Allen Report. Retracing Transnational African Methodism (2016)

As the first Dominican-Haitian documentary co-production, this film retraces the liberation legacy of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) in five different locations united by common narratives related to struggles against enslavement and apartheid. It tells this story in three different languages (English, French, Spanish) in the voices of 19 interviewees. The AME Mother Bethel Church was founded by Bishop Richard Allen in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1794, as the first protestant church ministered exclusively by former enslaved people. It became a legally incorporated denomination in 1816. Upon the request of the Haitian government, The AME sent 6,000 individuals to the island of Saint-Domingue between 1824-1826, two decades after this first Black Republic in the world came into being. The Haitian Revolution is an integral part of the history of the AME in the island and it is also crucial to note that Richard Allen was deeply involved in the logistics of this immigration, the most important one of the XIX Century in Dominican history. In 1946, Marcus Witbooi, a descendant of anti-colonial Namibian national hero, Hendrik Witbooi, deserted the German Rhenish Mission and affiliated his congregation to the AME inspired by the historical liberation narratives and practices of this church. Later, AME members were instrumental in the liberation and independence of Namibia from South Africa.