HOME - THE COLORED CONVENTIONS PROJECTCONVENTIONSEXHIBITSTEACHINGNEWS & EVENTSABOUT CCPDONATE About the Colored Conventions Project. The Colored Conventions Project (CCP) is an interdisciplinary research hub that uses digital tools to bring the buried history of nineteenth-century Black organizing to life. Mirroring the collective nature of the nineteenth-century Colored Conventions, CCP uses inclusive partnerships to locate,

transcribe

CONVENTIONS

The Colored Conventions Project (CCP) is an interdisciplinary research hub that uses digital tools to bring the buried history of nineteenth-century Black organizing to life. Mirroring the collective nature of the nineteenth-century Colored Conventions, CCP uses innovative, inclusive partnerships to locate, transcribe, and archive

the

HOME - WORKING FOR HIGHER EDUCATION: ADVANCING BLACK WOMEN WORKING FOR HIGHER EDUCATION: ADVANCING BLACK WOMEN’S RIGHTS IN THE 1850s. This exhibit accompanies Kabria Baumgartner’s essay, “Gender Politics and the Manual Labor College Initiative at National Colored Conventions in Antebellum America” in the in-progress volume, Colored Conventions in the Nineteenth Century and the Digital

Age. Explore.

VIRTUAL BOOK PARTY AND DISCUSSION On March 22, 2021, #DigBlk hosted a virtual book party to celebrate the release of the Colored Conventions Movement: Black Organizing in the Nineteenth Century.. Join Colored Convention Project co-directors P. Gabrielle Foreman and Jim Casey, along with volume contributors, Carla Peterson and Andre E. Johnson, in a celebration of the book’s release and a discussion of its significance. CHARLES LEWIS REASON Charles Lewis Reason, born to Haitian immigrants in 1818, was raised to understand the importance of education. He set the stage for Black excellence through education while serving on the Committee on Manual Labor School. As a political activist, he played a large role in the Colored Conventions movement as he worked with countless other Black

GEORGE T. DOWNING

At the 1855 Convention, George T. Downing was a major advocate for raising the standard of employment for Black youths. At the National Council leading up to the Convention, he found an alternative for building a vocational school. Assisted by other delegates that decried the financial inability to see the “Industrial School” to

completion

HOME - HENRY HIGHLAND GARNET’S “ADDRESS TO THE SLAVES In Buffalo, New York, Henry Highland Garnet gave his famous “An Address to the Slaves of the United States.”. He called for the slaves of the South to refuse to work, to approach their masters and demand their freedom, and to resist their oppressors with force if necessary. Because it is such an influential “text,” it is easy to

forget

MARY LEARY LANGSTON

Mary Langston was a proud woman who advocated and supported anti-slavery causes with both her husbands. Starting in 1902, Mary raised her daughter Caroline’s son, who grew up to become the famous Harlem Renaissance author, Langston Hughes. She cared for

MARY ANN SHADD

Encouraged by Henry and Mary Bibb—two active attendants at the 1854 Emigration Convention—Shadd later became a teacher. After doing so, she successfully established a school for Black children and, in 1852, published several pro-emigration booklets. One of her most well-known pieces is titled A Plea for Emigration; or Notes of Canada West

MARY ELLEN PLEASANT

Mary Ellen Pleasant‘s beginnings are dubious with many different accounts surrounding her birth.She could possibly have been a former slave from Georgia or the daughter of a Louisiana slave parent and an Asian or Native American parent. HOME - THE COLORED CONVENTIONS PROJECTCONVENTIONSEXHIBITSTEACHINGNEWS & EVENTSABOUT CCPDONATE About the Colored Conventions Project. The Colored Conventions Project (CCP) is an interdisciplinary research hub that uses digital tools to bring the buried history of nineteenth-century Black organizing to life. Mirroring the collective nature of the nineteenth-century Colored Conventions, CCP uses inclusive partnerships to locate,

transcribe

CONVENTIONS

The Colored Conventions Project (CCP) is an interdisciplinary research hub that uses digital tools to bring the buried history of nineteenth-century Black organizing to life. Mirroring the collective nature of the nineteenth-century Colored Conventions, CCP uses innovative, inclusive partnerships to locate, transcribe, and archive

the

HOME - WORKING FOR HIGHER EDUCATION: ADVANCING BLACK WOMEN WORKING FOR HIGHER EDUCATION: ADVANCING BLACK WOMEN’S RIGHTS IN THE 1850s. This exhibit accompanies Kabria Baumgartner’s essay, “Gender Politics and the Manual Labor College Initiative at National Colored Conventions in Antebellum America” in the in-progress volume, Colored Conventions in the Nineteenth Century and the Digital

Age. Explore.

VIRTUAL BOOK PARTY AND DISCUSSION On March 22, 2021, #DigBlk hosted a virtual book party to celebrate the release of the Colored Conventions Movement: Black Organizing in the Nineteenth Century.. Join Colored Convention Project co-directors P. Gabrielle Foreman and Jim Casey, along with volume contributors, Carla Peterson and Andre E. Johnson, in a celebration of the book’s release and a discussion of its significance. CHARLES LEWIS REASON Charles Lewis Reason, born to Haitian immigrants in 1818, was raised to understand the importance of education. He set the stage for Black excellence through education while serving on the Committee on Manual Labor School. As a political activist, he played a large role in the Colored Conventions movement as he worked with countless other Black

GEORGE T. DOWNING

At the 1855 Convention, George T. Downing was a major advocate for raising the standard of employment for Black youths. At the National Council leading up to the Convention, he found an alternative for building a vocational school. Assisted by other delegates that decried the financial inability to see the “Industrial School” to

completion

HOME - HENRY HIGHLAND GARNET’S “ADDRESS TO THE SLAVES In Buffalo, New York, Henry Highland Garnet gave his famous “An Address to the Slaves of the United States.”. He called for the slaves of the South to refuse to work, to approach their masters and demand their freedom, and to resist their oppressors with force if necessary. Because it is such an influential “text,” it is easy to

forget

MARY LEARY LANGSTON

Mary Langston was a proud woman who advocated and supported anti-slavery causes with both her husbands. Starting in 1902, Mary raised her daughter Caroline’s son, who grew up to become the famous Harlem Renaissance author, Langston Hughes. She cared for

MARY ANN SHADD

Encouraged by Henry and Mary Bibb—two active attendants at the 1854 Emigration Convention—Shadd later became a teacher. After doing so, she successfully established a school for Black children and, in 1852, published several pro-emigration booklets. One of her most well-known pieces is titled A Plea for Emigration; or Notes of Canada West

MARY ELLEN PLEASANT

Mary Ellen Pleasant‘s beginnings are dubious with many different accounts surrounding her birth.She could possibly have been a former slave from Georgia or the daughter of a Louisiana slave parent and an Asian or Native American parent.

INTRODUCTION

At the 1853 National Colored Convention in Rochester, New York, a plan was introduced for a manual labor school that served African American men and women. African American leaders pivoted from ignoring African American women’s access to higher education to advocating for greater acceptance of women’s activism and co-educational models. HOME - NEW YORK AFRICAN FREE SCHOOLS AND THEIR CONVENTION New York African Free Schools and Their Convention Legacies. This exhibit seeks to expand our understanding of the education debates in the Colored Conventions by exploring the legacy of the New York African Free Schools. The questions that animated many Colored Conventions—how to prepare for and inhabit citizenship, how to best

dissipate

TEAM - THE COLORED CONVENTIONS PROJECT Founded in 2012, the award-winning Colored Conventions Project (CCP) core team is comprised of a diverse group of dedicated and energetic scholars, graduate student leaders, librarians, and undergraduate researchers. In 2020, CCP became one of three flagship projects of the Center for Black Digital Research, #DigBlk, at Penn State University.

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION. A word cloud created using the text of Erica Ball’s forthcoming article, “Performing Politics, Creating Community: Antebellum Black Conventions as Political Rituals.”. This exhibit examines convention rituals across decades, both before and after the Civil War, in order to establish how aspects changed over time and how THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA This is a depiction of Mother Bethel AME church from 1829. The first Colored Convention was held in Philadelphia at this church, which served as a spiritual and cultural center for a robust free African

American community.

INTRODUCTION

This exhibit addresses an issue with the modern-day memory of Henry Highland Garnet’s “An Address to the Slaves of the United States.” It reminds readers not only that Garnet’s original address was an oration—and originally voted down—but that there are several subsequent editions of the printed text—each of which can be examined for its individual qualities.

