From the Racial Justice Task Force in Observance of Black History Month:

MAPC member, trustee and Racial Justice Task Force member Nickie Christin recently read Dr. William Yoo’s book, “What Kind of Christianity: A History of Slavery and Anti-Black Racism in the Presbyterian Church.” Nickie shares the following story from the book about an incident involving Presbyterians in NYC in 1834:

“We have all heard the story of how Dr. Coffin dispensed with the practice of renting pews at MAPC in the early 1900’s.  I’ve always assumed that pew rental was just a way of displaying wealth, but it goes much deeper than that.  In “What Kind of Christianity: A History of Slavery and Anti-Black Racism in the Presbyterian Church”, the author William Yoo explains that white congregations in the northern states (and New York City) had “negro pews” in galleries above the rear sections behind the “white pews” and Communion was segregated with white parishioners partaking first. He goes on to tell the story of a well-to-do silk merchant and abolitionist Arthur Tappan who attended a Presbyterian Church on Laight Street in New York City inviting Rev. Samuel Cornish who organized the first black Presbyterian Church in New York City to sit with him in his pew one Sunday morning. After the service a group of elders accused him of disrupting the worship service and warned him to desist from inviting black people to sit in his pew.  The pastor of the church Rev. Samuel Cox came to his defense by pointing out in his sermon the next week that “the Saviour was a colored man.”  A few weeks later during the riots of 1834 a mob of white persons destroyed the homes of both Tappan and Cox and damaged church property.”

For a more complete report of this incident see: 

“What Kind of Christianity: A History of Slavery and Anti-Black Racism in the Presbyterian Church”, by William Yoo, pp. 205-206.

If you would like to learn more, here are two resources: 

The Synod of the Northeast is hosting a conversation with the author William Yoo on February 21 at 10:30 am: 

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcudeCsqz8vHdfLDbqvHotY0r-i3bI_4Ruj.

And here is an article on Professor Yoo’s book from the Presbyterian Outlook: 

And please join the Racial Justice Task Force for a Discipleship Lunch on February 19th, welcoming Ashley DeTar Birt and Rick Ufford-Chase for a conversation on what it means to be an ally and co-conspirator with those working for their own justice and liberation.  Perhaps we could consider Tappan and Cox to be early examples of allies and co-conspirators? Come join the conversation!