Alexander Crummell was a 19th-century American Episcopal priest, scholar, and abolitionist. Born in New York to free Black parents, he dedicated his life to racial advancement and religious leadership. After studying at Cambridge University, where he became the first officially recorded Black graduate, he spent two decades in Liberia working as a missionary to educate and convert local populations. Upon returning to the United States, he helped establish St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C., the first independent Black Episcopal congregation in the city, serving as its rector for many years.