The Negro's church,.

32

The Negro's Church

Negroes and give them a hearty welcome. He liked to hear
the colored people sing, and often had them lead the singing.
For a while there were only seven Negro members. But
later, when about thirty-five new converts were baptized, a
large number of Negroes also were included. White women
were baptized first, white men second, then Negro women
and last Negro men. They were all fellowshipped into the
church. The whites first, and the Negroes last. Negroes
continued to join the church; and at a later time, about 1873,
when Reverend Durham built a new church, he suggested
that the Negroes use the old one. Many of the Negroes left
and joined the Canaan Methodist Episcopal Church (a Negro
church) which was already established. The Negroes who
remained Baptist began worshipping in a brush arbor. Their
number gradually increased to about seventy-five. They later
accepted the gift of the old white church. With the exception of this gift, the Negro church has remained practically
self-sustaining. The only relationship now existing between
Ebenezer and the Bull Swamp White Baptist is that occasionally the deacons of Ebenezer invite the white Bull Swamp
pastor to preach for them.
The New Century Epoch
In the Reconstruction epoch, 1866 to 1899, the Negro
entered vigorously upon his newly-gained freedom. During
the first years of this period, the evidence tends to show, there
was great activity in the fields of politics, education and religion. But as time passed, the vigor and consuming passion
of Negroes for independent achievement apparently lessened,
and the glamour of the earlier accomplishments waned.
The New Century epoch, 1900 to 1914, was therefore
quite ordinary. In politics and in educational pursuits the
Negro's interest was not expressed or reflected by striking
movements. There were no exciting events, no clashes of
loyalties; and as a result the history of this period is com