re: #543 Decatur Deb

Does the “ME” in AME reflect a merger of two groups?

ME stands for “Methodist Episcopal”.

Short story, the Wesleyans and Methodists broke off of the Anglicans. In the US, they called themselves Episcopalians, after their form of church polity.

The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) liked evangelical styles of Methodism but still thought of themselves as products of the Anglicans. en.wikipedia.org

The people who were to become the AMEs ditched the MEs because of their racial segregation policies.

Lots happened with the MEs. Because of slavery, pro-slavery southern MEs formed the Methodist Epsicopal Church of the South (MECS). en.wikipedia.org