MARY ANN SHADD

Encouraged by Henry and Mary Bibb—two active attendants at the 1854 Emigration Convention—Shadd later became a teacher. After doing so, she successfully established a school for Black children and, in 1852, published several pro-emigration booklets. One of her most well-known pieces is titled A Plea for Emigration; or Notes of Canada West

SARAH ROBERTS

Sarah Roberts was born free to Benjamin and Adeline Roberts in Boston, Massachusetts in 1843. 1 Her father, Benjamin Roberts, was a prominent African American printer in Boston during the mid-nineteenth century. Benjamin Roberts’ publishing work indicates the Roberts family’s participation 2 in the larger African American community of Boston, 3 suggesting Sarah probably had an interest and WOODSTOCK MANUAL LABOR INSTITUTE The Woodstock Manual Labor Institute was established in 1844 in Woodstock, Lenawee County, Michigan, by Prior (sometimes spelled Prier) Foster. The Institute received its official charter in 1848, when it gained greater notoriety and remained active through the mid-1850s. According to Foster, the Woodstock Manual Labor Institute was the first school of its kind to receive an official MARY SAMPSON PATTERSON LEARY LANGSTON, GRANDMOTHER OF For exhibits, teaching materials, and info about the Colored Conventions Project, please visit http://coloredconventions.org.http://coloredconventions.org. HOME - THE COLORED CONVENTIONS PROJECTCONVENTIONSEXHIBITSTEACHINGNEWS & EVENTSABOUT CCPDONATE About the Colored Conventions Project. The Colored Conventions Project (CCP) is an interdisciplinary research hub that uses digital tools to bring the buried history of nineteenth-century Black organizing to life. Mirroring the collective nature of the nineteenth-century Colored Conventions, CCP uses inclusive partnerships to locate,

transcribe

CONVENTIONS

The Colored Conventions Project (CCP) is an interdisciplinary research hub that uses digital tools to bring the buried history of nineteenth-century Black organizing to life. Mirroring the collective nature of the nineteenth-century Colored Conventions, CCP uses innovative, inclusive partnerships to locate, transcribe, and archive

the

HOME - WORKING FOR HIGHER EDUCATION: ADVANCING BLACK WOMEN WORKING FOR HIGHER EDUCATION: ADVANCING BLACK WOMEN’S RIGHTS IN THE 1850s. This exhibit accompanies Kabria Baumgartner’s essay, “Gender Politics and the Manual Labor College Initiative at National Colored Conventions in Antebellum America” in the in-progress volume, Colored Conventions in the Nineteenth Century and the Digital

Age. Explore.

VIRTUAL BOOK PARTY AND DISCUSSION On March 22, 2021, #DigBlk hosted a virtual book party to celebrate the release of the Colored Conventions Movement: Black Organizing in the Nineteenth Century.. Join Colored Convention Project co-directors P. Gabrielle Foreman and Jim Casey, along with volume contributors, Carla Peterson and Andre E. Johnson, in a celebration of the book’s release and a discussion of its significance. CHARLES LEWIS REASON Charles Lewis Reason, born to Haitian immigrants in 1818, was raised to understand the importance of education. He set the stage for Black excellence through education while serving on the Committee on Manual Labor School. As a political activist, he played a large role in the Colored Conventions movement as he worked with countless other Black

GEORGE T. DOWNING

At the 1855 Convention, George T. Downing was a major advocate for raising the standard of employment for Black youths. At the National Council leading up to the Convention, he found an alternative for building a vocational school. Assisted by other delegates that decried the financial inability to see the “Industrial School” to

completion

HOME - HENRY HIGHLAND GARNET’S “ADDRESS TO THE SLAVES In Buffalo, New York, Henry Highland Garnet gave his famous “An Address to the Slaves of the United States.”. He called for the slaves of the South to refuse to work, to approach their masters and demand their freedom, and to resist their oppressors with force if necessary. Because it is such an influential “text,” it is easy to

forget

MARY LEARY LANGSTON

Mary Langston was a proud woman who advocated and supported anti-slavery causes with both her husbands. Starting in 1902, Mary raised her daughter Caroline’s son, who grew up to become the famous Harlem Renaissance author, Langston Hughes. She cared for

MARY ANN SHADD

Encouraged by Henry and Mary Bibb—two active attendants at the 1854 Emigration Convention—Shadd later became a teacher. After doing so, she successfully established a school for Black children and, in 1852, published several pro-emigration booklets. One of her most well-known pieces is titled A Plea for Emigration; or Notes of Canada West

MARY ELLEN PLEASANT

Mary Ellen Pleasant‘s beginnings are dubious with many different accounts surrounding her birth.She could possibly have been a former slave from Georgia or the daughter of a Louisiana slave parent and an Asian or Native American parent. HOME - THE COLORED CONVENTIONS PROJECTCONVENTIONSEXHIBITSTEACHINGNEWS & EVENTSABOUT CCPDONATE About the Colored Conventions Project. The Colored Conventions Project (CCP) is an interdisciplinary research hub that uses digital tools to bring the buried history of nineteenth-century Black organizing to life. Mirroring the collective nature of the nineteenth-century Colored Conventions, CCP uses inclusive partnerships to locate,

transcribe

CONVENTIONS

The Colored Conventions Project (CCP) is an interdisciplinary research hub that uses digital tools to bring the buried history of nineteenth-century Black organizing to life. Mirroring the collective nature of the nineteenth-century Colored Conventions, CCP uses innovative, inclusive partnerships to locate, transcribe, and archive

the

HOME - WORKING FOR HIGHER EDUCATION: ADVANCING BLACK WOMEN WORKING FOR HIGHER EDUCATION: ADVANCING BLACK WOMEN’S RIGHTS IN THE 1850s. This exhibit accompanies Kabria Baumgartner’s essay, “Gender Politics and the Manual Labor College Initiative at National Colored Conventions in Antebellum America” in the in-progress volume, Colored Conventions in the Nineteenth Century and the Digital

Age. Explore.

VIRTUAL BOOK PARTY AND DISCUSSION On March 22, 2021, #DigBlk hosted a virtual book party to celebrate the release of the Colored Conventions Movement: Black Organizing in the Nineteenth Century.. Join Colored Convention Project co-directors P. Gabrielle Foreman and Jim Casey, along with volume contributors, Carla Peterson and Andre E. Johnson, in a celebration of the book’s release and a discussion of its significance. CHARLES LEWIS REASON Charles Lewis Reason, born to Haitian immigrants in 1818, was raised to understand the importance of education. He set the stage for Black excellence through education while serving on the Committee on Manual Labor School. As a political activist, he played a large role in the Colored Conventions movement as he worked with countless other Black

GEORGE T. DOWNING

At the 1855 Convention, George T. Downing was a major advocate for raising the standard of employment for Black youths. At the National Council leading up to the Convention, he found an alternative for building a vocational school. Assisted by other delegates that decried the financial inability to see the “Industrial School” to

completion

HOME - HENRY HIGHLAND GARNET’S “ADDRESS TO THE SLAVES In Buffalo, New York, Henry Highland Garnet gave his famous “An Address to the Slaves of the United States.”. He called for the slaves of the South to refuse to work, to approach their masters and demand their freedom, and to resist their oppressors with force if necessary. Because it is such an influential “text,” it is easy to

forget

MARY LEARY LANGSTON

Mary Langston was a proud woman who advocated and supported anti-slavery causes with both her husbands. Starting in 1902, Mary raised her daughter Caroline’s son, who grew up to become the famous Harlem Renaissance author, Langston Hughes. She cared for

MARY ANN SHADD

Encouraged by Henry and Mary Bibb—two active attendants at the 1854 Emigration Convention—Shadd later became a teacher. After doing so, she successfully established a school for Black children and, in 1852, published several pro-emigration booklets. One of her most well-known pieces is titled A Plea for Emigration; or Notes of Canada West

MARY ELLEN PLEASANT

Mary Ellen Pleasant‘s beginnings are dubious with many different accounts surrounding her birth.She could possibly have been a former slave from Georgia or the daughter of a Louisiana slave parent and an Asian or Native American parent.

INTRODUCTION

At the 1853 National Colored Convention in Rochester, New York, a plan was introduced for a manual labor school that served African American men and women. African American leaders pivoted from ignoring African American women’s access to higher education to advocating for greater acceptance of women’s activism and co-educational models. HOME - NEW YORK AFRICAN FREE SCHOOLS AND THEIR CONVENTION New York African Free Schools and Their Convention Legacies. This exhibit seeks to expand our understanding of the education debates in the Colored Conventions by exploring the legacy of the New York African Free Schools. The questions that animated many Colored Conventions—how to prepare for and inhabit citizenship, how to best

dissipate

TEAM - THE COLORED CONVENTIONS PROJECT Founded in 2012, the award-winning Colored Conventions Project (CCP) core team is comprised of a diverse group of dedicated and energetic scholars, graduate student leaders, librarians, and undergraduate researchers. In 2020, CCP became one of three flagship projects of the Center for Black Digital Research, #DigBlk, at Penn State University.

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION. A word cloud created using the text of Erica Ball’s forthcoming article, “Performing Politics, Creating Community: Antebellum Black Conventions as Political Rituals.”. This exhibit examines convention rituals across decades, both before and after the Civil War, in order to establish how aspects changed over time and how THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA This is a depiction of Mother Bethel AME church from 1829. The first Colored Convention was held in Philadelphia at this church, which served as a spiritual and cultural center for a robust free African

American community.

INTRODUCTION

This exhibit addresses an issue with the modern-day memory of Henry Highland Garnet’s “An Address to the Slaves of the United States.” It reminds readers not only that Garnet’s original address was an oration—and originally voted down—but that there are several subsequent editions of the printed text—each of which can be examined for its individual qualities.

