Henry McNeal Turner was a transformative African American leader in late 19th-century Georgia.
Born free in 1834, he overcame adversities to become a preacher, eventually serving as an army chaplain for the First Regiment of U.S. Colored Troops during the Civil War.
Post-war, Turner made strides in organizing the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Georgia and entered politics, aiding the formation of Georgia’s Republican Party.
Despite facing threats from the Ku Klux Klan and political slander, Turner rose to become the twelfth bishop of the AME Church, where he championed progressive practices including the ordination of a woman.
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He was also instrumental in advocating for the back-to-Africa emigration movement and bolstering the AME Church’s presence in Africa.
Turner passed away in 1915 and is commemorated in the Georgia State Capitol.
I have selected the best quotes from Henry McNeal Turner for you.
Best Henry McNeal Turner Quotes
My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together. ~ Henry McNeal Turner.
When I care about black liberation, it is because I care about white liberation. ~ Henry McNeal Turner.
We don’t want apartheid liberalized. We want it dismantled. You can’t improve something that is intrinsically evil. ~ Henry McNeal Turner.
I claim the right of a man. ~ Henry McNeal Turner.
I am not interested in picking up the crumbs of compassion thrown from the table of someone who considers himself my master. I want the full menu of rights. ~ Henry McNeal Turner.
Freedom is indivisible. Whites can’t enjoy their separate freedoms. They spend too much time and resources defending those freedoms instead of enjoying them. ~ Henry McNeal Turner.
If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate… ~ Henry McNeal Turner.
The seeds of freedom … have now been scattered where despotism and tyranny ranked and ruled, will be watered by the enlivening dews of God’s clemency, till the reapers abolitionists shall shout the harvest home. ~ Henry McNeal Turner.
We shall be free only together, black and white. We shall survive only together, black and white. We can be human only together, black and white. ~ Henry McNeal Turner.
Inspiring Henry McNeal Turner Quotes
Every race of people since time began who have attempted to describe God by words or painting, or by carvings, have conveyed their idea that the God who made them and shaped their destinies was symbolized in themselves… ~ Henry McNeal Turner.
No one can say, who has any respect for the truth, that the United States is a civilized nation, especially if we take the daily papers and inspect them for a few moments and see the deeds of horror. ~ Henry McNeal Turner.
The Fourth of July-memorable in the history of our nation as the great day of independence to its countrymen-had no claim upon our sympathies. They made a flag and threw it to the heavens and bid it float forever; but every star in it was against us. ~ Henry McNeal Turner.
When the missionaries first came to Africa they had the Bible and we had the land. They said, “Let us pray”. We closed our eyes. When we opened them, we had the Bible and they had the land. ~ Henry McNeal Turner.
I am a member of this body. Therefore, sir, I shall neither fawn nor cringe before any party, nor stoop to beg … I am here to demand my rights, and to hurl thunderbolts at the men who would dare to cross the threshold of my manhood. ~ Henry McNeal Turner.
For as long as whites enforce equality in the price of railroad tickets, and in every other particular, where we are required to pay and do, and be punished, some of us will believe that equality should be carried to a finish. ~ Henry McNeal Turner.
So these were the 15 top Henry McNeal Turner quotes and sayings.
If you like these quotes and sayings, then you can also read my other posts on Solanus Casey quotes and Michael Che quotes.
Short Biography of Henry McNeal Turner
Bishop Turner born in South Carolina became a famous figure in the African Methodist Episcopal Church and a strong advocate for human rights and the “Back to Africa” movement.
Starting as a self-taught speaker he joined the Methodist Episcopal Church South became a lay exhorter and later an ordained deacon and elder in the AME Church.
