Change_Our_World_v2r1
Change_Our_World_v2r1

Historical Overview

(Excerpts Selected from the 1988 Mission Design)

In 1893, the first predecessor to NBPC was organized. It was called the Afro Presbyterian Council and was organized by the Reverends Francis Grimke, R.H. Armstrong, Matthew Anderson and John B. Reeve. It advocated for political, religious, and social interest.

In 1947, the name of the Council was changed to the Council of the North and West. The Afrocentric nomenclature was dropped to indicate total integration into the program of the denomination.

In 1964, Concerned Presbyterians was organized, but it again left out nomenclature in its official name to suggest any indication of racial consciousness.
In 1968, Black Presbyterians United (BPU) was created. This was a turning point in the church in which as Black folk, we began to affirm our Blackness and demand greater visibility and power in the life of the church.

Subsequent to 1983, following the merger of the PCUSA and the PCUS, to be inclusive of African Americans in both denominations, the name was again changed to the National Black Presbyterian Caucus (NBPC).

For almost 200 years now, Black Presbyterians have found it necessary to organize themselves in a number of ways, to contend against our church’s heresy of white racism. In this ongoing struggle, our Black Presbyterian forebears relied heavily on the moral and spiritual resources of our Black religious heritage.

It is becoming increasingly clear as we survey history and assess our present reality, that as an oppressed people both in the church and out, our liberation cannot be left to the good intentions of a predominantly white majority. Church history reveals that prayers, social pronouncements, proclamations and programs on racial justice and reconciliation —alone or in combinations- –have meant very little. That same history also reveals, that, to the extent that changes have occurred, our Black organizations have played key roles in bringing about those changes.

Mailing Address

National Black Presbyterian Caucus (NBPC)
P.O. Box 99696
Troy, MI 48099

"The Black Church Family, Congregation, and Community in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.): Navigating Identity, Equity and Economics”

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