Problems and Purpose

Colored Conventions were organized to help newly freed African Americans unify and make their collective voice heard in the political landscape of the United States, especially amid increasing infringements on their civil rights [1]. These gatherings, similar to citizen’s assemblies, emerged in response to the newfound freedom of formerly enslaved African Americans in the U.S. South after the end of the Civil War [1].

Background History and Context

The U.S. Civil War began in 1861 in response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as president due to his opposition to slavery [2]. Before and during the Civil War, many African Americans were still enslaved in the South and were, therefore, barred from traveling to attend meetings with others [1]. Other Colored Conventions had occurred in the Northern region of the U.S. prior to the Civil War as early as 1830 [3].

Colored Conventions, and conventions in general, were utilized often in 19th century United States public life, and when Abraham Lincoln was elected president, eleven Southern U.S. states called state conventions in which they made the decision to secede from the Union [3]. In 1850, there was a Colored Convention that consisted of formerly enslaved people who had escaped slavery. At this Convention, they wrote a letter to the enslaved population in the South, using their voice to speak to and provide hope to those still afflicted by slavery [4].

Organizing, Supporting, and Funding Entities

African Americans in the U.S. South got involved in post-Civil War Conventions in order to exercise their new right to organize, and express and share political thoughts and opinions [1]. Most of the attendees had no prominent role, came from states in the U.S. North as well as the U.S. South, and simply acted as delegates for their home state [5]. Organizers were sometimes labor unions, as in the case of the 1869 Colored National Labor convention [6], other records don’t specify who organized the meetings. Many of the records available for these conventions are newspaper clippings or meeting minutes gathered by the Colored Conventions Project [7].

Due to the inconsistent records of each one of these meetings, it is not clear how every Convention was organized, but many of the minutes recorded show evidence of elections and appointments for committees and important roles. At the 1865 State Convention of the Colored People of Louisiana, vice presidents and secretaries were elected, and committees were appointed [8].

Participant Recruitment and Selection

These conventions, specifically those held in the Southern region of the U.S., were meant to include those recently freed from enslavement in public participation and civic engagement [1]. Participants at the southern conventions were delegates for their state or regular attendees and many of them were formerly enslaved [9]. Conventions were typically advertised in newspapers to gather greater participation as well and it seems as though all in support of the efforts to organize were welcome [9]. Attendance varied by convention, but there is no mention of selection of regular attendees [5].

Methods and Tools Used

The primary method used by the Southern Colored Conventions, was public deliberation, or something resembling a citizens assembly; which is an instance in which citizens are able to deliberate about an issue or number of issues in order to present solutions or recommendations. Since African Americans in the Southern U.S. had not been legally able to participate in much of civic life before the Civil War, holding these conventions in southern states after the Civil War served the purpose of including previously unheard voices in civic life and the discussion of important issues [1].

What Went On: Process, Interaction, and Participation

During the conventions in the U.S. Southern States, meetings were called to order each day they occurred. During the 1871 Southern States Convention of Colored Men the meeting was opened by reading the original call for a convention, in this case it was a set of resolutions adopted by a colored convention in Georgia earlier that year that determined a need for a joint convention of Southern States [10].

Participation took numerous forms. A convention in Vicksburg, Mississippi was formed for the purpose of protesting the power of the government in the state including the police [11], but a state convention held in Houston, Texas met due to an act of violence against an African American citizen [12]. Some conventions discussed incidents such as the latter or used the meetings to exercise their rights and express their thoughts and opinions on important civic issues like the former. The conventions largely served their function of organizing African Americans in the southern United States.

The issues discussed varied widely, there were a few that stood out; emigration [13] and agriculture [14]. These conversations happened within these conventions, some African Americans changed their position on emigration and even moved back to the U.S. post-Civil War and emancipation [13]. Delegates present at meetings were nominated by their home state to represent the African American citizens in that state, and those delegates sat on committees and advocated for their positions [5].

The process occurred for the purpose of African American citizens in the South exercising their right to organize and participate in civic life [1], which yielded meetings merely making African American voices heard. Though, there are examples of recommendations being made, like the Georgia convention that yielded the joint Southern Convention of Colored Men [10].

The highlights of many of these meetings were reported on in newspapers. Some of the records from the Colored Convention Project only have newspaper clippings, others also have minutes from the meetings [3]. It is impossible to know how each meeting went, and there are still known conventions for which records have not been found yet [3].

