism and implement several reforms for racial equality.
February 23: Andrews University administrators respond with a video apologizing for the racism at Andrews followed with a list of measures to implement in response to the Black students’ demands, most notably, creating a new position, Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion.
March 2: Ben Carson is confirmed by the U.S. Senate as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
May 7: Alvin Kibble receives an honorary Doctorate of Divinity from Andrews University.
May 27: William C. Scales, Jr., dies in Huntsville, Alabama.
July 6: Michael Nixon accepts the invitation to serve as Andrews University’s first Vice President for Diversity & Inclusion. He begins on August 1.
Regional Conferences Membership (End of year): 321,359
Regional Conferences Baptisms (End of year): 7,636
Regional Conferences Churches (End of year): 1,048
Global Church Membership (Beginning of year): 20,008,779
Global Church Membership (End of year): 20,727,347
2018
March 23: Vernelle Earle dies at 95.
March 25: George R. Earle dies at 100.
May 6: Calvin Rock receives an honorary Doctorate of Divinity from Andrews University.
May: Calvin B. Rock publishes Protest and Progress: Black Seventh-day Adventist Leadership and the Push for Parity.
November 28: Eight regional conference presidents and Oakwood president Leslie Pollard meet with GC president Ted Wilson about statements on social justice and worship styles that Wilson had made at Annual Council the month before.
Regional Conferences Membership (End of year): 327,554
Regional Conferences Baptisms (End of year): 6,486
Regional Conferences Churches (End of year): 1,058
Global Church Membership (Beginning of year): 20,727,347
Global Church Membership (End of year): 21,414,779
2019
March: Columbia Union Visitor features as its cover story a new accounting of the Lucy Byard incident.
April 19: Ground is broken on the new Regional Conference Ministries headquarters on the campus of Oakwood University.
May 5: Robert L. Woodfork, longtime regional conference president and minister, dies in Atlanta, Georgia.
May 8: Samuel L. DeShay, physician and missionary and the only black director of the General Conference Health Department, dies in Maryland.
Regional Conferences Membership (End of year): 323,066
Regional Conferences Baptisms (End of year): 7,433
Regional Conferences Churches (End of year): 1,056
Global Church Membership (Beginning of year): 21,414,779
Global Church Membership (End of year): 21,556,837
2020
May 29: North American Division issues statement condemning the deaths of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and George Floyd.
June 1: World Church president Ted Wilson laments the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd, and condemns "racism, bigotry, hatred, prejudice and violence in all its [sic] myriad forms."
June 5: NAD president Daniel R. Jackson issues statement condemning race-based police brutality.
June 7: Walter L. Pearson, Jr., dies in Maryland at age 74.
July 1: Chanda Nunes becomes pastor of Pacific Union College Church, the first African American female senior pastor of an institutional church in the North American Division.
July 9: G. Alexander Bryant is elected president of the North American Division, the second black to hold the position.
2021
March 14: Charles A. Tapp is elected president of Potomac Conference.
April 14: Paul H. Douglass is elected Treasurer of the General Conference, the first black to hold the position.
April 29: The North American Division elects two black vice presidents: Calvin Watkins, Jr., vice president for evangelism and regional liaison, and Maurice R. Valentine, III, vice president for media ministries.
July 18: Allegheny East president Henry "Butch" Fordham, III, and wife Sharon Fordham, die in a house fire.
July 28: Debleaire Snell is elected speaker/director of Breath of Life Ministries.
August 14: Huntsville, Alabama mayor Tommy Battle names August 14 "Dr. Carlton R. Byrd" day on Byrd's last Sabbath as speaker/director of Breath of Life and pastor of Oakwood University Church.
September 9: Carol Lindsey Wright dies in Maryland.
September 9: Charles Bradford dies in Huntsville, Alabama. He was 96 years old.
September 18: "Henry & Sharon Fordham Department of Religion" Naming Ceremony is held at Washington Adventist University.
September 26: Paula Olivier is elected youth director of the Northeastern Conference, the first woman to occupy that position.
