Rearing Wolves to Our Own Destruction: Slavery in Richmond Virginia, 1782–1865 by Midori Takagi Page B
Authors: Midori Takagi
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disciplinarian asked the elderly black applicant if he believed in witchcraft. The old man quickly replied that he did. The deacon then asked, "Did you ever see a witch?" The man thought for a moment and answered, "Did you ever see the devil?" These responses displeased Thomas, and the applicant's chances for membership appeared in jeopardy. It was at this point that Bailey came to the old man's defense. An eyewitness described what happened next: "This altercation brought to his feet one of the colored deacons, Simon Bailey. . . . He stated that he had lived in the country, and that, with his own eyes, he had seen the manes and tailes of horses twisted into stirrups. He was wary, in the presence of Deacon Thomas, of expressing any opinion of the cause of this entanglement, but it was the common opinion that the horses were rode by witches, and, for his own part, if these stirrups were not made for them he could not tell what they were made for." 94
Whether Simon Bailey's animated response helped the applicant's chances will never be known; the records do not indicate if the old man was accepted. But if Deacon Thomas and the Reverend Mr. Jeter had entertained any hopes to keep supernatural ideas out of their church through the interview process, this incident no doubt shook their confidence. Belief in spirits was widespread and deeply embedded within the black congregation, even among those whom white congregants considered to be the most responsible and most pious.
Further evidence of the melding of African and Baptist worldviews can be seen in the conversionary experiences of black Baptists. Though elements of black conversions were similar to those of white Baptists, such as having feelings of worthlessness and "eternal damnation," visions and dreams played a significant role in the conversions of black Baptists. Studies indicate these visions generally involved certain distinct themes: the existence of two selves a "little me" and a "big me"; a sense of traveling to heaven and hell; the appearance of a guide who assists during the travels; and clear, detailed images of heaven and God. As the studies further indicate, these aspects were not products of
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European-American cosmology but elements drawn from African faiths and an "integral part of the black Christian cosmos." 95
The pervasiveness of these themes in black Baptists' conversionary experiences is clear from personal accounts. In God Struck Me Dead, a compilation of black religious narratives, nearly all converts saw themselves as two bodies, traveled through space and time, or found themselves being led by a person or voice up to heaven. Members at the First Baptist Church anticipated conversion through these visions as well. Slave Richmonder Fields Cook, who struggled hard to embrace, and be embraced by, God, fully expected to travel as part of his conversionary experience. In his diary he stated that to be converted was "to see heaven & hell and not only to see them but actually to go to both places and see all the departed souls those which was in heaven were to make me welcome home and those in hell were to be laid on a gridiron boiling and unless I could bring this news to the elders of a christian church I was none of his." 96
Fellow slave Richmonder John Jasper apparently did travel. While standing in the middle of the tobacco factory where he was working, Jasper felt "de light broke" and had the sensation of being weightless with his feet no longer planted on the floor but "on de mount'n." 97
When Jasper converted he found himself surrounded by hundreds of other black members who shared his joy and understood the journey he had taken. His fellow white church members, however, could not empathize in the same way. White congregants did not experience these conversionary visions, nor did they sway, shout, sing, or dance in the same way as their black brethren. Even though white members may not have recognized the African influence on the black
Whether Simon Bailey's animated response helped the applicant's chances will never be known; the records do not indicate if the old man was accepted. But if Deacon Thomas and the Reverend Mr. Jeter had entertained any hopes to keep supernatural ideas out of their church through the interview process, this incident no doubt shook their confidence. Belief in spirits was widespread and deeply embedded within the black congregation, even among those whom white congregants considered to be the most responsible and most pious.
Further evidence of the melding of African and Baptist worldviews can be seen in the conversionary experiences of black Baptists. Though elements of black conversions were similar to those of white Baptists, such as having feelings of worthlessness and "eternal damnation," visions and dreams played a significant role in the conversions of black Baptists. Studies indicate these visions generally involved certain distinct themes: the existence of two selves a "little me" and a "big me"; a sense of traveling to heaven and hell; the appearance of a guide who assists during the travels; and clear, detailed images of heaven and God. As the studies further indicate, these aspects were not products of
Page 60
European-American cosmology but elements drawn from African faiths and an "integral part of the black Christian cosmos." 95
The pervasiveness of these themes in black Baptists' conversionary experiences is clear from personal accounts. In God Struck Me Dead, a compilation of black religious narratives, nearly all converts saw themselves as two bodies, traveled through space and time, or found themselves being led by a person or voice up to heaven. Members at the First Baptist Church anticipated conversion through these visions as well. Slave Richmonder Fields Cook, who struggled hard to embrace, and be embraced by, God, fully expected to travel as part of his conversionary experience. In his diary he stated that to be converted was "to see heaven & hell and not only to see them but actually to go to both places and see all the departed souls those which was in heaven were to make me welcome home and those in hell were to be laid on a gridiron boiling and unless I could bring this news to the elders of a christian church I was none of his." 96
Fellow slave Richmonder John Jasper apparently did travel. While standing in the middle of the tobacco factory where he was working, Jasper felt "de light broke" and had the sensation of being weightless with his feet no longer planted on the floor but "on de mount'n." 97
When Jasper converted he found himself surrounded by hundreds of other black members who shared his joy and understood the journey he had taken. His fellow white church members, however, could not empathize in the same way. White congregants did not experience these conversionary visions, nor did they sway, shout, sing, or dance in the same way as their black brethren. Even though white members may not have recognized the African influence on the black
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