The Free African Society (1787) – The Foundation of Black Mutual Aid and Community Self-Determination
Black History Through the Lens of Liberation
Mutual Aid as an Ancestral Practice
Before there were civil rights organizations, labor unions, or Black churches, there was mutual aid—a system of communal support that Black people have carried with them across generations and across continents. The Free African Society (FAS), founded in 1787 in Philadelphia by Richard Allen and Absalom Jones, was one of the first Black-led institutions in the United States. But its core principle—collective care and self-sufficiency—didn’t begin in Philadelphia.
The concept of mutual aid among Black people in the U.S. is deeply rooted in West African traditions that were carried across the Middle Passage and adapted to the realities of enslavement and systemic exclusion. These traditions, still alive today, reflect the unbroken lineage of communal responsibility that has long defined African and African diasporic survival strategies.
West African Mutual Aid Traditions That Came With Us
Long before slavery and colonization, West African societies thrived on collective economics, communal care, and shared responsibility. These traditions, forcibly transplanted to the Americas, formed the foundation of Black mutual aid practices in the U.S.
Some of the most notable African communal financial and support systems include:
Susu (Sou-Sou) – A rotating savings and credit system found in Ghana, Nigeria, and throughout the African diaspora. Members contribute a set amount to a communal pot, and each takes turns receiving the full amount. This system provided financial support for major life events, emergencies, and business investments. Today, sou-sous are still widely used in Black and Caribbean communities as a way to access capital outside of traditional (often racist and exclusionary) banking systems.
Esusu (Ajo or Chit Funds) – A Yoruba practice similar to the susu, where communities pool financial resources to provide loans or emergency funds without the burden of interest or predatory lenders. This is one of the earliest forms of cooperative economics and still exists in African and Black immigrant communities today.
Ubuntu Philosophy – A Batu concept in Zulu (I am a person through other people) or "I am because we are", emphasizing the idea that an individual’s well-being is interconnected with the well-being of the collective. This philosophy underpinned mutual aid and communal responsibility across many African cultures.
Work Rotations and Labor Collectives – In various African societies, labor was often shared through cooperative work groups, where people came together to farm, build homes, and raise livestock for the benefit of the whole community. This model continued in the U.S. through Black farming cooperatives, sharecropping collectives, and early mutual aid societies like the FAS.
Reflection: How do these African traditions challenge the narrative that Black people had to "learn" self-sufficiency in America? What are ways that we continue to practice these traditions today?
From Africa to the Americas: The Continuation of Mutual Aid
When enslaved Africans arrived in the U.S., they did not arrive empty-handed. They carried their knowledge, traditions, and communal practices—even under the most brutal conditions. These systems were modified and expanded to address the realities of forced labor, economic exclusion, and state-sanctioned violence.
Benevolent Societies (1700s–1800s): Enslaved and free Black people formed secret mutual aid societies to provide support in times of sickness, funerals, and economic hardship.
Black Churches as Mutual Aid Centers (1800s–Present): The rise of Black-led churches, including the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church founded by Richard Allen, provided not just spiritual guidance but tangible resources—housing assistance, job training, and legal aid.
Freedmen’s Cooperatives (Post-Civil War): After emancipation, Black communities formed land-buying cooperatives, agricultural mutual aid groups, and business collectives to create financial security outside of a white-dominated economy.
Civil Rights Movement and Community Self-Defense (1900s): Organizations like the Deacons for Defense and Justice, the Black Panther Party, and the Poor People’s Campaign built on mutual aid principles, providing free food programs, health clinics, and legal defense funds for Black communities.
The Free African Society was not an anomaly—it was one link in a long chain of African communal traditions, adapted for the realities of racial oppression in the U.S.
Reflection: How do Black communities continue to practice these traditions, even when white supremacist systems attempt to criminalize or dismantle them?
Building Black Institutions: The Birth of Independent Black Churches
One of the most enduring legacies of the Free African Society was its role in establishing the first independent Black churches in the United States.
In the late 1700s, Black worshippers in white churches were subjected to segregation, second-class treatment, and outright exclusion. Tired of this discrimination, Richard Allen and Absalom Jones led a walkout of Black congregants from St. George’s Methodist Episcopal Church in 1792 after they were forcibly removed from the main floor during prayer.
Richard Allen went on to found the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in 1816—the first independent Black denomination in the United States.
Absalom Jones became the first Black Episcopal priest and founded St. Thomas African Episcopal Church in 1794.
Their actions marked a turning point in Black self-determination, proving that Black communities didn’t need to rely on white acceptance to build institutions of their own.
Why the Free African Society Was Revolutionary: A Continuation of African Mutual Aid in the U.S.
The Free African Society wasn’t just a charity; it was a bold statement of Black autonomy and self-determination. The founding members recognized that freedom was more than just the absence of slavery—it required financial stability, community support, and the ability to care for one another outside of white institutions.
With this in mind, the society:
Provided financial aid to widows, orphans, and those in need.
Helped freed Black people find housing and employment.
Created a sense of community in a society that denied Black people full citizenship.
Offered spiritual guidance and laid the foundation for the first independent Black churches in America.
The FAS was one of the first formalized mutual aid societies in the U.S., proving that even in the face of oppression, Black people could create their own structures of care and survival.
Why This Matters Today
The Free African Society teaches us that:
Mutual aid is not new—it is an ancestral practice.
Black people have always been self-sufficient, despite systemic exclusion.
African traditions of community care continue to shape Black movements today.
From sou-sous and cooperative economics to mutual aid funds and food drives, Black people continue to practice ancestral self-sufficiency, often without even realizing it.
The FAS’s legacy is a direct challenge to the myth that Black people have always been dependent on white-led systems for progress. It reminds us that Black resilience and self-sufficiency have always been the foundation of our communities.
The next time someone tries to say, “Black people just need to work harder” or “If they just made better financial choices…”, remind them that Black people have been creating financial and social safety nets for centuries—it's the white supremacist system that has continuously disrupted and stolen them.
A 28-Day Journey Through Black Resistance and Liberation
The Free African Society’s story is one of many powerful lessons in my 28-Day Journey Through Black Resistance and Liberation—a living document that connects past to present, equipping families and individuals with history, resources, and action steps for liberation.
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Our ancestors laid the blueprint. We continue the work.
In solidarity and liberation,
Desireé B. Stephens, CPS-P
Educator | Counselor | Community Builder
Founder, Make Shi(f)t Happen