Industrial Education and Symbolic Home Building in the Congo Free State, 1898–1907

Chapter 1 explains trends in the African American Protestant missions movement up to 1907 with a focus on William Henry Sheppard and the black staff of the American Presbyterian Congo Mission. The literary and musical accomplishments of Althea Brown are introduced in the context of her classical training at Fisk University. The role that Alonzo Edmiston played in developing industrial education at the Congo Mission is introduced through his childhood working on a Tennessee plantation and his education at Stillman Institute. The final section explains how both ministers applied their academic backgrounds and the lessons of previous black missionaries to rebuilding a mission station despite political turmoil in the region.