Elias Camp Morris (May 7, 1855 – September 5, 1922) was an American minister, politician, and businessman. Born a slave, Morris attended seminary then preached at
Centennial Baptist Church
The Centennial Baptist Church is a historic church building at the corner of York and Columbia Streets in Helena, Arkansas. It is significant for its association with Elias Camp Morris (1855-1922), who was the pastor of the church from 1879 and ...
in
Helena, Arkansas
Helena is the eastern portion of Helena–West Helena, Arkansas, a city in Phillips County, Arkansas. It was founded in 1833 by Nicholas Rightor and is named after the daughter of Sylvanus Phillips, an early settler of Phillips County and the n ...
. He rose to prominence among black Baptists, leading the Foreign Missionary Convention. When the convention merged with two other black Baptist organizations in 1895, Morris became the president of the resulting
National Baptist Convention, leading it for twenty-seven years. Morris was also active in the
Arkansas Republican Party
The Republican Party of Arkansas (RPA), headquartered at 1201 West 6th Street in downtown Little Rock, is the affiliate of the Republican Party in Arkansas. It is currently the dominant party in the state, controlling all four of Arkansas' U.S ...
, serving as a national delegate three times, and co-founded the
Arkansas Baptist College
Arkansas Baptist College (ABC) is a private Baptist-affiliated historically black college in Little Rock, Arkansas. Founded in 1884 as the Minister's Institute, ABC was initially funded by the Colored Baptists of the State of Arkansas. It is th ...
.
Early life
Elias Camp Morris was born into slavery on May 7, 1855, near
Spring Place, Georgia, to James and Cora Cornelia Morris. His father was a literate craftsman and taught Morris how to read and write when he visited twice a week.
Following
emancipation
Emancipation generally means to free a person from a previous restraint or legal disability. More broadly, it is also used for efforts to procure economic and social rights, political rights or equality, often for a specifically disenfranchis ...
, Morris attended schools in
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...
,
Dalton, Georgia
Dalton is a city and the county seat of Whitfield County, Georgia, United States. It is also the principal city of the Dalton Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Murray and Whitfield counties.
As of the 2010 census, the ci ...
, and
Stevenson, Alabama
Stevenson is a city in Jackson County, Alabama, United States, and is included in the Chattanooga-Cleveland-Dalton, TN-GA-AL Combined Statistical Area. Sources listed either 1866 or 1867 as the year of incorporation, but that seems to conflict w ...
. Both of his parents died by the time Morris was fourteen.
Morris supported himself by working as a shoemaker from 1872 to 1886. In 1874, he enrolled in the
Nashville Normal and Theological Institute and received a license to preach in the Baptist church.
In 1877, Morris set out to find opportunity in
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
, but instead settled in
Helena, Arkansas
Helena is the eastern portion of Helena–West Helena, Arkansas, a city in Phillips County, Arkansas. It was founded in 1833 by Nicholas Rightor and is named after the daughter of Sylvanus Phillips, an early settler of Phillips County and the n ...
. Two years later he was named pastor of
Centennial Baptist Church
The Centennial Baptist Church is a historic church building at the corner of York and Columbia Streets in Helena, Arkansas. It is significant for its association with Elias Camp Morris (1855-1922), who was the pastor of the church from 1879 and ...
. Morris was the secretary of the
Arkansas Baptist State Convention The Arkansas Baptist State Convention (ABSC) was founded on September 21, 1848, at Brownsville Church in Tulip, Arkansas, Tulip in Dallas County, Arkansas as an affiliate of the Southern Baptist Convention. The first president was Isaac Perkins, an ...
from 1880 to 1881, where he founded the ''Arkansas Times'' (later the ''Baptist Vanguard''). Morris co-founded a black seminary in
Little Rock
( The "Little Rock")
, government_type = Council-manager
, leader_title = Mayor
, leader_name = Frank Scott Jr.
, leader_party = D
, leader_title2 = Council
, leader_name2 ...
, later known as the
Arkansas Baptist College
Arkansas Baptist College (ABC) is a private Baptist-affiliated historically black college in Little Rock, Arkansas. Founded in 1884 as the Minister's Institute, ABC was initially funded by the Colored Baptists of the State of Arkansas. It is th ...
, in 1884.
