What is the importance of the founding of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) in the book, The Color of Compromise?

The African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) was founded in the late 1700s with the help of Richard Allen. After converting to Methodism while enslaved, Allen began attending Methodist services. Later Allen purchased his freedom and began speaking to Methodist congregations. The AME is an early example of the emergence of the black church. After the Civil War, countless black Christians would begin fleeing white denominations in search of religious freedom. Allen's early intolerance of white discrimination in the white church, led to his establishment of a black-based congregation.