by Bill Fogarty
The Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation recently provided an interesting glimpse into the history of slavery in Falls Church. The February 22nd program included a presentation on The Fall Church’s ties to slavery from 1730 to 1860, followed by a workshop session for small groups to explore questions raised by the presentation.
The program began with singing “Lift Every Voice and Sing, written by James Weldon Johnson in 1900 as a poem, and often referred to as the Black National Anthem. Jan Cornelius from The Falls Church then discussed the work of their Racial Justice Ministry, which began their study with significant historical research involving many local records. Their conclusion was clear: that the literal and figurative cornerstones of The Falls Church exist because of slavery.
The money to build their historic church was derived from the labor of enslaved people; the work of those held in bondage formed and laid the bricks to create the sanctuary that still exists today. Their leaders—both their ministers and their vestrymen —actively participated in the institution of slavery, owning and exploiting the enslaved.
The program highlighted the history of the state-supported Anglican Church from pre-Revolutionary days, followed by the shift to a ministry dependent on financial contributions from slaveholders. As late as 1860 most of the rectors of Episcopal churches were slave-owners, and many of the lay leaders (the vestrymen) were also slave-owners (sometimes tithing not with dollars but with tobacco as the actual currency).
After the presentation, a lively question-and-answer period followed, with participants sharing not only their reactions to this work by The Falls Church, but also sharing their personal experiences. In their breakout sessions that followed, ideas were shared for future possibilities. The Falls Church will be continuing their work with additional research and reports that will cover the time frame of 1860 to the present day.
These small group discussions were facilitated by the Social Justice Committee for Falls Church and Vicinity, chaired by Paul Christensen. The Falls Church Presbyterian Church graciously hosted the event.
