The black preacher you mentioned is the Reverend Absalom Jones. A true founder of America. His story and contributions to medicine, America and the Constitution can't be described here. You have to read the book.

He was a member of St. George’s Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia and was a lay preacher for the black members of the congregation. In 1786, Richard Allen joined Jones at the church. The black membership at St. George’s increased tenfold.

In the 1790s, Jones and Allen (a white man) tried to segregate denominations in the Methodist Episcopal Church. The members of the church didn't want a separate denomination. They worshiped together; black and white. Jones was the first black Episcopal Bishop. Think about that. In the 1700s.

As a sidebar, this time in history is where a big split came in the Methodist and Episcopal denominations.

The celebration on the first of January that Jones proposed as a day of "Thanksgiving" was in honor of the US Constitution stating that in 1808 the US would abolish the African slave trade. 1787 is when the provision was written. That is where they give Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina 20 years to abolish slavery. Keep in mind the dates. Amazing.

If you missed the progam, here is a link to watch:

http://www.watchglennbeck.com/

Also, the title of the book is American History in Black and White , by David Barton.