MARY ANN SHADD

Encouraged by Henry and Mary Bibb—two active attendants at the 1854 Emigration Convention—Shadd later became a teacher. After doing so, she successfully established a school for Black children and, in 1852, published several pro-emigration booklets. One of her most well-known pieces is titled A Plea for Emigration; or Notes of Canada West

SARAH ROBERTS

Sarah Roberts was born free to Benjamin and Adeline Roberts in Boston, Massachusetts in 1843. 1 Her father, Benjamin Roberts, was a prominent African American printer in Boston during the mid-nineteenth century. Benjamin Roberts’ publishing work indicates the Roberts family’s participation 2 in the larger African American community of Boston, 3 suggesting Sarah probably had an interest and WOODSTOCK MANUAL LABOR INSTITUTE The Woodstock Manual Labor Institute was established in 1844 in Woodstock, Lenawee County, Michigan, by Prior (sometimes spelled Prier) Foster. The Institute received its official charter in 1848, when it gained greater notoriety and remained active through the mid-1850s. According to Foster, the Woodstock Manual Labor Institute was the first school of its kind to receive an official MARY SAMPSON PATTERSON LEARY LANGSTON, GRANDMOTHER OF For exhibits, teaching materials, and info about the Colored Conventions Project, please visit http://coloredconventions.org.http://coloredconventions.org. HOME - THE COLORED CONVENTIONS PROJECTCONVENTIONSEXHIBITSTEACHINGNEWS & EVENTSABOUT CCPDONATE The Colored Conventions and the Carceral States. This exhibit explores the Colored Conventions movement’s protest against the justice systems of the states of California and Georgia, both of which egregiously targeted African Americans to carry out forms of ethnic cleansing and labor exploitation. VIRTUAL BOOK PARTY AND DISCUSSION On March 22, 2021, #DigBlk hosted a virtual book party to celebrate the release of the Colored Conventions Movement: Black Organizing in the Nineteenth Century.. Join Colored Convention Project co-directors P. Gabrielle Foreman and Jim Casey, along with volume contributors, Carla Peterson and Andre E. Johnson, in a celebration of the book’s release and a discussion of its significance.

INTRODUCTION

This exhibit examines convention rituals across decades, both before and after the Civil War, in order to establish how aspects changed over time and how political rituals became an established tradition. HOME - HENRY HIGHLAND GARNET’S “ADDRESS TO THE SLAVES In Buffalo, New York, Henry Highland Garnet gave his famous “An Address to the Slaves of the United States.” He called for the slaves of the South to refuse to work, to approach their masters and demand their freedom, and to resist their oppressors with force if

necessary.

THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA This is a depiction of Mother Bethel AME church from 1829. The first Colored Convention was held in Philadelphia at this church, which served as a spiritual and cultural center for a robust free African

American community.

GEORGE T. DOWNING

Born to a wealthy family in New York City, George T. Downing (1819-1903) established himself as a civil rights leader and entrepreneur. His father, Thomas Downing, built his fortune as an

oyster caterer.

MARY LEARY LANGSTON

Mary Sampson Patterson Leary Langston, born Mary Sampson Patterson in North Carolina in 1835, attended Oberlin College where she became

immersed in

SARAH ROBERTS

Sarah Roberts was born free to Benjamin and Adeline Roberts in Boston, Massachusetts in 1843. 1 Her father, Benjamin Roberts, was a prominent African American printer in Boston during the mid-nineteenth century. Benjamin Roberts’ publishing work indicates the Roberts family’s participation 2 in the larger African American community of Boston, 3 suggesting Sarah probably had an interest and

MARY ANN SHADD

In 1823, Mary Ann Shadd was born in Delaware to a free couple. Shadd is recognized today as the first Black female editor in the United States and, after emigrating as an adult, one of the first female journalists in Canada.

MARY ELLEN PLEASANT

Mary Ellen Pleasant‘s beginnings are dubious with many different accounts surrounding her birth.She could possibly have been a former slave from Georgia or the daughter of a Louisiana slave parent and an Asian or Native American parent. HOME - THE COLORED CONVENTIONS PROJECTCONVENTIONSEXHIBITSTEACHINGNEWS & EVENTSABOUT CCPDONATE The Colored Conventions and the Carceral States. This exhibit explores the Colored Conventions movement’s protest against the justice systems of the states of California and Georgia, both of which egregiously targeted African Americans to carry out forms of ethnic cleansing and labor exploitation. VIRTUAL BOOK PARTY AND DISCUSSION On March 22, 2021, #DigBlk hosted a virtual book party to celebrate the release of the Colored Conventions Movement: Black Organizing in the Nineteenth Century.. Join Colored Convention Project co-directors P. Gabrielle Foreman and Jim Casey, along with volume contributors, Carla Peterson and Andre E. Johnson, in a celebration of the book’s release and a discussion of its significance.

INTRODUCTION

This exhibit examines convention rituals across decades, both before and after the Civil War, in order to establish how aspects changed over time and how political rituals became an established tradition. HOME - HENRY HIGHLAND GARNET’S “ADDRESS TO THE SLAVES In Buffalo, New York, Henry Highland Garnet gave his famous “An Address to the Slaves of the United States.” He called for the slaves of the South to refuse to work, to approach their masters and demand their freedom, and to resist their oppressors with force if

necessary.

THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA This is a depiction of Mother Bethel AME church from 1829. The first Colored Convention was held in Philadelphia at this church, which served as a spiritual and cultural center for a robust free African

American community.

GEORGE T. DOWNING

Born to a wealthy family in New York City, George T. Downing (1819-1903) established himself as a civil rights leader and entrepreneur. His father, Thomas Downing, built his fortune as an

oyster caterer.

MARY LEARY LANGSTON

Mary Sampson Patterson Leary Langston, born Mary Sampson Patterson in North Carolina in 1835, attended Oberlin College where she became

immersed in

SARAH ROBERTS

Sarah Roberts was born free to Benjamin and Adeline Roberts in Boston, Massachusetts in 1843. 1 Her father, Benjamin Roberts, was a prominent African American printer in Boston during the mid-nineteenth century. Benjamin Roberts’ publishing work indicates the Roberts family’s participation 2 in the larger African American community of Boston, 3 suggesting Sarah probably had an interest and

MARY ANN SHADD

In 1823, Mary Ann Shadd was born in Delaware to a free couple. Shadd is recognized today as the first Black female editor in the United States and, after emigrating as an adult, one of the first female journalists in Canada.

MARY ELLEN PLEASANT

Mary Ellen Pleasant‘s beginnings are dubious with many different accounts surrounding her birth.She could possibly have been a former slave from Georgia or the daughter of a Louisiana slave parent and an Asian or Native American parent.

CONVENTIONS

The Colored Conventions Project. The Colored Conventions Project (CCP) is an interdisciplinary research hub that uses digital tools to bring the buried history of nineteenth-century Black organizing to life. VIRTUAL BOOK PARTY AND DISCUSSION On March 22, 2021, #DigBlk hosted a virtual book party to celebrate the release of the Colored Conventions Movement: Black Organizing in the Nineteenth Century.. Join Colored Convention Project co-directors P. Gabrielle Foreman and Jim Casey, along with volume contributors, Carla Peterson and Andre E. Johnson, in a celebration of the book’s release and a discussion of its significance. HOME - THE FIGHT FOR BLACK MOBILITY: TRAVELING TO MID Credits. Curators: Jessica Conrad and Samantha deVera, Graduate Students, Department of English, University of Delaware. Edited by Sarah L. Patterson and P. Gabrielle Foreman.. Undergraduate Researchers: Nathan Nikolic, Gwen Meredith, and Caleb Trotter. Graduate Student Researchers: Special thanks to the ENGL/HIST 641,“Black Activism and Print Culture in the 19th Century and the

Digital Age

HOME - WORKING FOR HIGHER EDUCATION: ADVANCING BLACK WOMEN Credits. Curators: Sharla Fett, History Department, Occidental College and David Kim, English Department, University of Delaware, in consultation with Kabria Baumgartner, Department of History, College of Wooster. Further Acknowledgements: The CCP Exhibits team for creating visualizations, editing, and revising this exhibit: Simone Austin, Samantha de Vera, Kelli Coles, Gwendolyn Meredith, and THE CONVENTION EVENT The first national Colored Convention was held in Philadelphia from September 20th through the 24th, 1830, at Richard Allen’s Mother

Bethel AME church.

INTRODUCTION

This exhibit addresses an issue with the modern-day memory of Henry Highland Garnet’s “An Address to the Slaves of the United States.” It reminds readers not only that Garnet’s original address was an oration—and originally voted down—but that there are several subsequent editions of the printed text—each of which can be examined for its individual qualities.

JAMES MCCUNE SMITH

James McCune Smith married Malvina Barnet (1825-1891) sometime in the 1840s. She was the daughter of an esteemed Black family in New York. 7 Barnet and Smith had seven children, three of which died before 1854. Both Barnet and Smith were considered light skinned mulattos, and after Smith died, his children decided to “pass” as white. CHARLES LEWIS REASON Charles Lewis Reason, born to Haitian immigrants in 1818, was raised to understand the importance of education. He set the stage for Black excellence through education while serving on the Committee on Manual

Labor School.

