Jamestown, Virginia was founded in 1607. In those early days, the colonies didn’t have many specific laws about slavery. One enslaved woman, Elizabeth Key, filed a “freedom suit” in a Virginia court in 1655 and won her freedom based, in part, on her having been a baptized Christian. Motivated by this case, Virginia passed a law in 1667 that said being baptized didn’t change anyone’s slave status. Being in Christ didn’t mean being free.
Sources:
*https://www.history.com/news/religion-13-colonies-america
*https://www.thirteen.org/wnet/slavery/experience/religion/history.html
*https://www.thirteen.org/wnet/slavery/experience/religion/history2.html
*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_suit#Notable_United_States_cases
*https://canopyforum.org/2020/03/12/becoming-black-and-christian-in-virginia-by-ariela-gross/
*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Key_Grinstead
