May 4. Theodore Weld. In 1833, Weld helped found the American Anti-Slavery Society. And during the next decade, he advised members of the United States Congress about issues regarding anti-slavery.
By 1834, when he was 31 years old, Weld was advocating for immediate abolition, as opposed to colonization, which was the more popular anti-slavery position of the early abolitionist movement in America.
He went to a seminary in Cincinnati, and he and his fellow seminary students did more than talk about racial equality; they acted. They devoted themselves to helping Cincinnati’s Black population, and Weld took a position as the American Anti-Slavery Society’s agent for Ohio, a position that led to him become known as the “most mobbed man in America.”
Weld fought slavery until 1865, when the Thirteenth Amendment ended the evil practice. In the interim, he established a fully integrated school in New Jersey—a school that accepted students of all races and both genders. On this date in 1839, Weld publish the story of more than two million slaves. Here’s his story.
A man who stands against evil despite personal cost can change destiny.
In 1810, six-year-old Theodore Weld was sitting in the common-school classroom, when a new student joined the class. His name was Jerry, and he was African American.
The teacher immediately separated Jerry from the rest of the class and spoke down to him, as if he were below the others.
As young as he was, Theodore was the son of a minister, and he knew that the way the teacher was treating Jerry wasn’t right. It was scary to go against the teacher, especially when he was one of the smallest ones in class.
But Theodore spoke up and asked his teacher if he could sit next to Jerry. He couldn’t just watch someone be mistreated and not say anything about it. It was as if keeping still would mean he was part of the evil thing going on. And he wasn’t. He knew God loved Jerry and him the same.
This lit a fire in Theodore—the knowledge that God loves everyone equally. Even the outcast. Especially the outcast. So Theodore would love the outcast.
So 24 years later, Theodore showed up in Cincinnati, Ohio, where slavery had been abolished in 1802. But across the river in slave-holding Kentucky, thousands of slaves had their hearts and minds set on escaping across the river to Ohio. There, they thought, they’d be free. They’d be treated differently, better.
But Ohio wasn’t the promised land they’d thought it would be. While Ohio had abolished slavery, escaped slaves were not welcome.
Still, determined slaves did escape to Cincinnati, and they gathered in ramshackle communities and tried to make lives for themselves. But as their population increased, the white Cincinnatians’ tolerance decreased. In “packs,” whites invaded black neighborhoods, burned their homes, and beat the people.
Theodore took a stand against these vigilantes, and he became friends with the black community. Theodore stepped in and helped them, got close and accepted them. The way God accepts us.
In 1834, Theodore gathered a group of fellow seminary students to stand up for the immediate abolition of slavery in the United States. He organized a wave of speeches and debates over 18 days to convert fellow students and teachers toward immediate abolition.
But it cost him. The majority of people around him didn’t agree with his abolition-of-slavery policy—not for the whole country. The minister, who led his seminary, thought Theodore’s activities so scandalous that he tried to stop him.
In the end, Theodore left the seminary, and devoted himself fully to the American Anti-Slavery Society, traveling and lecturing that slavery was a national sin.
At a time when slavery was running rampant in the South no matter what anybody said or did, Theodore remained focused on the truth that all men are created equal and in the image of God. He grabbed hold of God’s heart for these people and spoke up for them.
But what he did incited mobs. With their canes, pro-slavery activists beat Theodore. They stoned him. His crusade to treat the “outcasts” like human beings was so vocal that he became known as the most-mobbed man in America.
Worth it. These people were created in God’s image.
“Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them;…Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise,” (Ephesians 5:11, 15, NASB).
Ask Jesus where you can make a positive difference today, even if it means going against the status quo. A man who stands against evil despite personal cost can change destiny.
https://www.nationalabolitionhalloffameandmuseum.org/theodore-dwight-weld.html
http://slavenorth.com/ohio.htm
Story read by Joel Carpenter
Theodore Weld helped found the American Anti-Slavery Society in 1833. And during the next decade, he 1840s advised members of the United States Congress about issues regarding anti-slavery.
Weld fought slavery until 1865, when the Thirteenth Amendment ended it. In the interim, he established a fully integrated school in New Jersey—a school that accepted students of all races and both genders.