BISHOP TURNER AND THE AME CHURCH Bishop Turner is one of the Four Horsemen of the AME church. The Four Horsemen—Bishop Allen, Bishop Quinn, Bishop Payne, and Bishop Turner— are men whose exceptional work advanced, developed, and strengthened the church. THE SLAVE MOTHER, A TALE OF THE OHIO · COLORED CONVENTIONS For exhibits, teaching materials, and info about the Colored Conventions Project, please visit http://coloredconventions.org.http://coloredconventions.org. HOME - THE COLORED CONVENTIONS PROJECTCONVENTIONSEXHIBITSTEACHINGNEWS & EVENTSABOUT CCPDONATE About the Colored Conventions Project. The Colored Conventions Project (CCP) is an interdisciplinary research hub that uses digital tools to bring the buried history of nineteenth-century Black organizing to life. Mirroring the collective nature of the nineteenth-century Colored Conventions, CCP uses inclusive partnerships to locate,

transcribe

VIRTUAL BOOK PARTY AND DISCUSSION On March 22, 2021, #DigBlk hosted a virtual book party to celebrate the release of the Colored Conventions Movement: Black Organizing in the Nineteenth Century.. Join Colored Convention Project co-directors P. Gabrielle Foreman and Jim Casey, along with volume contributors, Carla Peterson and Andre E. Johnson, in a celebration of the book’s release and a discussion of its significance.

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION. A word cloud created using the text of Erica Ball’s forthcoming article, “Performing Politics, Creating Community: Antebellum Black Conventions as Political Rituals.”. This exhibit examines convention rituals across decades, both before and after the Civil War, in order to establish how aspects changed over time and how HOME - HENRY HIGHLAND GARNET’S “ADDRESS TO THE SLAVES In Buffalo, New York, Henry Highland Garnet gave his famous “An Address to the Slaves of the United States.”. He called for the slaves of the South to refuse to work, to approach their masters and demand their freedom, and to resist their oppressors with force if necessary. Because it is such an influential “text,” it is easy to

forget

GEORGE T. DOWNING

At the 1855 Convention, George T. Downing was a major advocate for raising the standard of employment for Black youths. At the National Council leading up to the Convention, he found an alternative for building a vocational school. Assisted by other delegates that decried the financial inability to see the “Industrial School” to

completion

THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA This is a depiction of Mother Bethel AME church from 1829. The first Colored Convention was held in Philadelphia at this church, which served as a spiritual and cultural center for a robust free African

American community.

MARY ANN SHADD

Encouraged by Henry and Mary Bibb—two active attendants at the 1854 Emigration Convention—Shadd later became a teacher. After doing so, she successfully established a school for Black children and, in 1852, published several pro-emigration booklets. One of her most well-known pieces is titled A Plea for Emigration; or Notes of Canada West

MARY LEARY LANGSTON

Mary Langston was a proud woman who advocated and supported anti-slavery causes with both her husbands. Starting in 1902, Mary raised her daughter Caroline’s son, who grew up to become the famous Harlem Renaissance author, Langston Hughes. She cared for

SARAH ROBERTS

Sarah Roberts was born free to Benjamin and Adeline Roberts in Boston, Massachusetts in 1843. 1 Her father, Benjamin Roberts, was a prominent African American printer in Boston during the mid-nineteenth century. Benjamin Roberts’ publishing work indicates the Roberts family’s participation 2 in the larger African American community of Boston, 3 suggesting Sarah probably had an interest and

MARY ELLEN PLEASANT

Mary Ellen Pleasant‘s beginnings are dubious with many different accounts surrounding her birth.She could possibly have been a former slave from Georgia or the daughter of a Louisiana slave parent and an Asian or Native American parent. HOME - THE COLORED CONVENTIONS PROJECTCONVENTIONSEXHIBITSTEACHINGNEWS & EVENTSABOUT CCPDONATE About the Colored Conventions Project. The Colored Conventions Project (CCP) is an interdisciplinary research hub that uses digital tools to bring the buried history of nineteenth-century Black organizing to life. Mirroring the collective nature of the nineteenth-century Colored Conventions, CCP uses inclusive partnerships to locate,

transcribe

VIRTUAL BOOK PARTY AND DISCUSSION On March 22, 2021, #DigBlk hosted a virtual book party to celebrate the release of the Colored Conventions Movement: Black Organizing in the Nineteenth Century.. Join Colored Convention Project co-directors P. Gabrielle Foreman and Jim Casey, along with volume contributors, Carla Peterson and Andre E. Johnson, in a celebration of the book’s release and a discussion of its significance.

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION. A word cloud created using the text of Erica Ball’s forthcoming article, “Performing Politics, Creating Community: Antebellum Black Conventions as Political Rituals.”. This exhibit examines convention rituals across decades, both before and after the Civil War, in order to establish how aspects changed over time and how HOME - HENRY HIGHLAND GARNET’S “ADDRESS TO THE SLAVES In Buffalo, New York, Henry Highland Garnet gave his famous “An Address to the Slaves of the United States.”. He called for the slaves of the South to refuse to work, to approach their masters and demand their freedom, and to resist their oppressors with force if necessary. Because it is such an influential “text,” it is easy to

forget

GEORGE T. DOWNING

At the 1855 Convention, George T. Downing was a major advocate for raising the standard of employment for Black youths. At the National Council leading up to the Convention, he found an alternative for building a vocational school. Assisted by other delegates that decried the financial inability to see the “Industrial School” to

completion

THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA This is a depiction of Mother Bethel AME church from 1829. The first Colored Convention was held in Philadelphia at this church, which served as a spiritual and cultural center for a robust free African

American community.

MARY ANN SHADD

Encouraged by Henry and Mary Bibb—two active attendants at the 1854 Emigration Convention—Shadd later became a teacher. After doing so, she successfully established a school for Black children and, in 1852, published several pro-emigration booklets. One of her most well-known pieces is titled A Plea for Emigration; or Notes of Canada West

MARY LEARY LANGSTON

Mary Langston was a proud woman who advocated and supported anti-slavery causes with both her husbands. Starting in 1902, Mary raised her daughter Caroline’s son, who grew up to become the famous Harlem Renaissance author, Langston Hughes. She cared for

SARAH ROBERTS

Sarah Roberts was born free to Benjamin and Adeline Roberts in Boston, Massachusetts in 1843. 1 Her father, Benjamin Roberts, was a prominent African American printer in Boston during the mid-nineteenth century. Benjamin Roberts’ publishing work indicates the Roberts family’s participation 2 in the larger African American community of Boston, 3 suggesting Sarah probably had an interest and

MARY ELLEN PLEASANT

Mary Ellen Pleasant‘s beginnings are dubious with many different accounts surrounding her birth.She could possibly have been a former slave from Georgia or the daughter of a Louisiana slave parent and an Asian or Native American parent.

CONVENTIONS

The Colored Conventions Project (CCP) is an interdisciplinary research hub that uses digital tools to bring the buried history of nineteenth-century Black organizing to life. Mirroring the collective nature of the nineteenth-century Colored Conventions, CCP uses innovative, inclusive partnerships to locate, transcribe, and archive

the

VIRTUAL BOOK PARTY AND DISCUSSION On March 22, 2021, #DigBlk hosted a virtual book party to celebrate the release of the Colored Conventions Movement: Black Organizing in the Nineteenth Century.. Join Colored Convention Project co-directors P. Gabrielle Foreman and Jim Casey, along with volume contributors, Carla Peterson and Andre E. Johnson, in a celebration of the book’s release and a discussion of its significance. HOME - WORKING FOR HIGHER EDUCATION: ADVANCING BLACK WOMEN WORKING FOR HIGHER EDUCATION: ADVANCING BLACK WOMEN’S RIGHTS IN THE 1850s. This exhibit accompanies Kabria Baumgartner’s essay, “Gender Politics and the Manual Labor College Initiative at National Colored Conventions in Antebellum America” in the in-progress volume, Colored Conventions in the Nineteenth Century and the Digital

Age. Explore.

HOME - THE FIGHT FOR BLACK MOBILITY: TRAVELING TO MID THE FIGHT FOR BLACK MOBILITY: TRAVELING TO MID-CENTURY CONVENTIONS. With a focus on news, migration and the popular lecture circuit during the 1850s, this exhibit investigates the ways men and women delegates and collaborating activists in their social networks claimed Philadelphia as site for an inter-state and international movement THE CONVENTION EVENT The Convention Event. The first national Colored Convention was held in Philadelphia from September 20th through the 24th, 1830, at Richard Allen’s Mother Bethel AME church. Before the official meeting, delegates met in secret during the 15th through the 20th to discuss whether to hold open sessions, which they eventually voted to do,

despite

INTRODUCTION

This exhibit addresses an issue with the modern-day memory of Henry Highland Garnet’s “An Address to the Slaves of the United States.” It reminds readers not only that Garnet’s original address was an oration—and originally voted down—but that there are several subsequent editions of the printed text—each of which can be examined for its individual qualities.

