Bishop Morris Brown. Wikipedia Commons.
(1770-1849) Morris Brown was born in Charleston, South Carolina, to free people of color. Brown was one of the founders of the African Methodist Episcopal Church and was its second presiding bishop. He founded Hampstead Church which was later named Emanuel AME Church. In 1822, Brown was imprisoned due to another member, Denmark Vesey, planning a large-scale slave insurrection. Brown was never convicted, but the church was burned to the ground in 1822 because of its association with rebellion.