[
Morris was named the first president of the National Baptist Convention (NBC) in 1895, a role that he served for the rest of his life. The NBC had been formed that year after the merger of three black Baptist organizations, including the Foreign Missionary Convention, which Morris had led.][ By 1900, the convention represented over 60 percent of African American churchgoers.] Afterward he was named to the executive committee of the Baptist World Alliance
The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) is the largest international Baptist organization with an estimated 51 million people in 2022 with 246 member bodies in 128 countries and territories. A voluntary association of Baptist churches, the BWA account ...
and was vice president of the Federal Council of Churches of Christ
The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, usually identified as the National Council of Churches (NCC), is the largest ecumenical body in the United States. NCC is an ecumenical partnership of 38 Christian faith groups in the Uni ...
. Morris associated with Booker T. Washington
Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856November 14, 1915) was an American educator, author, orator, and adviser to several presidents of the United States. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the dominant leader in the African-American c ...
through mutual work in the National Negro Business League
The National Negro Business League (NNBL) was an American organization founded in Boston in 1900 by Booker T. Washington to promote the interests of African-American businesses. The mission and main goal of the National Negro Business League was ...
.[ At the time of his death, the NBC was the largest black denomination in America with over two million members.][
In 1908, President ]Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
named Morris an emissary to the Congo Free State
''(Work and Progress)
, national_anthem = Vers l'avenir
, capital = Vivi Boma
, currency = Congo Free State franc
, religion = Catholicism (''de facto'')
, leader1 = Leopo ...
to investigate abuses committed against natives.[ Arkansas governor ]Charles Hillman Brough
Charles Hillman Brough (July 9, 1876 – December 26, 1935) was an American politician who served as the 25th Governor of Arkansas from 1917 to 1921. He signed a bill for women’s suffrage in Arkansas and supported it nationally.
Biography
Ch ...
recruited Morris as one of his "One Hundred Speakers" to tour the state and recruit soldiers for World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. Brough also consulted with Morris following the Elaine massacre
The Elaine massacre occurred on September 30–October 2, 1919 at Hoop Spur in the vicinity of Elaine, Arkansas, Elaine in rural Phillips County, Arkansas. As many as several hundred African Americans and five White people, white men were kille ...
during the Red Summer
Red Summer was a period in mid-1919 during which Terrorism in the United States#White nationalism and white supremacy, white supremacist terrorism and Mass racial violence in the United States, racial riots occurred in more than three dozen ...
of 1919.[
]
Personal life
Morris married Fannie E. Austin on November 27, 1884. They had five children. He received an honorary Doctorate of Divinity
A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity.
In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ra ...
from the University of Louisville
The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of ...
in 1892 and an honorary Doctor of Philosophy
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...
from Alabama A&M University
Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University (Alabama A&M) is a public historically black land-grant university in Normal, Huntsville, Alabama. Founded in 1875, it took its present name in 1969. AAMU is a member-school of the Thurgood Marsha ...
in 1902. Morris was also an early leader in the Arkansas Republican Party
The Republican Party of Arkansas (RPA), headquartered at 1201 West 6th Street in downtown Little Rock, is the affiliate of the Republican Party in Arkansas. It is currently the dominant party in the state, controlling all four of Arkansas' U.S ...
, serving as a delegate to the Republican National Convention
The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the United States Republican Party. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal of the Repu ...
in 1884, 1888, and 1904; later nominations were blocked by white supremacists
White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White su ...
in his later years. Morris died after a long illness in Little Rock on September 5, 1922, and was buried in Helena's Dixon Cemetery.[ Though presently in ruin, In 2003 Centennial Baptist Church was recognized as a ]National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
by the National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...
.[
]
Publications
*Morris, E.C. ''Reflections from the Public Services of E. C. Morris, D. D.: Sermons, Addresses and Reminiscences and Important Correspondence, With a Picture Gallery of Eminent Ministers and Scholars''. Nashville: National Baptist Publishing Board, 1901.
See also
* Morris Memorial Building
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Elias Camp
1855 births
1922 deaths
19th-century American slaves
19th-century Baptist ministers from the United States
20th-century Baptist ministers from the United States
African-American Baptist ministers
Arkansas Baptist College
Arkansas Republicans
National Baptist Convention, USA ministers
People from Helena, Arkansas
People from Murray County, Georgia
20th-century African-American people