Page11 The first organized Black institution in Canada was the Church. This was a
reaction to the treatment accorded Black members by White churches. Many
churches in Saint John reserved special pews for Blacks or directed them to the
balcony only.
The history of Black religion in New Brunswick dates to 1806 when the Black
settlement at Elm Hill on Otnabog Lake was established in 1806. The settlers
built two Baptist churches. The African Methodist Church came to Canada during
the 1840's.
St. Philip's African Methodist Episcopalian Church was organized in 1859. First held in a school house on the corner of Queen and Pitt Street, the building was enlarged in in 1870. The building had been a gift from the Centenary-Queen Square United Church to the Black Community of Saint John. Most of the Blacks in Saint John attended this church, and the building was used until 1940 when a new building was purchased at the corner of Carmarthen and St. James Streets.
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The church, and its associated school, had a history of providing musical training to its children. During the 1887 Diamond Jubilee celebration of Queen Victoria, the Colored Fife and Drum Band of St. Philip's School proudly marched in the School day parade. By the late 1920's Rev. Claude Steward's Children's Junior Band was entertaining church members.
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St. Philip's A.M.E. Church Picnic circa 1920 |
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William Skinner was a deacon in the African Methodist Episcopalian Church.
Deacon Skinner came to prominence in the 1930's. He had been actively involved
in forming a number of women's groups within the parish. This was a progressive
move that brought the city's women to the forefront. These groups produced many
changes in the community. It is to Deacon Skinner's foresight that the existing
women's groups owe tribute.
All pages © Heritage Resources and New
Brunswick Community College - Saint John.
