New World Ethiopianism and the Evangelization of Africa

The concept of Ethiopianism incorporated various strategies for African Americans to promote transformation on the African continent. These strategies usually focused on Christian conversion, but Ethiopianism became more involved with political, cultural, and educational affairs over time. This chapter focuses on the ways American Ethiopianism developed between the 1880s and the 1920s. Scholarship about two notable intellectuals (Edward Wilmot Blyden and Alexander Crummell) helps to trace and compare Ethiopianist principles from the mid- to late nineteenth century. The chapter explains how the rise of Jim Crow fueled African Americans’ interest in pursuing international leadership opportunities, while the rise of European colonialism complicated and disrupted those opportunities. Some of the successes and challenges of promoting Ethiopianism during this period are represented through the histories of four ministers: Amanda Berry Smith, Henry McNeal Turner, William Henry Sheppard, and James E.K. Aggrey. The chapter concludes by linking the recent growth of western African Initiated Churches with the legacies of Ethiopianism.