The Shadow

Jehu Jones Jr. was born enslaved in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1786. His father, Jehu Jones Sr., was trained as a tailor, and he was so skilled that the elite class in Charleston requested his exacting work. He was allowed to charge his customers a fee. He asked his slave holder if he could purchase his own manumission (freedom). The slave holder agreed, and Jehu Jones Sr. and his family became “Free Blacks.â€

“Free Blacks†weren’t enslaved, but their freedom was still limited. If a free Black person left Charleston, they weren’t welcome to return. If they did, they could be jailed. Jehu Jones Sr. opened the most fashionable hotel in Charleston and became prosperous. But even with his success, he was not allowed to leave his property unless he was accompanied by a white escort. “Freedom†was precarious.

One important difference between an enslaved and a free Black person was the right to learn how to read. The Jones family optimized that freedom. Jehu’s brother Edward became the first southern Black person to graduate from college in the United States of America. Jehu Jr. became the first Black Lutheran minister, and he started the first Black Lutheran congregation in the USA.

Jehu Jr. faced many challenges and injustices. He went to New York to become an ordained minister and was arrested when he returned to Charleston. He had to relocate immediately to avoid being imprisoned and quickly said goodbye to his wife and children, including his three-day-old baby. Eventually they all ended up in Pennsylvania. Once there, Reverend Jehu Jones Jr. received very little aid to build a church, and he worked relentlessly to gain funds.

Jehu continued to serve God, speaking at various congregations and encouraging those who were sick and poor. He was a leader in Black communities and beyond. He never stopped spreading God’s Word. Jehu may have been born enslaved, but only God was master of his spirit and faith. Even when the world was against Jehu, Jesus was with him. God worked through Jehu to bring many to Himself. The power of the gospel could not be kept in chains. • Kelly Bakshi

• God hates when people are mistreated, and He is always working to bring freedom. Jesus announced, “Captives will be released…the oppressed will be set free†(Luke 4:14-21). How does Jesus give us hope and endurance, even when others are conspiring against us?

“He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released…that the oppressed will be set free…†Luke 4:18 (NLT)

Read Verses:

John.1.1-John.1.5|1Cor.10.13|Luke.4.1-Luke.4.13