James McCune Smith. Collection New-York Historical Society. Gift of A.D.F. Randolph.
What Can Be Done?

Black New York clergymen helped lead the campaign for equality. They organized annual political conventions, created their own newspapers, and formed literary and charitable organizations. Along with white backers like William Lloyd Garrison of Boston and Arthur and Lewis Tappan of New York, black New Yorkers helped found the American Anti-Slavery Society in 1833. The AA-SS inflamed southern slaveholders when it called for immediate emancipation of the nation's two million slaves.

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In 1834, the annual black convention in New York City considered the colonization question. How would you vote?

Should free blacks leave America and resettle in Africa?
Yes
No
When you enter your decision, you will see how visitors to this website have been voting. To find out how the 1834 convention voted and why, click here.
"The National Colored Convention in Session at Washington D.C." Harper's Weekly, February 6, 1869. Collection New-York Historical Society.