William Henry Sheppard
Reverend William Henry Sheppard ( born March 8, 1865 in Waynesboro (Virginia), † 1927 in Louisville ( Kentucky) ) was one of the first African - American missionaries in Africa.
Life
Childhood and education
Sheppard was the son of a former slave and a "free -born ". After an apprenticeship with a white dentist, he joined with twelve years in the Hampton Institute, a school for black children, and let connect at Stillman College, a Presbyterian training school in the South for black pastors and missionaries, trained as a pastor. After successful completion, he first took a job as a pastor, but urged the Southern Presbyterian Church until they allowed him to initiate a mission to the Congo. Due to their racist prejudice the Church gave his concern occur until, as a white missionary had been found, the official could take over the direction of the mission station. His living he earned during this period with fieldwork and hunting. Thus it was probably better prepared for his new job as many of his white counterparts.
As a missionary in the Congo
1890 Sheppard broke under the supervision of white counterparts on to the Congo. The Belgian King Leopold II had especially invited American missionaries to open up the country. Within three years, Sheppard built in Luebo in the upper Kasai region, located about 1000 km from Leopoldville, a mission station. At the same time, he gained a legendary reputation as a traveler and big game hunter.
In 1892 he became the first foreigner the capital of Cuba Empire, which had hitherto foreclosed strictly against access from outside. Because of his black skin but he remained on life and was allowed four months living among the Kuba, his reports from there are still valuable sources because they lack the often occupied by white observers latent racist views.
On long furlough, Sheppard was a crowd puller by lectures on his journey. From the visit to Cuba Sheppard concluded that the Cradle of Humankind in Africa would be. Although Sheppard basically never presented to Western imperialism in Africa in question, but he attacked publicly to the tolerated by the Belgian government abuse and exploitation of Africans by Belgian business interests. Sheppard put many grievances openly and contributed in a meaningful way help to change the attitude and attitude of black Americans over the continent of Africa.
For his achievements as a traveler in the still poorly understood Congo Sheppard was admitted as a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.
1899 Sheppard was sent by his church in the territory of Cuba, to document there by local Zappo Zap mercenaries on behalf of the Compagnie du Kasai (CK ) massacres. The Cuba refused to harvest rubber or to pay taxes. With a camera Sheppard was able to photograph the genocide of Cuba. His images of human rights violations and genocide in the Belgian Congo contributed to the Compagnie du Kasai and the Belgian King Leopold II later came under strong political pressure and the private colony of King was taken over in 1908 by the Belgian State.
Process and return
1909 Sheppard was indicted by the Compangnie du Kasai because of a newspaper article in which he detailed the genocide against the Cuban people described by the rubber company. These allegations had been taken up by the international press, the share price of the Company thereby greatly decreased, the Compagnie wanted to set an example. Given the totally corrupt judicial condemnation to a long prison term in the Congo was virtually certain. The procedure was the first court case between a multinational company and a human rights activist. In Europe and in the U.S., the public sentiment in the meantime was so heated and hostile to the Belgian King Leopold II and the rubber company that Sheppard had to be acquitted.
1910 Sheppard finally went back to the U.S. and was celebrated there as a " hero of the Congo ". The last 17 years of his life Sheppard as pastor of a small black community in Louisville, Kentucky.