Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church served as a cultural center in the 1800s

LAFAYETTE, Ind. In the mid-1800s, the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church became the center of the cultural, political and educational activities of Lafayette’s small Black community.

In July 1846, an African Methodist Episcopal congregation was formally organized and seven African Methodist Episcopal trustees purchased a half lot on Cincinnati Street between 10th and 11th Streets for $85. The congregation maintained a church, which would also be conducted as a school throughout the church's history.

The African Methodist Episcopal congregation would organize social festivals and suppers, and the newspaper notices extended invitations to the white community. The popular fairs had an admission of only 10 cents.

When the Union Army needed recruits for the 28th Indiana Colored Troops, an officer addressed the Black community at the African Church in 1863. Dr. Luther Jewett, an abolitionist, encouraged Union enlistment. Lafayette’s Black population responded to his inducements, including John Parks, who gave his life during the Civil War to end slavery in the United States.

However, one of the most enduring contributions of the African Methodist Episcopal Church was its educational efforts. Denied admittance to public schools and access to common school funds, the African Methodist Episcopal Church sponsored a school as early as 1850. A letter in the Lafayette Daily Courier praised the performance of the African American school exhibition. The writer credited “Mr. Johnson,” which is the only reference to him as the minister-in-charge, with teaching the children and removing the church from debt.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: African Methodist Episcopal Church's role as a cultural center