JAMES MCCUNE SMITH

James McCune Smith married Malvina Barnet (1825-1891) sometime in the 1840s. She was the daughter of an esteemed Black family in New York. 7 Barnet and Smith had seven children, three of which died before 1854. Both Barnet and Smith were considered light skinned mulattos, and after Smith died, his children decided to “pass” as white. CHARLES LEWIS REASON Charles Lewis Reason, born to Haitian immigrants in 1818, was raised to understand the importance of education. He set the stage for Black excellence through education while serving on the Committee on Manual Labor School. As a political activist, he played a large role in the Colored Conventions movement as he worked with countless other Black BISHOP TURNER AND THE AME CHURCH Bishop Turner is one of the Four Horsemen of the AME church. The Four Horsemen—Bishop Allen, Bishop Quinn, Bishop Payne, and Bishop Turner— are men whose exceptional work advanced, developed, and strengthened the church. THE SLAVE MOTHER, A TALE OF THE OHIO · COLORED CONVENTIONS Might crouch the wan and weary slave. But Ohio had no sacred fane, To human rights so consecrate, Where thou may'st shield thy hapless ones. From their darkly gathering fate. Then, said the mournful mother, If Ohio cannot save, I will do a deed for freedom. She shall find each

child a grave.

HOME - THE COLORED CONVENTIONS PROJECTCONVENTIONSEXHIBITSTEACHINGNEWS & EVENTSABOUT CCPDONATE About the Colored Conventions Project. The Colored Conventions Project (CCP) is an interdisciplinary research hub that uses digital tools to bring the buried history of nineteenth-century Black organizing to life. Mirroring the collective nature of the nineteenth-century Colored Conventions, CCP uses inclusive partnerships to locate,

transcribe

CONVENTIONS

The Colored Conventions Project (CCP) is an interdisciplinary research hub that uses digital tools to bring the buried history of nineteenth-century Black organizing to life. Mirroring the collective nature of the nineteenth-century Colored Conventions, CCP uses innovative, inclusive partnerships to locate, transcribe, and archive

the

HOME - WORKING FOR HIGHER EDUCATION: ADVANCING BLACK WOMEN WORKING FOR HIGHER EDUCATION: ADVANCING BLACK WOMEN’S RIGHTS IN THE 1850s. This exhibit accompanies Kabria Baumgartner’s essay, “Gender Politics and the Manual Labor College Initiative at National Colored Conventions in Antebellum America” in the in-progress volume, Colored Conventions in the Nineteenth Century and the Digital

Age. Explore.

GEORGE T. DOWNING

At the 1855 Convention, George T. Downing was a major advocate for raising the standard of employment for Black youths. At the National Council leading up to the Convention, he found an alternative for building a vocational school. Assisted by other delegates that decried the financial inability to see the “Industrial School” to

completion

THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA This is a depiction of Mother Bethel AME church from 1829. The first Colored Convention was held in Philadelphia at this church, which served as a spiritual and cultural center for a robust free African

American community.

MARY LEARY LANGSTON

Mary Langston was a proud woman who advocated and supported anti-slavery causes with both her husbands. Starting in 1902, Mary raised her daughter Caroline’s son, who grew up to become the famous Harlem Renaissance author, Langston Hughes. She cared for CHARLES LEWIS REASON Charles Lewis Reason, born to Haitian immigrants in 1818, was raised to understand the importance of education. He set the stage for Black excellence through education while serving on the Committee on Manual Labor School. As a political activist, he played a large role in the Colored Conventions movement as he worked with countless other Black

MARY ELLEN PLEASANT

Mary Ellen Pleasant‘s beginnings are dubious with many different accounts surrounding her birth.She could possibly have been a former slave from Georgia or the daughter of a Louisiana slave parent and an Asian or Native American parent. THE SLAVE MOTHER, A TALE OF THE OHIO · COLORED CONVENTIONS Might crouch the wan and weary slave. But Ohio had no sacred fane, To human rights so consecrate, Where thou may'st shield thy hapless ones. From their darkly gathering fate. Then, said the mournful mother, If Ohio cannot save, I will do a deed for freedom. She shall find each

child a grave.

SPEECH BY SARA STALEY ON BEHALF OF THE DELAWARE LADIES This excerpt from a speech penned by Sara Staley on behalf of the Delaware Ladies AntiSlavery Society, was read by Wm. Harris at the 1856 Ohio State Convention, and recorded in the minutes. HOME - THE COLORED CONVENTIONS PROJECTCONVENTIONSEXHIBITSTEACHINGNEWS & EVENTSABOUT CCPDONATE About the Colored Conventions Project. The Colored Conventions Project (CCP) is an interdisciplinary research hub that uses digital tools to bring the buried history of nineteenth-century Black organizing to life. Mirroring the collective nature of the nineteenth-century Colored Conventions, CCP uses inclusive partnerships to locate,

transcribe

CONVENTIONS

The Colored Conventions Project (CCP) is an interdisciplinary research hub that uses digital tools to bring the buried history of nineteenth-century Black organizing to life. Mirroring the collective nature of the nineteenth-century Colored Conventions, CCP uses innovative, inclusive partnerships to locate, transcribe, and archive

the

HOME - WORKING FOR HIGHER EDUCATION: ADVANCING BLACK WOMEN WORKING FOR HIGHER EDUCATION: ADVANCING BLACK WOMEN’S RIGHTS IN THE 1850s. This exhibit accompanies Kabria Baumgartner’s essay, “Gender Politics and the Manual Labor College Initiative at National Colored Conventions in Antebellum America” in the in-progress volume, Colored Conventions in the Nineteenth Century and the Digital

Age. Explore.

GEORGE T. DOWNING

At the 1855 Convention, George T. Downing was a major advocate for raising the standard of employment for Black youths. At the National Council leading up to the Convention, he found an alternative for building a vocational school. Assisted by other delegates that decried the financial inability to see the “Industrial School” to

completion

THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA This is a depiction of Mother Bethel AME church from 1829. The first Colored Convention was held in Philadelphia at this church, which served as a spiritual and cultural center for a robust free African

American community.

MARY LEARY LANGSTON

Mary Langston was a proud woman who advocated and supported anti-slavery causes with both her husbands. Starting in 1902, Mary raised her daughter Caroline’s son, who grew up to become the famous Harlem Renaissance author, Langston Hughes. She cared for CHARLES LEWIS REASON Charles Lewis Reason, born to Haitian immigrants in 1818, was raised to understand the importance of education. He set the stage for Black excellence through education while serving on the Committee on Manual Labor School. As a political activist, he played a large role in the Colored Conventions movement as he worked with countless other Black

MARY ELLEN PLEASANT

Mary Ellen Pleasant‘s beginnings are dubious with many different accounts surrounding her birth.She could possibly have been a former slave from Georgia or the daughter of a Louisiana slave parent and an Asian or Native American parent. THE SLAVE MOTHER, A TALE OF THE OHIO · COLORED CONVENTIONS Might crouch the wan and weary slave. But Ohio had no sacred fane, To human rights so consecrate, Where thou may'st shield thy hapless ones. From their darkly gathering fate. Then, said the mournful mother, If Ohio cannot save, I will do a deed for freedom. She shall find each

child a grave.

SPEECH BY SARA STALEY ON BEHALF OF THE DELAWARE LADIES This excerpt from a speech penned by Sara Staley on behalf of the Delaware Ladies AntiSlavery Society, was read by Wm. Harris at the 1856 Ohio State Convention, and recorded in the minutes. HOME - THE MEETING THAT LAUNCHED A MOVEMENT: THE FIRST THE MEETING THAT LAUNCHED A MOVEMENT: THE FIRST NATIONAL CONVENTION. The gathering of African American leaders from various regions of the antebellum north, held at Philadelphia’s Mother Bethel AME church in 1830, is universally considered to be the inaugural national Colored Convention. For several reasons, the 1830 convention eludes simple EXHIBITS - THE COLORED CONVENTIONS PROJECT Exhibits. The Colored Conventions movement brought together Black men and women from across the United States and Canada from 1830 through the 1890s. Together, participants mobilized and organized over the course of seven decades that included devastating anti-Black race riots, the growing popularity of the American Colonization Society,

the

HOME - WORKING FOR HIGHER EDUCATION: ADVANCING BLACK WOMEN WORKING FOR HIGHER EDUCATION: ADVANCING BLACK WOMEN’S RIGHTS IN THE 1850s. This exhibit accompanies Kabria Baumgartner’s essay, “Gender Politics and the Manual Labor College Initiative at National Colored Conventions in Antebellum America” in the in-progress volume, Colored Conventions in the Nineteenth Century and the Digital

Age. Explore.

VIRTUAL BOOK PARTY AND DISCUSSION On March 22, 2021, #DigBlk hosted a virtual book party to celebrate the release of the Colored Conventions Movement: Black Organizing in the Nineteenth Century.. Join Colored Convention Project co-directors P. Gabrielle Foreman and Jim Casey, along with volume contributors, Carla Peterson and Andre E. Johnson, in a celebration of the book’s release and a discussion of its significance.

