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At the dawn of the 20th century, black Americans were facing increasingly precarious
circumstances. Throughout the South, state legislatures were effectively stripping black men of
their civil and voting rights. A legal system of Jim Crow racial segregation had taken root. And,
blacks were increasingly confronting the ropes and pyres of white lynch mobs. Correctly
sensing the mood of whites, both North and South, and of many blacks, Booker T. Washington
advanced a program that he believed would enable the two races to exist in peace and
prosperity. Washington suggested that blacks should cease struggling for integration and
political advancement, and instead focus on becoming economically self-sufficient.
Although Washington stood as the preeminent voice in black America, some blacks dismissed
Washington’s program of accommodation—arguing that it would do more to harm the race than
it would do to uplift it. W.E.B. Du Bois and William Monroe Trotter (editor of Boston’s radical
race paper the Guardian) were among the most outspoken critics of Washington and his robust
Tuskegee Machine. In 1905, Du Bois and Trotter organized a meeting of militant black
intellectuals and professionals at the Niagara Falls. From this meeting emerged a movement
that—while short-lived—would have an indelible impact on the pitch and paths of black protest
throughout the 20th century. This meeting gave life to the NIAGARA MOVEMENT.
The 29 original members of the Niagara Movement approached the contemporary struggles of
black America with a far more militant bent than did Washington and his followers. Rather than
entreating their black countrymen to patiently endure their present oppression in the hope that a
change would come, the men of the Niagara Movement demanded that all forms of racial
discrimination end immediately. They issued a “Declaration of Principles” which asserted that,
“We refuse to allow the impression to remain that the Negro-American assents to inferiority, is
submissive under oppression and apologetic before insults…. [T]he voice of protest of ten
million [black] Americans must never cease to assail the ears of their fellows, so long as
America is unjust.”
Despite the fact that Washington used his influence to compel most publishers of black
newspapers to ignore the movement, the membership of the movement grew. And, after some
debate, women and a few whites were permitted to become full members of the movement. In
commemoration of the 100th birthday of John Brown, the Niagara Movement held its second
meeting at Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia. Out of this 1906 gathering emerged an “Address to
the Country” which further distinguished the Niagara Movement from policies of conciliation.
The address declared that the members of the Niagara Movement “will not be satisfied to take
one jot or tittle less than our full manhood rights. We claim for ourselves every single right that
belongs to a freeborn American, political, civil and social; and until we get these rights we will
never cease to protest and assail the ears of America. The battle we wage is not for ourselves
alone but for all true Americans. It is a fight for ideals, lest this, our common fatherland, false to
its founding, become in truth the land of the thief and the home of the slave—a by-word and a
hissing among the nations for its sounding pretensions and pitiful accomplishment.”
The members of the Niagara Movement continued to meet for three years following the Harper’
s Ferry conference. However, internal conflicts, financial instability, and harsh opposition from
Washingtonian factions prompted the early demise of the movement. Nevertheless, Du Bois
and other members would carry over the tradition of direct action protest that the Niagara
Movement initiated to its successor organization—the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People. Consciously and unconsciously, black Americans continue to
infuse the spirit of the Niagara Movement in their struggles for racial justice.
by Korey Bowers Brown
circumstances. Throughout the South, state legislatures were effectively stripping black men of
their civil and voting rights. A legal system of Jim Crow racial segregation had taken root. And,
blacks were increasingly confronting the ropes and pyres of white lynch mobs. Correctly
sensing the mood of whites, both North and South, and of many blacks, Booker T. Washington
advanced a program that he believed would enable the two races to exist in peace and
prosperity. Washington suggested that blacks should cease struggling for integration and
political advancement, and instead focus on becoming economically self-sufficient.
Although Washington stood as the preeminent voice in black America, some blacks dismissed
Washington’s program of accommodation—arguing that it would do more to harm the race than
it would do to uplift it. W.E.B. Du Bois and William Monroe Trotter (editor of Boston’s radical
race paper the Guardian) were among the most outspoken critics of Washington and his robust
Tuskegee Machine. In 1905, Du Bois and Trotter organized a meeting of militant black
intellectuals and professionals at the Niagara Falls. From this meeting emerged a movement
that—while short-lived—would have an indelible impact on the pitch and paths of black protest
throughout the 20th century. This meeting gave life to the NIAGARA MOVEMENT.
The 29 original members of the Niagara Movement approached the contemporary struggles of
black America with a far more militant bent than did Washington and his followers. Rather than
entreating their black countrymen to patiently endure their present oppression in the hope that a
change would come, the men of the Niagara Movement demanded that all forms of racial
discrimination end immediately. They issued a “Declaration of Principles” which asserted that,
“We refuse to allow the impression to remain that the Negro-American assents to inferiority, is
submissive under oppression and apologetic before insults…. [T]he voice of protest of ten
million [black] Americans must never cease to assail the ears of their fellows, so long as
America is unjust.”
Despite the fact that Washington used his influence to compel most publishers of black
newspapers to ignore the movement, the membership of the movement grew. And, after some
debate, women and a few whites were permitted to become full members of the movement. In
commemoration of the 100th birthday of John Brown, the Niagara Movement held its second
meeting at Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia. Out of this 1906 gathering emerged an “Address to
the Country” which further distinguished the Niagara Movement from policies of conciliation.
The address declared that the members of the Niagara Movement “will not be satisfied to take
one jot or tittle less than our full manhood rights. We claim for ourselves every single right that
belongs to a freeborn American, political, civil and social; and until we get these rights we will
never cease to protest and assail the ears of America. The battle we wage is not for ourselves
alone but for all true Americans. It is a fight for ideals, lest this, our common fatherland, false to
its founding, become in truth the land of the thief and the home of the slave—a by-word and a
hissing among the nations for its sounding pretensions and pitiful accomplishment.”
The members of the Niagara Movement continued to meet for three years following the Harper’
s Ferry conference. However, internal conflicts, financial instability, and harsh opposition from
Washingtonian factions prompted the early demise of the movement. Nevertheless, Du Bois
and other members would carry over the tradition of direct action protest that the Niagara
Movement initiated to its successor organization—the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People. Consciously and unconsciously, black Americans continue to
infuse the spirit of the Niagara Movement in their struggles for racial justice.
by Korey Bowers Brown
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The Niagara Movement
Black Protest Reborn
Founders of Black History Month
| The 2005 Black History Theme: |