Adventists, Abolition & Oakwood Season 2 | Episode 46
Our early Adventist pioneers had a radical new theology,
but it wasn't just limited to the four walls of a church.
They were at the forefront of many of the new social movements,
such as the temperance movement as well as the abolition of slavery.
Slavery had been practiced in America since its earliest days
and was considered normal in some parts of the country;
but not for the early founders of Adventism.
William Miller, Joseph Bates, and Joshua V Himes
all spoke actively and openly against this evil institution.
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In the mid-1800s, slavery was widely practiced
in the southern states but not up north,
and many slaves attempted to and succeeded in escaping to freedom
via the Underground Railroad.
It was neither underground nor a railroad,
but a network of homes, farms and transportation
that would get someone secretly
from the South up to the northern states or to Canada.
Perhaps the most famous name
associated with this movement of liberation is Harriet Tubman,
who helped thousands of people to escape.
Also, Sojourner Truth spoke widely and passionately against slavery,
and she was baptized as an Adventist by Uriah Smith.
John Byington, the first General Conference president,
used his farm in upstate New York
as a stop on the Underground Railroad as well.
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Early Adventists were encouraged to help out in this,
defying the law of the land.
in 1850, the Fugitive Slave Law was passed by Congress
to strengthen the earlier, but often neglected law of 1793.
It required any citizen to return an escaped slave to his master,
with fines and punishment in case of violation.
Ellen White, commenting on the relationship
that Adventists should have to this law said,
'The law of our land requiring us
to deliver an escaped slave to his master we are not to obey;
and we must abide the consequences of violating this law.'
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J. N. Loughborough, J. N. Andrews, Uriah Smith, Joseph Bates, and James White
all wrote and held positions against slavery.
The church was advocating a revolutionary new approach,
and endeavoring to adhere to biblical principles
over culture and the norms of society.
Ellen White also advocated that those who held pro-slavery views
should be disfellowshipped from church.
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As soon as slavery was abolished,
the Adventist church made inroads into the southern states,
and Edson White's Morning Star boat pioneered the work in many new areas.
Schools, churches, printing presses, sanitariums,
and food companies were opened.
As the work progressed, the need arose
for a school to train workers,
and on November the 16th, 1896
Oakwood Industrial School was opened.
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Oakwood would go on to be a flagship school
amongst the African American community here in North America.
And for over 120 years now they have educated thousands of students,
sending graduates all around the world.
Some of their most famous graduates
would include evangelists E. E. Cleveland and C. D. Brooks,
just two of the many prolific pastors that have passed through this campus.
Oakwood is also famous for its world-renowned choir,
the Oakwood Aeolians.
Oakwood would also play a role in the civil rights movement of the 1960s,
hosting Dr Martin Luther King who spoke here on this campus
after there was nowhere else in the city that would have him.
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As the church, we once held positions on matters of equality and justice
that were ahead of general society rather than behind it.
In some ways we have lost this radical edge,
finding comfort in the accepted norms of practiced Christianity
rather than seeking clear biblical practice in all that we do.
This radical and revolutionary edge that we once had needs to be reclaimed,
and as a church we ought to be at the forefront of social change,
demonstrating the gospel in our communities
as we seek to relieve the suffering of humanity.