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Classroom · Grades 6–12

Richard Allen

Richard Allen and the free Black Philadelphians around him built independent institutions, a church, mutual-aid societies, and a national convention, to claim dignity and citizenship in a nation that denied them both.

Lesson at a Glance

Grades
Grades 6–12
Time
One class period (20–40 minutes)
Standards
NCSS Themes 5 (Individuals, Groups, and Institutions), 1 (Culture), and 10 (Civic Ideals and Practices); C3 D2.His.2, D2.His.10, D2.His.11
Reading
Richard Allen (profile)

Big Idea

Richard Allen and the free Black Philadelphians around him built independent institutions, a church, mutual-aid societies, and a national convention, to claim dignity and citizenship in a nation that denied them both.

Before Class

Students read the profile of Richard Allen, including the Key Dates and Sources.

Discussion Questions

  1. Why did the Black worshippers walk out of St. George’s together rather than accept a separate gallery? What did their choice make possible?
  2. Why was control of Bethel’s pulpit and property worth a twenty-year legal and physical struggle?
  3. During the 1793 yellow fever epidemic, Allen and Absalom Jones answered a public accusation in print. Why was it important to tell their own version?
  4. Why did Allen and his community reject the American Colonization Society’s plan in 1817?
  5. Historians call Allen one of the “Black founders.” What does that phrase add to the usual story of the founding era?

Activity

Students read Allen’s own account of the walkout from St. George’s and of the founding of Bethel in his autobiography. In small groups they identify the problem Allen describes, the choices available to the Black congregation, and the choice they made. Groups then compare Allen’s dating of the walkout (1787) with the profile’s note that historians place it around 1792, and discuss why a memoir written decades later might differ from church records. Close by asking each student to name one institution in their own community that exists because a group decided to build its own. (30–40 minutes.)

Primary Sources

Cite this page
MLA
“Classroom lesson: Richard Allen.” Black-History.com, 30 Sept. 2026, https://black-history.com/classroom/richard-allen/.
APA
Black-History.com Editors. (2026, September 30). Classroom lesson: Richard Allen. Black-History.com. https://black-history.com/classroom/richard-allen/
Chicago
Black-History.com Editors. “Classroom lesson: Richard Allen.” Black-History.com. September 30, 2026. https://black-history.com/classroom/richard-allen/.
Editorial Note

By the Black-History.com editors. Last reviewed 30 September 2026. To suggest a primary source or a correction, write to editors@black-history.com or use our corrections form.

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