John Bryan Small
Encyclopedia
John Bryan Small was an African-American bishop in the AME Zion Church.
Born and educated in Barbados
, Small joined the British Army
as a clerk and was stationed in the Gold Coast
for three years, resigning due to British aggression towards the Asante
. In 1871 he travelled to the United States
, becoming a preacher with the AME Zion Church. In 1896 he was elected AME Zion bishop to Africa, where he concentrated his work in the Gold Coast, training indigenous African church leaders - including James E. K. Aggrey - by sending them to Livingstone College
. Though Small returned to the US in 1904, his deathbed words were "Don't let my African work fail".
Born and educated in Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
, Small joined the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
as a clerk and was stationed in the Gold Coast
Gold Coast (British colony)
The Gold Coast was a British colony on the Gulf of Guinea in west Africa that became the independent nation of Ghana in 1957.-Overview:The first Europeans to arrive at the coast were the Portuguese in 1471. They encountered a variety of African kingdoms, some of which controlled substantial...
for three years, resigning due to British aggression towards the Asante
Asante
Asante may mean:*The Ashanti people of Ghana*The Ashanti Confederacy, a pre-colonial state in West Africa.*Asante Kotoko, a football club*Empire of Ashanti The ancient state of the ashanti that was powerful around the West African region...
. In 1871 he travelled to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, becoming a preacher with the AME Zion Church. In 1896 he was elected AME Zion bishop to Africa, where he concentrated his work in the Gold Coast, training indigenous African church leaders - including James E. K. Aggrey - by sending them to Livingstone College
Livingstone College
Livingstone College is a private, historically black, four-year college in Salisbury, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church...
. Though Small returned to the US in 1904, his deathbed words were "Don't let my African work fail".