During the Civil War he was the first black army chaplain and post-war worked in Georgia to expand the AME Church.
| Full Name | Henry McNeal Turner |
| Born | February 1, 1834 Newberry, South Carolina, United States |
| Died | May 8, 1915 (aged 81) Windsor, Ontario, Canada |
| Education | Trinity College |
| Books | Respect Black, African Letters and more |
| Previous office | Georgia State Representative (1868–1869) |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Eliza Peacher Martha Elizabeth DeWitt Harriet A. Wayman Laura Pearl Lemon |
| Children | 14 |
| Parent(s) | Hardy Turner Sarah Greer |
Turner believed slavery was a divine way to expose Africans to Christianity preparing them to uplift their homeland.
He founded the Voice of Missions promoted migration to Africa and established AME conferences in Sierra Leone Liberia and South Africa.
Disheartened by persistent racism in the U.S. he spent his final years in Canada.
Quick Facts about Henry McNeal Turner
- Henry McNeal Turner was a key African American leader in Georgia during the late 19th century.
- Turner played a significant role in the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church as a bishop and organizer.
- He served as a state legislator in Georgia during the Reconstruction era.
- Turner advocated for the back-to-Africa emigration movement later in his life.
- Born in 1834 in South Carolina, Turner was never enslaved.
- His family background included a white plantation owner grandmother and a grandfather who avoided slavery due to his royal Mandingo heritage.
- Turner pursued education despite the challenges, aided by a law firm in South Carolina.
- He decided to become a preacher after a Methodist revival at the age of fourteen.
- Turner married Eliza Peacher in 1856, and they had fourteen children, with only four surviving to adulthood.
- Fear of enslavement laws led him to move his family to St. Louis in 1858, where he joined the AME Church.
- Turner was involved in organizing the First Regiment of U.S. Colored Troops during the Civil War.
- Post-war, he focused on establishing the AME Church in Georgia.
- Turner entered politics in 1867, helping to organize Georgia’s Republican Party.
- Elected to the Georgia House of Representatives, he faced expulsion by white legislators.
- He received threats from the Ku Klux Klan after delivering an eloquent speech in the legislature.
- Appointed Macon’s postmaster by President Grant in 1869, Turner faced scandal and resignation.
- Despite obstacles, he reclaimed his legislative seat in 1870 but lost re-election due to fraud.
- Turner moved to Savannah, working at the Custom House and pastoring at St. Philip’s AME Church.
- In 1880, he was elected the twelfth bishop of the AME Church after a controversial contest.
- Turner became the first AME bishop to ordain a woman, Sarah Ann Hughes, in 1885.
- He married three more times after his first wife’s death, with his last marriage in 1907.
- Turner visited Africa four times between 1891 and 1898, promoting the AME Church’s expansion.
- He founded the International Migration Society to support African American emigration to Africa.
- Despite initial efforts, Turner faced setbacks in his emigrationist agenda due to poor conditions in Liberia.
- Turner passed away on May 8, 1915, in Canada and is buried in Atlanta, leaving a lasting legacy in both the church and the fight for African American rights.
Top Questions about Henry McNeal Turner
A: Henry McNeal Turner was a key African American leader in Georgia during the late 19th century known for his work as a church organizer missionary for the AME Church and eventually as a bishop.
A: A well-known quote by Henry McNeal Turner is “I Claim the Rights of a Man.”
A: Turner was active in organizing the AME Church and the Republican Party in Georgia. He served in the 1867 Constitutional Convention and the state legislature facing significant opposition from white communities.
A: “The Voice of Missions” was a newspaper founded by Turner where he served as editor from 1893 to 1900. He used it to support the International Migration Society advocating for African American emigration to Liberia.
A: Turner’s significance lies in his efforts during the Civil War to recruit black Union troops becoming the first black army chaplain and his post-war efforts to establish over a hundred AME churches in Georgia.
A: Three major accomplishments include convincing President Lincoln to enlist freedmen in the Union Army becoming the first black chaplain and founding over one hundred AME churches in Georgia.
A: Turner delivered an important speech about the benefits of the Fifteenth Amendment in Macon Georgia on April 19, 1870.
