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Ellen White, one of the founders of Adventism, attended at least one presentation on the end of times by William E. Foy, a black preacher, in a time when slaves wouldn't be nationally freed for roughly 30 years.
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Truth, a celebrated abolitionist, visited Millerite (later Adventist) camp meetings and would go on to identify as an Adventist from then on.
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White is quoted writing, "The system of slavery has reduced and degraded human beings to the level of brutes" and urged members to disobey the Fugitive Slave Act of 1950.
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The Adventist Church formally gets its start, with few black members scattered amongst the predominantly white congregations.
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The early Adventist leaders, though not all of them, had anti-slavery sentiments and were influenced by the progressive stance on racism and abolitionism.
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Charles Kinney was born in the antebellum period and went on to be the SDA Church's first black minister.
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Despite the fact that a black man was being ordained, black members who travelled for the historic event had to use a different entrance and could not sit with white people.
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Ellen White wrote to the church, stressing that black members were just as important as white ones, and that they were their brethren in Christ. This pushed for black membership to grow.
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Lewis C. Sheafe, a black Adventist pioneer, read some prophetic writings that seem to contradict Ellen White's calls for racial unity. She wrote things like, "many wise, Christian colored men will be called to the work. But for several reasons white men must be chosen as leaders" and "Let the colored believers be provided with neat, tasteful houses of worship. Let them be shown that this is done not to exclude them from worshiping with white people..."
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James Edson White, Ellen White's son, began construction on a boat that would allow him to sail down the Mississippi River to work every day with the black population in Mississippi and the surrounding areas.
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Edson's work helped lead the way for the establishment of Oakwood Industrial School, which is now the Adventist churches only HBCU- Oakwood University.
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In 2903, Lewis C. Sheafe started the People's Church within Adventism, a black church, while also pastoring a nonsegregated church in Washington, DC
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Despite facing the height of Jim Crow in the South, Adventists began working to expand black membership. In 1909, they topped 1000 black members.
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James K. Humphrey, one of the earliest and most notable black SDA pastors, has his credentials revoked and is expelled from the church over disagreements over church leadership as it pertains to racial issues.
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A student strike broke out at Oakwood due to students‟ pent up frustration and mounting feelings of humiliation over „separation of the races‟ and the racist policies of the school‟s predominantly white leadership.
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In the early 1940's. Lucy Byard, a black woman, fell gravely ill. Byard's husband, James, asked black Adventist pastor Jeter E. Cox to write a letter to Washington Sanitarium to admit Lucy. The hospital agreed to see her, but they were denied by the hospital upon arrival. She died shortly thereafter.
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During the height of the Civil Rights movement, Oakwood students were active and even arranged for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to speak, however with strict rules. The students were warned by college and church leaders not to participate in Civil Rights activities.
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Sheila Jackson Lee, a black Adventist woman, is elected to the Texas House of Representatives. She is currently still serving and is in her 14th term.
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Barry Black is the 62nd chaplain of the United States Senate. He began serving June 27, 2003, becoming the first African American and first Seventh-day Adventist to hold the office. He is still chaplain to this day.
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Ronald A. Brisè, a black Adventist, was elected in Florida for the Democratic Party. He would serve two terms.
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NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick made waves by refusing to stand for the national anthem in protest of police brutality. He was met largely with disdain and disapproval, to put it lightly. This came from all corners of the conservative spectrum, including much of Christianity (and Adventism). Pastor Mark McCeary wrote for Adventist Today in support of Kaepernick.
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One of the most notable Adventists, former presidential candidate Ben Carson, has been in Donald Trump's camp many times, but with the rampant protests surrounding George Floyd's death (many by pro athletes), Carson felt the need to speak up against Trump's attack on those protesting. He said, "Well, I don't think he [Trump] has manifested as much animosity in that region lately. And I think we just continue to work him. He'll get there."
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An Adventist Church in Wisconsin posted "Black Lives Matter" on their church sign accompanied by "Jeremiah 22:3" and was met with heavily mixed opinions.
