Thomas Lewis Johnson

Thomas Lewis Johnson (1836-1921) was one of the most widely traveled and published Black religious figures of the late nineteenth century. Born enslaved in Virginia, he became a Baptist minister, international lecturer, missionary, and author whose work carried him from the American South to England and West Africa. A close associate of the celebrated preacher Charles H. Spurgeon, Johnson advocated for greater roles for Black missionaries and religious leaders while building a remarkable career within transatlantic evangelical networks. His memoir, Twenty-Eight Years a Slave, preserves an important account of slavery, emancipation, faith, and Black global citizenship.