National Convention of Colored Men of America
(start date: 1843)In 1843, the first National Convention of Colored Men of America was held in Buffalo, NY, attended by hundreds of freemen and escaped slaves from throughout the United States. The convention, also referred to as the Colored National Convention, was held to bring together forces to end slavery and fight for African Americans' human rights.
The convention was later held in Louisville, KY in September 1883.
Frederick Douglass was president and Henry Scorff was a vice president, representing Kentucky. A digital copy of the text of the 1883 convention program is available at the Library of Congress website.
See also Address of Hon. Fred. Douglass [delivered before the National Convention of Colored Men, at Louisville, Ky., September 24, 1883] at the University of Delaware's UDSpace; and Colored National Convention," The Daily Arkansas Gazette, Sept. 1883, p. 2.
