Richard Allen born February 14, 1760 in Philadelphia was a minister, educator, writer and one of America's most active and influential black leaders. Allen had six children and a wife named Sarah Bass. He founded the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in 1794, which was the first black rule in the United States. Allen was born into slavery, he and his family were sold to a Delaware plantation. At the age of 17 Allen joined the Methodist and Richard began to teach himself to read and write. The prominence of the AME church Allen founded has had a great impact on society. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The AME church changed and improved as it came out of Free Africa (community of people/all the good people in the world) in the late 18th century in Philadelphia. The first religious gathering occurred approximately nine years before the official organization of the church in 1794. While mistreatment was less dangerous/less severe for free blacks in Philadelphia than in many other cities, strong (unfair treatment based on skin color, on age, etc.) ) of the white Methodists served as a helping force for the new crowd with Richard Allen as pastor. A level of oversight by the church was expected and the hope was to create a system of checks and balances between white power and black power. White Methodists hoped to make the new (energetic)/changing community understand that there were still limits to its independence. The uneasy agreement collapsed when white Methodists threatened to prevent church meetings and used other strategies to discourage Bethel's self-authority and control. In 1807, Allen received legal assistance and wrote an African supplement to the church's founding document that made stronger claims of independence while maintaining Bethel's inclusion in the Methodist Conference as an equal member. (Barga) Membership continued to grow as Bethel became known for its opposition. The first of the extremely important legal challenges presented to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court indirectly concerned the question of the reality/respect/truth of Bethel as an independent church. The case was lost by the mob before the end of 1815, but the court's treatment of Bethel was an independent matter. When the time came and the simpler legal test near the beginning of 1816, in 1807 /option was added and Allen's right to (decide on his own future and then secure it) as minister was granted/expressed as a matter of course. Bethel Church was enormously successful. By 1810, membership rose from the original 40 members to nearly 400. The church had become the most important institution in black Philadelphia (PBS.org). During its early years of struggle, the religious group became known as a haven for ethnic minorities, despite its notoriety for winning over white persecution in the courts. In 1795, a group of recently freed people led by David Barclay touched base from a Jamaican manor and joined the Bethel group. Allen and his family led the community in supporting foreigners and travelers with housing, food, and other useful things/supplies of value, especially black (work-based) learning and renters. The (something is given to future people) would spread with the founding of new AME churches, and many church buildings have secret basements indicating/showing their use in the Underground Railroad. The church was dedicated to ongoing social protest, and Allen emphasized social justice as the uniting (as one) and driving force of his church. Please note: this is just one.