History
In July 1905 a group led by W. E. B. Du Bois, John Hope, Fredrick L. McGhee, and William Monroe Trotter met at the Erie Beach Hotel in Fort Erie, Ontario, opposite Buffalo, New York, to discuss full civil liberties, an end to racial discrimination, and recognition of human brotherhood. Differing opinions exist on why the group met in southern Ontario. A popular legend, which cannot be substantiated with primary sources, is that they had originally planned to meet in Buffalo, but were refused accommodation. And the other, which is substantiated with many primary sources, states that the original plan was to find a quiet, out of the way location for the event.
The philosophies of the group were in direct contrast to more conciliatory philosophies that proposed patience over militancy. Fifty-nine men were invited to this first meeting but only 29 attended. The Niagara Movement eventually split into separate committees and divided among the states, establishing chapters in twenty one states by mid-September and reaching 170 members by year’s end. By 1910 however, due to weak finances and internal dissension the group was disbanded.
Their second meeting, the first to be held on U.S. soil, took place at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, the site of John Brown's raid. The three-day gathering, starting on August 15, 1906 at the campus of Storer College (now part of Harpers Ferry National Historical Park), discussed how to secure civil rights for African Americans and was later described by Du Bois as "one of the greatest meetings that American Negroes ever held." Attendees walked from Storer College to the nearby Murphy Family farm, relocation site of the historic fort where John Brown's quest to free four million enslaved blacks reached its bloody climax. Once there they removed their shoes and socks to honor the hallowed ground and participated in a ceremony of remembrance
Read more about this topic: Niagara Movement
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