September 26: Abraham Jules is elected president of Northeastern Conference.
September 26: Pete Palmer is elected president of Allegheny East Conference and Marcellus Robinson as vice president for administration.
November 5: Ernest E. Rodgers dies at 105 years old in Huntsville, Alabama.
November 11: Celeste Ryan Blyden is elected the executive secretary of the Columbia Union, the first woman to hold the position. She begins on January 2022.
November 17: Pierre Omeler is elected president of Atlantic Union Conference.
December 10: Washington Adventist Hospital holds a program honoring the life and death of Lucy Byard.
December 12: Richard "Dicky" Barron dies in Avon Park, Florida.
2022
February: Chanda Nunes is elected executive secretary of the Nevada-Utah Conference, the first woman elected to this position in the Nevada-Utah Conference and the first black female elected as executive secretary of a state conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
February 19: Oakwood Adventist Academy makes national news when its men's basketball team refuses to play in the state semifinals on Saturday, 4:30 pm, due to a religious conflict. OAA's Athletic Director Calvin Morton emailed the Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA) to ask if they could play at 7:30 p.m. instead, after sunset, to meet their religious beliefs, but the request was denied. Alabama governor Kate Ivey then tweeted that she had sent a letter to AHSAA demanding answers and praised OAA's basketball team for "standing firm in their convictions."
February 26: Meade Van Putten dies at 95 in Laurel, Maryland.
March 22: Calvin Rock and Prudence LaBeach Pollard are among four individuals awarded the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award in Washington, D.C. The award is the highest possible civil award for volunteer service awarded by the president of the United States. Pollard, currently acting vice president of Oakwood University, was particularly recognized for spearheading the university’s ministry to the so-called “food deserts” in Huntsville, Alabama, United States, where the school is located. Rock, a former president of the same institution as well as a former vice president of the world church of Seventh-day Adventists, was cited for his more than 60 years of service in a variety of areas including academe, pastoral ministry, and church administration.
June 8: Maurice R. Valentine II is elected a General Conference vice president at the GC session in St. Louis.
June 26: Walter Eugene Arties III dies at 80 in Phoenix, Arizona.
September: Daniel Honoré begins as president of Minnesota Conference. He is the first person to serve as president of a regional conference and state conference.
September 12: Calvin B. Preston becomes president of South Atlantic Conference.
October 15: Marcellus Robinson is voted president of Allegheny East Conference.
October 18: The new Office of Regional Conference Ministries headquarters, the "Charles E. Dudley, Sr., Center for Regional Conference Ministries," is dedicated on the campus of Oakwood University in Huntsville, Alabama.
November 9: Harold L. Lee, former Columbia Union president, dies in Huntsville, Alabama.
November 28: T. Milton Street dies at 81. Street served as a Democratic in the Pennsylvania State House of Representatives from 1979-1980 and then as a Republican in the State Senate from 1981-1984.
2023
February 6: T. Marshall Kelly dies in Huntsville, Alabama.
April 17: Jackson M. Doggette, Sr., dies in Apopka, Florida.
August 11: Alvin M. Kibble dies in Loma Linda, California.
October 20: Maurice R. Valentine, II, a vice president of the General Conference, dies in Maryland.
2024
January 2: Heather-Dawn Small, director of GC Women's Ministries Department, dies in Maryland.
March 24: Marcellus T. Robinson is elected president of Columbia Union Conference.
April 10: Pierre E. Omeler is elected a vice president of the General Conference.
April 10: Zeno L. Charles-Marcel is elected director of GC Health Ministries Department.
May 9: Christon Arthur is appointed president of La Sierra University, the first black person at the position.
June 6: Abraham Jules is elected president of Atlantic Union Conference.
June 9: Eldeen King is elected president of Northeastern Conference.
June 23: Celeste Ryan Blyden is the first woman to chair a regional conference executive committee when she chairs the Allegheny East Conference Executive Committee.
June 23: Trevor Kinlock is elected president of Allegheny East Conference.
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