William Henry Jernagin (October 13, 1869 – February 18, 1958) was an African-American Baptist pastor, an important figure in the civil rights movement (1896–1954), and Pan-African activist.

"[6] He served as Tabernacle's pastor for nine years and used his position in the community and personal influence within the National Baptist Convention (NBC) to engage a number of statewide and nationwide problems relating to Jim Crow policies.

Additionally, his influence in the surrounding communities steadily rose as he expanded his social networks to include key individuals, most notably: The Washington Bee publisher William Calvin Chase, activist and newspaper editor William Monroe Trotter, fellow Baptist, Reverend Walter Henderson Brooks, educator and founder of the National Training School for Women and Girls Nannie Helen Burroughs, and clubwoman Mary Church Terrell.

[12] While he missed the first day of the meeting, he was present for the business session and bore witness to the nine-point resolution that was released on March 29, 1919, which read: "The Negroes of the world in [PAC] assembled demand for the interests of justice and humanity and for strengthening the forces of civilization that immediate steps be taken to develop the 200,000,000 of Negroes and Negroids.

The League of Nations establish a permanent bureau, charged with the special duty of overseeing the application of these laws to the political, social and economic welfare of the natives.

"[13] In addition to attending the PAC, Jernagin also used his time in Paris, France, to visit some black troops stationed there.

In an article published in the Kansas City Advocate on May 2, 1919, he reported on the dismal treatment some of the servicemen had received, stating: "The Negro, especially of the labor battalions, had not received a square deal in France, and white officers had carried their race prejudice into France, and had not failed to exhibit it when the occasion presented itself.

"[14] His involvement with the PAC and the subsequent international relationships forged as a result illustrates Jernagin's steadfast dedication to the ending of "colonial rule, racial discrimination and imperialism in Africa and the Caribbean, while also demanding basic human rights and equality of economic opportunity.

Of the organization's formation, Ransom stated: "Impelled by a deep sense of the need of our racial group for an authoritative voice to speak for us on social, economic, industrial and political questions and believing that a united Negro church could best supply this need, a number of interested churchmen met in Washington and bound themselves together in what they designated as a Voluntary Committee on the Federation of Negro Religious Denominations in the United States of America.

"[19] Jernagin's Washington Bureau "served as the de facto voice of the black church on executive and legislative matters in the struggle to secure civil rights.

"[21] A number of prominent figures from a variety of backgrounds published statements regarding Jernagin's life and legacy, most notable among them: Martin Luther King Jr., Mordecai Johnson, E. Pauline Myers, and Andrew Fowler.

As churchmen, we have respect for government and believe that reasonable, intelligent administration can achieve results 'if the spirit is right.'

We would be morally derelict in our Christian duty if we failed to call attention to the unethical basis of an order which permits this kind of distress to continue.

The leaders of our race should collaborate on the best possible means for obtaining the unity and harmony that will result in an outstanding success.

It is his salvation in a chaotic and war-torn world.What the color[ed] man will be in this country depends not on what others may do for him, but what he does for himself, and it is time we were doing something.So long as we have the badge in our faces, and centuries will pass before we lose that, if ever, we shall remind mankind of that lowly state from which we have, through the mercy of God, had opportunity to rise…Race progress must be built upon racial self-respect.

But racial self-respect cannot be built upon anything but racial history.There have been 3 great emancipations—That of the body, that of the mind, such as come from schooling and finally that of the spirit when we know we are free of fear because we know the eternal truth which is God revealed through Jesus Christ…God is not mocked, neither will He keep his anger forever, and as we arrive at the full stature of citizenship and the knowledge of the privilege and duties of the suffrage we shall assume that right and its obligations as is being gradually proven in every section of this land