Free African Society
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
joh nowiki[www.m.wayne.k12.ut.us ]
The Free African Society (FAS) was a non-denominational community formed in 1787 in Philadelphia by Richard Allen, Absalom Jones and many others for the benefit of African-Americans released from slavery.
The FAS operated as a combined church, local government and charity, providing aid to those who couldn't get any, teaching morality, regulating marriages and tried to reduce alcoholism. The Society was funded by a fee-paying membership. A major role in the early days of the FAS was in helping the victims of the well-known yellow fever epidemic of Philadelphia in 1793. The Free African society is also featured in the book Fever 1793 in which the society assists Yellow Fever victims.
The Free African Society was the only organization to volunteer in the yellow fever epidemic of Philadelphia in 1793. Its black nurses helped the infected for free and were often bought over to the highest bidder who needed help. Later, a law was made that only $1 could be paid maximum to each nurse. For a while, the volunteers did not get infected and were thought to be immune(most thought that african americans were immune)to the disease until they started to catch yellow fever as well.
Richard Allen would later form the African Methodist Episcopal Church.
This article relating to the history of the United States is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
