Struggle & Resistance Achievement & Excellence

September 1830

Forty delegates from seven states gathered at Bethel AME Church, Philadelphia, convened by Bishop Richard Allen. They formed the American Society of Free Persons of Colour, debated emigration to Canada, condemned the American Colonization Society, and called for education and moral uplift. The convention model — annual national gatherings of Black leaders — became the primary vehicle for organized Black political strategy for decades.

Events

September 20, 1830
First National Negro Convention Meets in Philadelphia
Forty delegates from seven states gathered at Bethel AME Church, Philadelphia, convened by Bishop Richard Allen. They formed the American Society of Free Persons of Colour, debated emigration to Canada, condemned the American Colonization Society, and called for education and moral uplift. The convention model — annual national gatherings of Black leaders — became the primary vehicle for organized Black political strategy for decades.
September 20, 1830
The first National Negro Convention
Free Black leaders gather in Philadelphia to organize against slavery and for civil rights — the start of the Black convention movement.