James Solomon Russell: Former Slave, Pioneering Educator and Episcopal Evangelist

by Worth Earlwood Norman , Jr.

Overview

Born into slavery on a Virginia plantation in 1857, James Solomon Russell (1857-1935) rose to become one of the most prominent African American pastors in the post-Civil War South. As a minister, educator, and founder of Saint Paul's College in Lawrenceville, Virginia, he played a major role in the development of educational access for former slaves in the South and within the Episcopal Church from the end of Radical Reconstruction to the early 20th century. Indeed, Russell stood as a linchpin binding not only the poles of ecclesiastical racial obstacles, but the social maturity of blacks and whites within his church and in the greater society. This comprehensive biography explores Solomon's life within the broader context of colonial and Virginia history and chronicles his struggles against the social, political and religious structures of his day to secure a better future for all people.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786467891
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	07/03/2012
Pages:	250
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.30(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

A native of Norfolk, Virginia, Worth Earlwood Norman, Jr., has published work on Russell in The Historiographer, The Living Church and the Brunswick Times-Gazette (Virginia). He lives in Birmingham, Alabama.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments     
Preface     
Introduction     

1. Beginnings     
2. The Colony and the Commonwealth of Virginia     
3. Influences     
4. 1877–1885 Annual Councils of the Diocese of Virginia     
5. 1886–1892 Annual Councils of the Diocese of Virginia     
6. The Trials and Joys of Black Entrepreneurial Education     
7. Addressing Challenges     
8. International Forums and Ideological Differences     
9. Reconciliation and Russell’s Legacy     

Appendices
A. Colonial Statutory Recognition of Slavery     
B. Colored Churches’ Membership, 1900     
C. Methodist Churches in the United States, 1900     
D. Virginia Legislative Assembly African-American Membership, 1872–1892     
E. Social Uplift Address, 1919     
F. Summary of the Official Acts of the Archdeacon for Colored Work     
G. Churches and Missions in the Colored Convocation, Episcopal Diocese of Southern Virginia, 1910     
H. General Convention [of the Episcopal Church] Opening Session, Portland, Oregon, 1922     
I. Southern Virginia Resolution, 2009     
J. Secular Education Funds for Negro Schools in the South, 1860s–1920s     
K. Conclusion of the Report of the Committee on the State of the Church, 1907     
L. Statistics of the Two Episcopal Dioceses in Virginia, 1892     
M. “A Tribute to Lewis Morris,” a Poem by Goronwy Owens     
N. Brief Biographies     
O. Timeline of Significant Events Affecting the Life of Russell     

Chapter Notes     
Bibliography     
Index