Henry Highland Garnet
modernAfrican American Philosophy, Black Liberation Theology, Abolitionism1815 – 1882
Henry Highland Garnet (1815–1882) was an African American abolitionist, Presbyterian minister, and orator who escaped slavery in Maryland to become one of the most radical voices in the antebellum freedom movement. He is best known for his 1843 'Address to the Slaves of the United States of America,' which controversially urged enslaved people to resist and rebel, positioning him as a forerunner of Black liberation theology and African American political philosophy. His thought synthesized Christian ethics, natural rights theory, and early Pan-Africanism into a distinctive tradition of Black intellectual resistance.
Notable Achievements
1
Delivered the 1843 'Address to the Slaves of the United States of America,' one of the first public calls for slave rebellion by a Black intellectual leader
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Pioneered a theological argument grounding Black self-liberation in divine mandate and natural rights
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Founded and led the African Civilization Society (1858), promoting Black economic independence and Pan-African solidarity
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Delivered a memorial sermon in the U.S. House of Representatives (1865), the first Black minister to preach before Congress
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