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION. A word cloud created using the text of Erica Ball’s forthcoming article, “Performing Politics, Creating Community: Antebellum Black Conventions as Political Rituals.”. This exhibit examines convention rituals across decades, both before and after the Civil War, in order to establish how aspects changed over time and how HOME - THE FIGHT FOR BLACK MOBILITY: TRAVELING TO MID THE FIGHT FOR BLACK MOBILITY: TRAVELING TO MID-CENTURY CONVENTIONS. With a focus on news, migration and the popular lecture circuit during the 1850s, this exhibit investigates the ways men and women delegates and collaborating activists in their social networks claimed Philadelphia as site for an inter-state and international movement

MARY ANN SHADD

Encouraged by Henry and Mary Bibb—two active attendants at the 1854 Emigration Convention—Shadd later became a teacher. After doing so, she successfully established a school for Black children and, in 1852, published several pro-emigration booklets. One of her most well-known pieces is titled A Plea for Emigration; or Notes of Canada West HOME - HENRY HIGHLAND GARNET’S “ADDRESS TO THE SLAVES In Buffalo, New York, Henry Highland Garnet gave his famous “An Address to the Slaves of the United States.”. He called for the slaves of the South to refuse to work, to approach their masters and demand their freedom, and to resist their oppressors with force if necessary. Because it is such an influential “text,” it is easy to

forget

AMOS BEMAN - THE FIGHT FOR BLACK MOBILITY: TRAVELING TO Amos Beman of New Haven, CT, is best known in 1855 as the President of the National Convention in October. During the warmer months, he made several appearances at other events in the New England region. Beman was an active member of multiple committees and public speaker. Click through the StoryMap to learn more. COVER - BLACK WOMEN’S ECONOMIC POWER: VISUALIZING DOMESTIC Credits. Curator: Samantha de Vera.. Edited by P. Gabrielle Foreman and Sarah Patterson.. Further Acknowledgements: Denise Burgher for her suggestions and improvements and Caleb Trotter for technical assistance.. Cover Image A cartoon of a well-off African American couple in Philadelphia by E.W. Clay. Courtesy of Library Company of Philadelphia.. Special thanks to Gale, a Cengage Company, HOME - THE COLORED CONVENTIONS PROJECTCONVENTIONSEXHIBITSTEACHINGNEWS & EVENTSABOUT CCPDONATE About the Colored Conventions Project. The Colored Conventions Project (CCP) is an interdisciplinary research hub that uses digital tools to bring the buried history of nineteenth-century Black organizing to life. Mirroring the collective nature of the nineteenth-century Colored Conventions, CCP uses inclusive partnerships to locate,

transcribe

VIRTUAL BOOK PARTY AND DISCUSSION On March 22, 2021, #DigBlk hosted a virtual book party to celebrate the release of the Colored Conventions Movement: Black Organizing in the Nineteenth Century.. Join Colored Convention Project co-directors P. Gabrielle Foreman and Jim Casey, along with volume contributors, Carla Peterson and Andre E. Johnson, in a celebration of the book’s release and a discussion of its significance.

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION. A word cloud created using the text of Erica Ball’s forthcoming article, “Performing Politics, Creating Community: Antebellum Black Conventions as Political Rituals.”. This exhibit examines convention rituals across decades, both before and after the Civil War, in order to establish how aspects changed over time and how

GEORGE T. DOWNING

At the 1855 Convention, George T. Downing was a major advocate for raising the standard of employment for Black youths. At the National Council leading up to the Convention, he found an alternative for building a vocational school. Assisted by other delegates that decried the financial inability to see the “Industrial School” to

completion

HOME - HENRY HIGHLAND GARNET’S “ADDRESS TO THE SLAVES In Buffalo, New York, Henry Highland Garnet gave his famous “An Address to the Slaves of the United States.”. He called for the slaves of the South to refuse to work, to approach their masters and demand their freedom, and to resist their oppressors with force if necessary. Because it is such an influential “text,” it is easy to

forget

MARY ANN SHADD

Encouraged by Henry and Mary Bibb—two active attendants at the 1854 Emigration Convention—Shadd later became a teacher. After doing so, she successfully established a school for Black children and, in 1852, published several pro-emigration booklets. One of her most well-known pieces is titled A Plea for Emigration; or Notes of Canada West DELANY V. DOUGLASS: SCANDAL Web. 9 Jan. 2017. A letter with scathing remarks about Delany. Martin R. Delany, one the most popular emigration advocates, made his beliefs known not only through his participation at the 1854 National Emigration Convention, but also through his direct opposition to Frederick Douglass. In 1847, Delany left his own newspaper to join

Douglass as

MARY LEARY LANGSTON

Mary Langston was a proud woman who advocated and supported anti-slavery causes with both her husbands. Starting in 1902, Mary raised her daughter Caroline’s son, who grew up to become the famous Harlem Renaissance author, Langston Hughes. She cared for

MARY ELLEN PLEASANT

Mary Ellen Pleasant‘s beginnings are dubious with many different accounts surrounding her birth.She could possibly have been a former slave from Georgia or the daughter of a Louisiana slave parent and an Asian or Native American parent. SARAH (SALLIE) ANN COPELAND HUGHES Sarah (Sallie) Ann Copeland Hughes was born 1847 in Wake County, North Carolina, and died in 1916 in Raleigh, North Carolina. Copeland Hughes was an African American woman whose name is well known by historians as the first woman ordained in the AME church by Bishop Henry McNeal

Turner in 1885.

HOME - THE COLORED CONVENTIONS PROJECTCONVENTIONSEXHIBITSTEACHINGNEWS & EVENTSABOUT CCPDONATE About the Colored Conventions Project. The Colored Conventions Project (CCP) is an interdisciplinary research hub that uses digital tools to bring the buried history of nineteenth-century Black organizing to life. Mirroring the collective nature of the nineteenth-century Colored Conventions, CCP uses inclusive partnerships to locate,

transcribe

VIRTUAL BOOK PARTY AND DISCUSSION On March 22, 2021, #DigBlk hosted a virtual book party to celebrate the release of the Colored Conventions Movement: Black Organizing in the Nineteenth Century.. Join Colored Convention Project co-directors P. Gabrielle Foreman and Jim Casey, along with volume contributors, Carla Peterson and Andre E. Johnson, in a celebration of the book’s release and a discussion of its significance.

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION. A word cloud created using the text of Erica Ball’s forthcoming article, “Performing Politics, Creating Community: Antebellum Black Conventions as Political Rituals.”. This exhibit examines convention rituals across decades, both before and after the Civil War, in order to establish how aspects changed over time and how

GEORGE T. DOWNING

At the 1855 Convention, George T. Downing was a major advocate for raising the standard of employment for Black youths. At the National Council leading up to the Convention, he found an alternative for building a vocational school. Assisted by other delegates that decried the financial inability to see the “Industrial School” to

completion

HOME - HENRY HIGHLAND GARNET’S “ADDRESS TO THE SLAVES In Buffalo, New York, Henry Highland Garnet gave his famous “An Address to the Slaves of the United States.”. He called for the slaves of the South to refuse to work, to approach their masters and demand their freedom, and to resist their oppressors with force if necessary. Because it is such an influential “text,” it is easy to

forget

MARY ANN SHADD

Encouraged by Henry and Mary Bibb—two active attendants at the 1854 Emigration Convention—Shadd later became a teacher. After doing so, she successfully established a school for Black children and, in 1852, published several pro-emigration booklets. One of her most well-known pieces is titled A Plea for Emigration; or Notes of Canada West DELANY V. DOUGLASS: SCANDAL Web. 9 Jan. 2017. A letter with scathing remarks about Delany. Martin R. Delany, one the most popular emigration advocates, made his beliefs known not only through his participation at the 1854 National Emigration Convention, but also through his direct opposition to Frederick Douglass. In 1847, Delany left his own newspaper to join

Douglass as

MARY LEARY LANGSTON

Mary Langston was a proud woman who advocated and supported anti-slavery causes with both her husbands. Starting in 1902, Mary raised her daughter Caroline’s son, who grew up to become the famous Harlem Renaissance author, Langston Hughes. She cared for

MARY ELLEN PLEASANT

Mary Ellen Pleasant‘s beginnings are dubious with many different accounts surrounding her birth.She could possibly have been a former slave from Georgia or the daughter of a Louisiana slave parent and an Asian or Native American parent. SARAH (SALLIE) ANN COPELAND HUGHES Sarah (Sallie) Ann Copeland Hughes was born 1847 in Wake County, North Carolina, and died in 1916 in Raleigh, North Carolina. Copeland Hughes was an African American woman whose name is well known by historians as the first woman ordained in the AME church by Bishop Henry McNeal

Turner in 1885.

CONVENTIONS

The Colored Conventions Project (CCP) is an interdisciplinary research hub that uses digital tools to bring the buried history of nineteenth-century Black organizing to life. Mirroring the collective nature of the nineteenth-century Colored Conventions, CCP uses innovative, inclusive partnerships to locate, transcribe, and archive

the

VIRTUAL BOOK PARTY AND DISCUSSION On March 22, 2021, #DigBlk hosted a virtual book party to celebrate the release of the Colored Conventions Movement: Black Organizing in the Nineteenth Century.. Join Colored Convention Project co-directors P. Gabrielle Foreman and Jim Casey, along with volume contributors, Carla Peterson and Andre E. Johnson, in a celebration of the book’s release and a discussion of its significance.