Influence, Outcomes, and Effects

Colored conventions are recorded up until 1899, over 30 years after the end of the Civil War [3], fulfilling the purpose of engaging African Americans in the South in civic life post-Civil War. Their influence might not have been all positive, though, not due to their actions, but the actions of others. Convention calls were often published in newspapers, and white citizens who were opposed to the ending of slavery in the United States sometimes threatened attendees or showed up at the meetings [9]. During this time period after the Civil War, Jim Crow laws were being implemented, policing minor actions by African Americans across the south [15]. While it is not known whether these conventions directly influenced the implementation of Jim Crow laws, it is possible due to the power African American citizens had. The convention held in Vicksburg, Mississippi reported more black residents than white, and a knowledge of the power they hold with those numbers [11]. The Colored Conventions of the South also gave way to black newspapers [16]. The first one was the New Orleans Tribune, founded by a prominent doctor from Haiti, Dr. Louis Charles Roudanez [17].

Analysis and Lessons Learned

Newly emancipated black U.S. Southerners were able to organize themselves and have important conversations about issues related to education, emigration, agriculture, temperance and more [16]. Herron highlights timing as an important talking point in speeches and theme in conventions, and that delegates knew that their actions at these conventions would have important effects far into the future [16]. Herron also draws parallels to the American Civil Rights Movement of the 50s and 60s as a time when many issues that were not able to be solved through the Colored Conventions were addressed [16]. Herron also mentions a solemn but optimistic attitude as the movement came to a close [16].

See Also

References

[1] Colored Conventions Project. (2024). Stake Claim or Take Flight: The Birth of Southern Conventions After the Civil War- Introduction. https://coloredconventions.org/southern-conventions/introduction/

[2] Library of Congress. (2024). Collection: Civil War Glass Negatives and Related Prints. https://www.loc.gov/collections/civil-war-glass-negatives/articles-and-essays/time-line-of-the-civil-war/1861/

[3] Colored Conventions Project. (2024). Digital Records: Conventions by Year. https://omeka.coloredconventions.org/convention-by-year

[4] Fugitive Slave Law Convention (1850 : Cazenovia, NY), “Cazenovia Fugitive Slave Law Convention, August 21-22, 1850.,” Colored Conventions Project Digital Records, accessed November 26, 2024, https://omeka.coloredconventions.org/items/show/234.

[5] Colored Conventions Project. (2024). Stake Claim or Take Flight: The Birth of Southern Conventions After the Civil War- Attendees of Southern Conventions. https://coloredconventions.org/southern-conventions/attendees/

[6] Colored National Labor Convention (1869 : Washington, D.C.), “Proceedings of the Colored National Labor convention : held in Washington, D.C., on December 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th, 1869.,” Colored Conventions Project Digital Records, accessed December 1, 2024, https://omeka.coloredconventions.org/items/show/591.

[7] Colored Conventions Project. (2024). Home. https://coloredconventions.org/

[8] State Convention of the Colored People of Louisiana (1865 : New Orleans, LA), “State Convention of the Colored People of Louisiana, January 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, and 14th, 1865,” Colored Conventions Project Digital Records, accessed December 1, 2024, https://omeka.coloredconventions.org/items/show/271.

[9] Colored Conventions Project. (2024). Stake Claim or Take Flight: The Birth of Southern Conventions After the Civil War- Perilous Mobility. https://coloredconventions.org/southern-conventions/attendees/perilous-mobility/

[10] Southern States Convention of Colored Men (1871 : Columbia, SC), “Proceedings of the Southern States Convention of Colored Men, held in Columbia, S.C., commencing October 18, ending October 25, 1871.,” Colored Conventions Project Digital Records, accessed December 3, 2024, https://omeka.coloredconventions.org/items/show/543.

[11] “The Mississippi Protest,” Colored Conventions Project Digital Records, accessed December 4, 2024, https://omeka.coloredconventions.org/items/show/1563.

[12] “Texas State Convention,” Colored Conventions Project Digital Records, accessed December 4, 2024, https://omeka.coloredconventions.org/items/show/1817.

[13] Colored Conventions Project. (2024). Stake Claim or Take Flight: The Birth of Southern Conventions After the Civil War- Emigration Debates and the Colored Conventions. https://coloredconventions.org/southern-conventions/ideas-about-emigration/debates/

[14] Colored Conventions Project. (2024). Stake Claim or Take Flight: The Birth of Southern Conventions After the Civil War- Land and Agriculture. https://coloredconventions.org/southern-conventions/land-and-agriculture/

[15] Miah, M. (2016). Institutional racism & the 13th amendment. Against the Current, 31(185), 2–3.

[16] Herron, P. E. (2022). “This Crisis of Our History”: The Colored Conventions Movement and the Temporal Construction of Southern Politics. Studies in American Political Development, 36(1), 21–40. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0898588X21000122

[17] Colored Conventions Project. (2024). Stake Claim or Take Flight: The Birth of Southern Conventions After the Civil War- The New Orleans Tribune. https://coloredconventions.org/southern-conventions/biographies/new-orleans-tribune/

Notes

The first version of this case entry was written by Chloe Stringer, a Master of Public Service candidate at the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service, and then edited. The views expressed in the entry are those of the authors, editors, or cited sources, and are not necessarily those of the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service.