The Episcopal Diocese of Texas acknowledges that its first bishop in 1859 was a slaveholder. An Episcopal church in New York City erects a plaque noting the building’s creation in 1810 was made possible by wealth resulting from slavery.
The first African American ordained as a priest in the Episcopal Church of the U.S., Absalom Jones, was born in Delaware, 1746.
Black Episcopalians throughout the Southland expressed God-praising delight upon hearing of the historic election of the Right Rev. Michael Curry as the first African American presiding bishop of the denomination. Bishop Curry won a landslide 121 votes, defeating three other candidates who each garnered 21 votes or less. The decision was affirmed on a vote of 800-12 by the House of Deputies, the voting body of clergy and lay participants at the Episcopal General Convention, which is the top legislative body of the church. “As soon as the names of the four nominees were made public, some of us were