At a General Conference meeting in 1944, president J. Lamar McElhany offered two alternatives: integrate blacks into the total structure of the church organization, or move toward organizing black conferences. Peters had already spoken with McElhany, and both had a good idea of the resistance that complete integration would face from members accustomed to segregation and certain privileges. During the meeting, McElhany supported the black conferences idea, noting that some large black churches had more members than some conferences. He reasoned that ministers who could serve large congregations could also run conferences. Six African-American “regional” conferences and one mission that would soon develop into a conference, covered the same territories as seven of the nine North American unions. In the Columbia Union’s deliberations, approval was voted for the formation of a regional conference to be called the Susquehanna Conference. Peters felt the name would be too difficult to spell. When the floor was re-opened, the name “Allegheny Conference” was voted. Wagner was elected as the first president of the new conference, which had about 4,000 members. The conference office opened in a bookstore, owned by Ephesus member Joseph L. Dodson, on Georgia Avenue in Washington, D.C., in 1945. Its resources were so meager that Wagner’s desk was a sink with a board across it. While the union had appropriated a small fund for the start-up of the regional conference, most of that was absorbed in bad debts and colporteur and Book and Bible House charges, etc.   Allegheny East and West Conferences In 1966 the Allegheny Conference had nearly tripled in membership, prompting its 74 churches and 11,084 members to be divided into two conferences: Allegheny East and Allegheny West.  An emphasis on evangelism, especially in the large cities where blacks resided, produced phenomenal growth over the years. The Seventh-day Adventist Online Yearbook reports the current Allegheny East Conference (AEC) membership at about 31,000 in 96 churches. The Allegheny West Conference (AWC) has over 12,000  in 49 churches. Including Allegheny East and West, there are now a total of nine regional conferences throughout North America. Their presidents serve on what is known as the Regional Conference Presidents Council, currently chaired by AEC president Charles L. Cheatham. Through this association, they also serve on the Oakwood College Board, sponsor large-scale youth events, and promote various African-American ministries, including Message magazine. Originally known as the Gospel Herald, it was founded by James Edson White in 1898 as an outreach tool.  Today, over 100 years later, Message is still the only black religious and international journal focusing on Christian lifestyle, positive role models, and social moral issues.  In addition to nurturing and representing their members, and furthering the Adventist work in urban areas, regional conferences were created to serve as a training ground for leadership among African-Americans, and other conference workers of color, who might not have received leadership opportunities under the previous system. Those they mentored broke down barriers in the larger church system. Notables include Washington-born Charles E. Bradford and West Virginian Harold L. Lee. Bradford became a regional conference president and, ultimately, president of the North American Division, while the recently retired Lee became the first African-American to serve as president of the Columbia Union.  Today regional conferences serve as vital headquarters for ministries among urban populations, including immigrants from Africa, the Caribbean, Latin nations, and beyond. While the focus is on African-Americans, these conferences and their churches continue to cast a wide net for Christ in many diverse communities. Douglas Morgan, PhD, is professor of history and political studies at Columbia Union College inTakoma Park, Md. Emory J. Tolbert, PhD, is professor of history at Howard University in Washington, D.C. SOURCES:* GENERAL CONFERENCE ARCHIVES & STATISTICS; ELLEN G. WHITE ESTATE; MOORLAND-SPINGARN RESEARCH CENTER, HOWARD UNIVERSITY; LEADING THE RACE: THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE BLACK ELITE IN THE NATION’S CAPITOL, 1880-1920, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA PRESS, 1999); WE HAVE TOMORROW: THE STORY OF AMERICAN SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS WITH AN AFRICAN HERITAGE, REVIEW & HERALD PUB. ASSN. 1984; WASHINGTON POST, 1902; VISITOR 1916, 1918, 1919, 1922; NORTH AMERICAN INFORMANT, 1957; ELLEN G. WHITE, MANUSCRIPT 45, 1904; LIGHT BEARERS: A HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH, PACIFIC PRESS PUB. ASSN., 2000; ORGANIZING TO BEAT THE DEVIL: THE DEVELOPMENT OF ADVENTIST CHURCH STRUCTURE, REVIEW & HERALD PUB. ASSN., 2001; REVIEW AND HERALD, 1919, 1928; NORTH AMERICAN REGIONAL VOICE, 1980, 1985 *FOR THE COMPLETE LIST OF THE AUTHORS’ REFERENCES, CONTACT LAVERNE HENDERSON AT (301) 596-0800 OR LHENDERSON@COLUMBIAUNION.NET.