INTRODUCTION

The second structure (pictured in opening) was the roughcast church used from 1805-1841. The first AME convention was held in this building in April 1816. The third structure was made of brick and stone and used from 1841-1889. The Fourth (and current structure) was dedicated in 1890. Information courtesy of Mother Bethel African

Methodist

THE CONVENTION EVENT The Convention Event. The first national Colored Convention was held in Philadelphia from September 20th through the 24th, 1830, at Richard Allen’s Mother Bethel AME church. Before the official meeting, delegates met in secret during the 15th through the 20th to discuss whether to hold open sessions, which they eventually voted to do,

despite

HOME - THE FIGHT FOR BLACK MOBILITY: TRAVELING TO MID THE FIGHT FOR BLACK MOBILITY: TRAVELING TO MID-CENTURY CONVENTIONS. With a focus on news, migration and the popular lecture circuit during the 1850s, this exhibit investigates the ways men and women delegates and collaborating activists in their social networks claimed Philadelphia as site for an inter-state and international movement CCP ANNOUNCES MOVE TO PENN STATE In Fall 2020, we will begin to move central aspects of the Colored Conventions Project to Penn State and to the Center for Black Digital Research. Shirley Moody Turner will join Gabrielle Foreman as #DigBlk’s co-director. CCP Co-Director Jim Casey will also be moving to Penn State to serve as the Center’s managing director.

INTRODUCTION

Emigration, therefore, became an alluring, possible solution. Whether it was best for African Americans to stay in the US or to seek a better life elsewhere was the central question of the 1854 National Emigration Convention held in Cleveland, Ohio. Prominent Black Ohioans took the stage to express their support for and opposition to

emigration.

INTRODUCTION

This exhibit addresses an issue with the modern-day memory of Henry Highland Garnet’s “An Address to the Slaves of the United States.” It reminds readers not only that Garnet’s original address was an oration—and originally voted down—but that there are several subsequent editions of the printed text—each of which can be examined for its individual qualities. BISHOP TURNER AND THE AME CHURCH Bishop Turner is one of the Four Horsemen of the AME church. The Four Horsemen—Bishop Allen, Bishop Quinn, Bishop Payne, and Bishop Turner— are men whose exceptional work advanced, developed, and strengthened the church. CHARLES LEWIS REASON Charles Lewis Reason, born to Haitian immigrants in 1818, was raised to understand the importance of education. He set the stage for Black excellence through education while serving on the Committee on Manual Labor School. As a political activist, he played a large role in the Colored Conventions movement as he worked with countless other Black HOME - THE COLORED CONVENTIONS PROJECTCONVENTIONSEXHIBITSTEACHINGNEWS & EVENTSABOUT CCPDONATE About the Colored Conventions Project. The Colored Conventions Project (CCP) is an interdisciplinary research hub that uses digital tools to bring the buried history of nineteenth-century Black organizing to life. Mirroring the collective nature of the nineteenth-century Colored Conventions, CCP uses inclusive partnerships to locate,

transcribe

CONVENTIONS

The Colored Conventions Project (CCP) is an interdisciplinary research hub that uses digital tools to bring the buried history of nineteenth-century Black organizing to life. Mirroring the collective nature of the nineteenth-century Colored Conventions, CCP uses innovative, inclusive partnerships to locate, transcribe, and archive

the

GEORGE T. DOWNING

At the 1855 Convention, George T. Downing was a major advocate for raising the standard of employment for Black youths. At the National Council leading up to the Convention, he found an alternative for building a vocational school. Assisted by other delegates that decried the financial inability to see the “Industrial School” to

completion

DELANY V. DOUGLASS: SCANDAL Web. 9 Jan. 2017. A letter with scathing remarks about Delany. Martin R. Delany, one the most popular emigration advocates, made his beliefs known not only through his participation at the 1854 National Emigration Convention, but also through his direct opposition to Frederick Douglass. In 1847, Delany left his own newspaper to join

Douglass as

CCP ANNOUNCES MOVE TO PENN STATE In Fall 2020, we will begin to move central aspects of the Colored Conventions Project to Penn State and to the Center for Black Digital Research. Shirley Moody Turner will join Gabrielle Foreman as #DigBlk’s co-director. CCP Co-Director Jim Casey will also be moving to Penn State to serve as the Center’s managing director. CHARLES LEWIS REASON Charles Lewis Reason, born to Haitian immigrants in 1818, was raised to understand the importance of education. He set the stage for Black excellence through education while serving on the Committee on Manual Labor School. As a political activist, he played a large role in the Colored Conventions movement as he worked with countless other Black

MARY ANN SHADD

Encouraged by Henry and Mary Bibb—two active attendants at the 1854 Emigration Convention—Shadd later became a teacher. After doing so, she successfully established a school for Black children and, in 1852, published several pro-emigration booklets. One of her most well-known pieces is titled A Plea for Emigration; or Notes of Canada West

BIDDY MASON

Image in the public domain. Bridget “Biddy” Mason was one of the most influential Black women in California, and her wealth, leadership, and philanthropy made a lasting impact in Los Angeles. Born a slave in Georgia, Mason and her children moved west with her master, Robert Smith, from Mississippi to Utah, until Smith settled in

San

MARY LEARY LANGSTON

Mary Langston was a proud woman who advocated and supported anti-slavery causes with both her husbands. Starting in 1902, Mary raised her daughter Caroline’s son, who grew up to become the famous Harlem Renaissance author, Langston Hughes. She cared for PROCEEDINGS OF THE STATE CONVENTION OF COLORED MEN OF Proceedings of the State Convention of Colored Men of Texas, Held at the City of Austin, July 10-12, 1883. HOME - THE COLORED CONVENTIONS PROJECTCONVENTIONSEXHIBITSTEACHINGNEWS & EVENTSABOUT CCPDONATE The Colored Conventions and the Carceral States. This exhibit explores the Colored Conventions movement’s protest against the justice systems of the states of California and Georgia, both of which egregiously targeted African Americans to carry out forms of ethnic cleansing and labor exploitation.

CONVENTIONS

The Colored Conventions Project. The Colored Conventions Project (CCP) is an interdisciplinary research hub that uses digital tools to bring the buried history of nineteenth-century Black organizing to life.

GEORGE T. DOWNING

Born to a wealthy family in New York City, George T. Downing (1819-1903) established himself as a civil rights leader and entrepreneur. His father, Thomas Downing, built his fortune as an

oyster caterer.

DELANY V. DOUGLASS: SCANDAL Martin R. Delany, one the most popular emigration advocates, made his beliefs known not only through his participation at the 1854 National Emigration Convention, but also through his direct opposition to

Frederick Douglass.

CHARLES LEWIS REASON Charles Lewis Reason, born to Haitian immigrants in 1818, was raised to understand the importance of education. He set the stage for Black excellence through education while serving on the Committee on Manual

Labor School.

CCP ANNOUNCES MOVE TO PENN STATE UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — P. Gabrielle Foreman, founding faculty director of the Colored Conventions Project (CCP), has joined the Penn State College of the Liberal Arts faculty as the Paterno Family Liberal Arts Professor in Literature with appointments in the departments of English, African American Studies and History.. The Colored Conventions Project’s groundbreaking work has been

BIDDY MASON

Bridget “Biddy” Mason was one of the most influential Black women in California, and her wealth, leadership, and philanthropy made a lasting impact in Los Angeles. Born a slave in Georgia, Mason and her children moved west with her master, Robert Smith, from Mississippi to Utah, until Smith settled in San Bernardino in 1851.

MARY ANN SHADD

In 1823, Mary Ann Shadd was born in Delaware to a free couple. Shadd is recognized today as the first Black female editor in the United States and, after emigrating as an adult, one of the first female journalists in Canada.

MARY LEARY LANGSTON

Mary Sampson Patterson Leary Langston, born Mary Sampson Patterson in North Carolina in 1835, attended Oberlin College where she became

immersed in

PROCEEDINGS OF THE STATE CONVENTION OF COLORED MEN OF Proceedings of the State Convention of Colored Men of Texas, Held at the City of Austin, July 10-12, 1883. EXHIBITS - THE COLORED CONVENTIONS PROJECT Before Garvey! Henry McNeal Turner and the Fight for Reparations, Emmigration and Black Rights. By the time he organized a national Colored Convention in 1893, Henry McNeal Turner was a highly respected leader in the African American community, having proven himself as an orator, preacher, writer, activist, and consummate professional. HOME - WORKING FOR HIGHER EDUCATION: ADVANCING BLACK WOMEN Credits. Curators: Sharla Fett, History Department, Occidental College and David Kim, English Department, University of Delaware, in consultation with Kabria Baumgartner, Department of History, College of Wooster. Further Acknowledgements: The CCP Exhibits team for creating visualizations, editing, and revising this exhibit: Simone Austin, Samantha de Vera, Kelli Coles, Gwendolyn Meredith, and

CCP PRINCIPLES

Colored Convention Project Principles. At the core of CCP, we endeavor to incorporate these principles in all facets of our work. Principle 1. CCP seeks to enact collective organizing principles and values that were modeled by the Colored Conventions Movement.

DIGITAL RECORDS

Please note: The collection is still growing. We continue to obtain more documents and learn about more conventions. If you know about a document or a convention that we do not offer, please let us know through our Convention Records Submission Form.Learn more at our Submit Records page.; We provide transcripts when possible, but we have not yet finished transcribing the entire collection.

