In 1900, the leaders of American Bible Society responded to the new situations created by the Supreme Court’s “separate but equal” decision in 1896 and the uneven distribution in the southern states by launching the “Agency Among the Colored People of the South,” a new agency devoted solely to the distribution of the Bible among African Americans in the South.

The Rev. Dr. John Percy Wragg of Atlanta, GA, a pastor and presiding elder in the Savannah and Atlanta Conferences of the Methodist Episcopal Church, was chosen to lead the new Agency in June 1901. Dr. Wragg, a seminary-trained clergyman, pledged his total support and dedication to the Bible cause. Historical documents reveal Dr. Wragg’s deep concern for many African American families who were with out Bibles. Dr. Wragg focused particularly on African Americans living in urban areas as a target group for ABS work. He maintained that many “drifted” into the cities, fell into bad habits, and at last, became “lost in the great sea of city sins.” Their only salvation in Dr. Wragg’s view, rested in spiritual rebirth through the Scriptures. He wanted the African-American churches to take an active role in Bible work by recognizing and supporting the work of the American Bible Society.

From 1901-1929, Dr. Wragg supervised the Agency’s operation from his home at Gammon Seminary, an African-American Methodist seminary in Atlanta. During that time, the Agency distributed more than 625,000 Bibles and countless portions. Public distribution was undertaken by an initial group of six colporteurs (Bible distributors) at work in six states: Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Louisiana and South Carolina. By 1920, 16 colporteurs were at work for the Agency in 13 states. Most of the colporteurs were seminary-trained members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Their outreach extended to many other traditional African American denominations, including the African Methodist Episcopal Church, African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, the former Colored Methodist Episcopal Church (now Christian Methodist Episcopal Church), and the National Baptist convention, U.S.A., Inc., and they reaped great rewards in distribution.

In 1911, Dr. Wragg hired the first African-American woman colporteur, Miss S.E. Harris. As a student at Atlanta University, Miss Harris had been an active volunteer for the Agency. She became a salaried colporteur in Mississippi immediately after her graduation. All Agency colporteurs followed the same basic Bible Society rules. They systematically visited all African American households in a neighborhood and specifically sought out families likely to be neglected. They sold Bibles at standard ABS discounted rates, giving free volumes only to the most destitute, in accordance with ABS policy. Each colporteur developed his or her own style and found the approach most effective in the communities they served. They understood that the difficult work of spreading God’s Word could not depend upon comfortable accommodations or good roads.

Most people received the colporteurs warmly, gathered their families together, and requested them to read selections aloud. A colporteur’s arrival was a special event, which helped overcome feelings of separation and isolation for rural families. In the cities, colporteurs found established African American neighborhoods with thriving local institutions. The local African-American church usually provided a focal point for introducing and carrying out the work of the Society.

Bible distributors frequently entered a particular city by train, canvassed the area, and than reboarded the same line to visit other cities. The cities offered a special opportunity to visit the workplaces of many African American residents and reach out to larger groups.

The Agency Among the Colored People of the United States

In 1919, the American Bible Society formed the National Church Advisory Council (NCAC). This interdenominational group was formed to enhance and strengthen collaboration between the American Bible Society and Christian churches and organizations committed to sharing the Gospel. Currently, the National Church Advisory Council provides counsel and feedback on ABS projects and programs, and helps to educate denominational staff in using and distributing ABS Scripture resources in and around their churches and communities.

In 1920, Dr. Wragg sought to extend his territory to include the whole United States. Hundreds of thousands of African Americans had fled South since 1900 in search of economic opportunity in the North. World War I greatly accelerated this exodus as African Americans, especially those from the Deep South, headed North for jobs in factories producing war materials. Dr. Wragg’s proposal was approved by ABS, and the name of the Agency changed to reflect the new territory. Dr. Wragg moved to Bible House in New York City, establishing five regional administrative centers throughout the county.

In Just ten years, the Agency distributed 1,367,828 pieces of Scripture to African Americans nationwide. More than 134,000 people received complete Bibles during that time. A relatively new form of transportation, the automobile, became a vital element in distribution, with colporteurs relying on the vehicles not only for mobility, but also to attract interest and arouse curiosity wherever they stopped.

In 1927, a major flood devastated communities along the Mississippi River. African Americans constituted a disproportionately high number of the victims who lost their homes and belongings. ABS efforts to help those affected by the flood included the production of a special edition of the Bible. During the relief period, more than 50,000 Gospels, thousands of portions and New Testaments, and more than 2,000 Bibles were distributed to African American families affected by the flooding. Agency officials contended that the prompt and generous response from ABS strengthened the organization’s appeal and legitimacy to the communities it served.

The William Ingraham Haven Memorial Agency Among the Colored People of the United States

In 1929, Dr. Wragg retired. But before leaving, he renamed the Agency for William Ingraham Haven, the American Bible Society General Secretary who created it. Dr. Wragg and his wife, Jessie Elizabeth, also established a sizable personal endowment to continue the work of the Agency. The reorganized Haven Agency embarked on its mission during the worst financial depression in American history. Factory shutdowns and slowdowns resulted in massive industrial unemployment, and the fall in the price of cotton and other agricultural products forced many farmers and tenants off the land.

In 1931, the Agency’s annual report noted “that the Negro is the last to get a job and the first to be dropped, other things being equal.” African Americans suffered more acutely than any other group, with most possessing meager resources for Scripture purchase. Consequently, sales dropped precipitously during the early years of the decade and they leveled off to about 180,000 copies annually in 1941. The Agency again sought new and creative ways to share the Word of God, turning the business community and Government programs as avenues of distribution. As unemployment and poverty escalated among African American youth, the Agency instituted special Bible study programs to increase the Bible-mindedness of the young. World War II ended the depression, but created new problems for the Bible Society. Periodic paper shortages and paper rationing restricted the production of Bibles, and transportation problems delayed shipments limited colporteur travel within the United States. Despite these obstacles, the Agency continued its domestic work and initiated new and expanded services to the Armed Forces, the Agency frequently donated scriptural materials to military personnel without regard to race, continuing a policy begun by Dr. Wragg during the first World War.

After that war, the program emphasized youth work, especially among the students and recent graduates of African American colleges in the South, until 1959, when ABS leaders declared the segregated work an anachronism, and the internal reorganization ended the Society’s special mission among African Americans in the United States.

The Stirrings of the Civil Rights Movement Intensified protests against segregation and the legal movement to banish discrimination from society during the 1950s exerted a profound impact on the Bible movement. ABS confronted its own part in the fight for human rights and chose to eliminate any aspect of its operation bore “any semblance to segregation.” Within the context of the African American churches, the Bible played an essential role in shaping and guiding the work of civil rights leaders such as the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Rev. Joseph Lowery of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. In the 1968, Dr. Gilbert Darlington, a General Officer of ABS, undertook a personal mission to distribute Dr. King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” in an attempt to raise public awareness of injustices to the African American community.

In the late 1960s, ABS increased its efforts to distribute Scripture in inner city areas, particularly to African Americans living in the cities, and it placed special emphasis on building relations with and among various African American groups.