Editing Yellow Fever Epidemic 1793 (section)

== African American Response ==

Richard Allen and Absalom Jones, leaders of the Free African Society (the organization that would become Mother Bethel AME Church), responded to Mayor Matthew Clarkson's appeal for help. The mayor and Rush believed (incorrectly) that Black Philadelphians were immune to yellow fever. Allen and Jones organized African Americans to nurse the sick, remove the dead, and provide services that white Philadelphians had abandoned.<ref name="fever"/>

Black Philadelphians served at great personal risk—they proved susceptible to yellow fever, and many died. Their service was later viciously misrepresented in Matthew Carey's published account, which accused Black nurses of profiteering and theft. Allen and Jones published a response, "A Narrative of the Proceedings of the Black People," defending their community and documenting their sacrifice. This exchange represents an early instance of Black Americans combating racist narratives in print.<ref name="fever"/>