Black Philadelphians Mass-Reject Colonization

In January 1817, over 3,000 Black Philadelphians gather at Bethel AME Church under James Forten and Richard Allen and unanimously reject the American Colonization Society. They argue: "We have no wish to separate from our present homes for any purpose whatever." They insist they are American by birth, labor, and right, the most significant early mass Black political action.