INTRODUCTION

The Mother Bethel AME Church has been located on the same site, 6th and Lombard Streets, since 1794 to the present. Image courtesy of Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Richard Allen Museum and Archives, Photograph Collection, Philadelphia, PA. HOME - THE FIGHT FOR BLACK MOBILITY: TRAVELING TO MID Credits. Curators: Jessica Conrad and Samantha deVera, Graduate Students, Department of English, University of Delaware. Edited by Sarah L. Patterson and P. Gabrielle Foreman.. Undergraduate Researchers: Nathan Nikolic, Gwen Meredith, and Caleb Trotter. Graduate Student Researchers: Special thanks to the ENGL/HIST 641,“Black Activism and Print Culture in the 19th Century and the

Digital Age

COVER - BLACK WOMEN’S ECONOMIC POWER: VISUALIZING DOMESTIC Credits. Curator: Samantha de Vera.. Edited by P. Gabrielle Foreman and Sarah Patterson.. Further Acknowledgements: Denise Burgher for her suggestions and improvements and Caleb Trotter for technical assistance.. Cover Image A cartoon of a well-off African American couple in Philadelphia by E.W. Clay. Courtesy of Library Company of Philadelphia.. Special thanks to Gale, a Cengage Company,

INTRODUCTION

This exhibit addresses an issue with the modern-day memory of Henry Highland Garnet’s “An Address to the Slaves of the United States.” It reminds readers not only that Garnet’s original address was an oration—and originally voted down—but that there are several subsequent editions of the printed text—each of which can be examined for its individual qualities.

MARY ANN SHADD

In 1823, Mary Ann Shadd was born in Delaware to a free couple. Shadd is recognized today as the first Black female editor in the United States and, after emigrating as an adult, one of the first female journalists in Canada.

WILLIAM HOWARD DAY

William Howard Day was an African American abolitionist and emigrationist. Day’s role as one of the leaders issuing the call for the 1853 National Colored Convention in Rochester underscored the young Oberlin College graduate’s growing prominence in the abolitionist community.

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* AVAILABLE MARCH 2021! THE COLORED CONVENTIONS BOOK

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BRINGING 19TH-CENTURY BLACK ORGANIZING TO DIGITAL LIFE FROM 1830 UNTIL WELL AFTER THE CIVIL WAR, AFRICAN AMERICANS GATHERED ACROSS THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA TO PARTICIPATE IN POLITICAL MEETINGS HELD AT THE STATE AND NATIONAL LEVELS. A CORNERSTONE OF BLACK ORGANIZING IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY, THESE “COLORED CONVENTIONS” BROUGHT BLACK MEN AND WOMEN TOGETHER IN A DECADES-LONG CAMPAIGN FOR CIVIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS.

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FEATURED EXHIBITS

Our interactive, digital exhibits use historical images and documents to provide further insight into the Colored Conventions and expand our understanding of early Black organizing. EQUALITY BEFORE THE LAW: CALIFORNIA BLACK CONVENTION ACTIVISM,

1855–1865

The rapid succession of four California state conventions indicates how quickly Black men and women began to work together toward their vision of achieving economic, civil, and human rights. THE MEETING THAT LAUNCHED A MOVEMENT: THE FIRST NATIONAL CONVENTION The gathering of African American leaders from various regions of the antebellum north, held at Philadelphia’s Mother Bethel AME church in 1830, is universally considered to be the inaugural national Colored Convention. For several reasons, the 1830 convention eludes simple

categorization.

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THE COLORED CONVENTIONS AND THE CARCERAL STATES This exhibit explores the Colored Conventions movement’s protest against the justice systems of the states of California and Georgia. Both states egregiously targeted African Americans engaging in forms of ethnic cleansing and labor exploitation. It also looks at the legacy of this protest, exploring the contributions of Black women reformers who continued the resistance against incarceration into the

twentieth century.

THE FIGHT FOR BLACK MOBILITY: TRAVELING TO MID-CENTURY CONVENTIONS With a focus on news, migration and the popular lecture circuit during the 1850s, this exhibit investigates the ways men and women delegates and collaborating activists in their social networks claimed Philadelphia as site for an inter-state and international movement furthering race uplift.

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EXPLORE ALL EXHIBITS

FEATURED EXHIBITS

Our interactive, digital exhibits use historical images and documents to introduce the Colored Conventions and expand our understanding of early Black organizing. EQUALITY BEFORE THE LAW: CALIFORNIA’S CONVENTIONS, 1855–1865 The rapid succession of four California state conventions indicates how quickly Black men and women began to work together toward their vision of achieving economic, civil, and human rights.

Explore

THE MEETING THAT LAUNCHED A MOVEMENT: THE FIRST NATIONAL CONVENTION The gathering of African American leaders from various regions of the antebellum north, held at Philadelphia’s Mother Bethel AME church in 1830, is universally considered to be the inaugural national Colored Convention. For several reasons, the 1830 convention eludes simple

categorization.

Explore

THE COLORED CONVENTIONS AND THE CARCERAL STATES This exhibit explores the Colored Conventions movement’s protest against the justice systems of the states of California and Georgia, both of which egregiously targeted African Americans to carry out forms of ethnic cleansing and labor exploitation. It also looks at the legacy of this protest, exploring the contributions of Black women reformers who continued the resistance against incarceration.

Explore

THE FIGHT FOR BLACK MOBILITY: TRAVELING TO MID-CENTURY CONVENTIONS With a focus on news, migration and the popular lecture circuit during the 1850s, this exhibit investigates the ways men and women delegates and collaborating activists in their social networks claimed Philadelphia as site for an inter-state and international movement furthering race uplift.

Explore

EXPLORE ALL EXHIBITS THE COLORED CONVENTIONS DIGITAL RECORDS DOCUMENTS SPANNING SEVEN DECADES OF BLACK POLITICAL ORGANIZING Starting in 1830 and continuing until well after the Civil War, free, freed and self-emancipated Blacks gathered for in state and national political conventions. The convention minutes collected here illustrate the immense struggles and the profound courage of those who insisted on organizing and standing for what was rightly theirs. Visit Digital Records COLORED CONVENTION PROJECT

PRINCIPLES

At the core of CCP, we endeavor to incorporate these principles in all

facets of our work.

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COLORED CONVENTIONS PROJECT CURRICULUM VITAE (CV) The project CV documents our collective work.

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ABOUT THE COLORED CONVENTIONS PROJECT The Colored Conventions Project (CCP) is an interdisciplinary research hub that uses digital tools to bring the buried history of nineteenth-century Black organizing to life. Mirroring the collective nature of the nineteenth-century Colored Conventions , CCP uses inclusive partnerships to locate, transcribe, and archive the documentary record related to this nearly forgotten history and to curate engaging digital exhibits that highlight its significant events and themes.

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NOW AVAILABLE!

_THE COLORED CONVENTIONS MOVEMENT: BLACK ORGANIZING IN THE NINETEENTH

CENTURY_

This first scholarly volume on Black Conventions addresses the magnitude of influence they had upon Black intellectual and political histories, with UNC Press.

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MARY ANN SHADD CARY EVENT SERIES CIVIL RIGHTS PIONEER: FROM DELAWARE TO CANADA WEST TO WASHINGTON, DC As we approach the 200th anniversary of Mary Ann Shadd Cary’s birth in 2023, the Colored Conventions Project is hosting a series of

digital events.

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NEWS

MOBILIZE NOW FOR A FUTURE WHERE BLACK LIVES MATTER In this election and census year, we share resources for continuing the long history of Black protest and organizing to build a future where Black Lives Matter. We will continue to update this page.

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#DIVBLK: PRINCIPLES IN ACTION DURING A WEBSITE MIGRATION In this new blog series, we reflect on our biggest challenges to bring our two new digital platforms to completion, guided by our Principles to work in a collaborative structure; ensure the visibility of Black women’s lives; and ensure the Black humanity in Black data/curation.

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CCP ANNOUNCES MOVE TO PENN STATE IN FALL 2020 Over the past seven years, we have been grateful and proud to build the Colored Colored Project (CCP) at the University of Delaware. We are thrilled to share news that CCP will next move to Penn State University to launch a Center for Black Digital Research which we’re also calling #DigBlk.

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The Colored Conventions Project, Douglass Day and the Black Women's Organizing Archive are flagship projects of the Center for Black Digital Research, #DigBlk, at Penn State University. THE COLORED CONVENTIONS PROJECT APPRECIATES THE SUPPORT OF: The Colored Conventions Project was launched & cultivated at the University of Delaware from 2012-2020.

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This project has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Celebrating 50 Years of Excellence. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed by the Colored Conventions Project do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities. NEW! Two Colored Convention Project Websites The Colored Conventions Project is now accessible through two

connected websites.

This site features general information about the Colored Conventions Project, digital exhibits, teaching modules, and news. URL: coloredconventions.org The Digital Records site features hundreds of collected documents of the Colored Conventions movement, spanning the 1830s to the 1890s. URL: omeka.coloredconventions.org Learn more about using these two sites at coloredconventions.org. AddThis Sharing Sidebar Share to TwitterTwitterShare to FacebookFacebook , Number of sharesShare to EmailEmailShare to PinterestPinterest , Number of shares18More AddThis Share optionsAddThis , Number of shares208

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