stringtranslate.com

William D. Chappelle

William David Chappelle (November 16, 1857 – June 15, 1925) was an American educationalist and bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Chappelle served as president of Allen University, a historically Black university in Columbia, South Carolina, from 1897 to 1899 and served as the chairman of its board of trustees from 1916 to 1925.[1]

Early life

Chappelle was born enslaved in 1857 in Winnsboro, South Carolina, one of the eleven children of Henry and Patsy McCory Chappelle.[2][3]

Career

The former Rosina C. Palmer, Chappelle's second wife, in 1916

On March 13, 1918, Bishop Chappelle led a delegation from the bishops' council of the African Methodist Episcopal Churchto meet Democratic President Woodrow Wilson at the White House. The delegation came to protest the mounting wave of anti-black violence and hysteria accompanying the Great Migration, including numerous lynchings and other mob violence. Wilson took no action.[4]

Family and legacy

After the death of his first wife, he married Rosina C. Palmer (also recorded as Rosena C. Palmer), who had contributed an essay as a young woman to what the Library of Congress describes as "a collection of essays by African American authors designed to encourage diligence, temperance, and religion among young African Americans."[5][6][7]His father-in-law was Robert John Palmer, one of South Carolina's black legislators during the Reconstruction era.[8]

One of his sons, W. D. Chappelle, Jr., was a physician and surgeon who opened the People's Infirmary around 1915, a small hospital and surgery practice in Columbia, South Carolina during a time when segregation prevented many African Americans from having access to healthcare.[9]

His great-grandson is stand-up comedian Dave Chappelle,[10] and his grandson was William David Chappelle III.[11] The former would make reference to his great-grandfather's White House visit in his 2020 special 8:46.

References

  1. ^ Tindall, George Brown (1952). South Carolina Negroes, 1877-1900. Univ of South Carolina Press. ISBN 9781570034947.
  2. ^ Riley, Charlotte S. (2016-01-19). A Mysterious Life and Calling: From Slavery to Ministry in South Carolina. University of Wisconsin Pres. ISBN 9780299306748.
  3. ^ Murphy, Larry G.; Melton, J. Gordon; Ward, Gary L. (2013). "Chappelle, William D.". Encyclopedia of African American Religions. Routledge. ISBN 9781135513382.
  4. ^ Milton C. Sernett. Bound for the Promised Land: African-American Religion and the Great Migration at p. 47 (1997)
  5. ^ The Literary Journal (1898) 'https://www.loc.gov/resource/lcrbmrp.t0e19/?sp=4
  6. ^ History of the American Negro and His Institutions "On April 25, 1900, he was married to Miss Rosina C. Palmer, a daughter of Robert J. and Rosina Palmer"
  7. ^ "Frank Lincoln Mather - 1915. Who's who of the Colored Race. Bishop Chappelle .. 2d marriage, Rosina C. Palmer, of Columbia, S. C, Apr. 26, 1900; 2 children. Licensed to preach in A. M. E. Church,
  8. ^ Id.
  9. ^ "CityWatch: On Columbia's Historic Black Health Care Facilities". 10 July 2019.
  10. ^ "Comedian Dave Chappelle given keys to city". thestate. Retrieved 2017-03-20.
  11. ^ "William (Bill) David Chappelle (1938-1998)". The 365 project. Retrieved 5 November 2020.

Attribution