Joseph Simeon Flipper (February 22, 1859October 9, 1944) was an American bishop and academic.

Early life and education

Joseph Simeon Flipper was born on February 22, 1859, in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, Georgia, to Elizabeth (Burkhalter) and Festus Flipper. He was enslaved at birth on the plantation of Ephraim G. Ponder. He attended Atlanta University from 1869 to 1876, after which he taught school in

Thomaston, Georgia Thomaston is a city in and the county seat of Upson County, Georgia, United States. The population was 9,170 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of and is included in the Thomaston, Georgia Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is includ ...

. He studied theology for five years and was admitted to the ministry of the

African Methodist Episcopal Church The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a Black church, predominantly African American Methodist Religious denomination, denomination. It adheres to Wesleyan-Arminian theology and has a connexionalism, c ...

in January 1880. Flipper received a

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

Allen University Allen University is a Private university, private Historically black colleges and universities, historically black university in Columbia, South Carolina. It has more than 600 students and still serves a predominantly Black constituency. The cam ...

in 1893.

Career

His first pastorate was in

Grooverville, Georgia Grooverville is an unincorporated community in Brooks County, Georgia, United States. It was once known as Key and was located at the crossing of the Thomasville and Madison and Sharpe's Store Road, which was in Thomas County prior to the creatio ...

. He was pastor of a church in

Boston, Georgia Boston is a city in Thomas County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 1,207. History Boston was incorporated by the Georgia General Assembly in 1870. An early variant name was "Blue Springs"; the present ...

, from 1881 to 1882, and in

Darien, Georgia Darien () is a city in and the county seat of McIntosh County, Georgia, United States. It lies on Georgia's coast at the mouth of the Altamaha River, approximately south of Savannah, and is part of the Brunswick, Georgia Metropolitan Statist ...

, from 1882 to 1883. He then taught for two years in Decatur County, and was then made minister of the Bethel Church at Atlanta, where he remained four years. From 1893 to 1896 he was the presiding elder for a district centered in

Athens, Georgia Athens, officially Athens–Clarke County, is a consolidated city-county and college town in the U.S. state of Georgia. Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta, and is a satellite city of the capital. The University of Georgia, the sta ...

, and held a position at Big Bethel AME Church in Athens. He then became pastor of the Allen Temple Church in Atlanta. He remained there until 1899, when he took a position at St. Paul's Church, also in Atlanta. He stayed at St. Paul's until 1903. In 1904 he became dean of the department of theology at

Morris Brown College Morris Brown College (MBC) is a private Methodist historically black liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded January 5, 1881, Morris Brown is the first educational institution in Georgia to be owned and operated entirely by African Ame ...

. Shortly thereafter he became its president. He resigned as president in May 1908, after being elected and consecrated as a bishop on May 20, 1908. He was initially assigned to the ninth episcopal district, which included

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

and

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

, and later held positions throughout the country, mainly in the South.

Personal life

Flipper married Amanda Slater on February 24, 1880. They had three children. His brother was

Henry Ossian Flipper Henry Ossian Flipper (March 21, 1856 – April 26, 1940) was an American soldier, engineer, former slave and in 1877, the first African American to graduate from the United States Military Academy at West Point, earning a commission as a ...

. He died on October 9, 1944, in Atlanta.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flipper, Joseph Simeon 1859 births 1944 deaths African Methodist Episcopal bishops Allen University alumni Clergy from Atlanta Morris Brown College faculty