"Niagara Movement"(1905-1909)

The Niagara Movement was a black civil rights organization founded in 1905 by a group led by

W.E.B. Du Bois and William Trotter.It was named for the "mighty current"of change the group wanted to effect and Niagara Falls,the Canadian side of which was where the first meeting took place in July 1905.The Niagara Movement was call for opposition to racial segregation and disenfranchisement,and it was opposed to policies of accommodation and conciliation promoted by African American leaders such as Booker T. Washington.In July 1905 a group led by W.E.B. Du Bois,Fredrick L. McGhee and William Monroe Trotter.It was named for the  "mighty current" of change the group wanted effect and Niagara Falls,Canadian side of which was where the first meeting took place in 1905.The Niagara Movement was call for opposition to racial segregation and disenfranchisement,and it was opposed to policies of accommodation and conciliation by African American leaders such as Booker T. Washington.In July 1905 a group led by W.E.B. Du Bois,John Hope,Fredrick L.Mcghee,and William Monroe Trotter met at the 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 had originally planned to met 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 states by mid-September and reaching 170 members by year's end.By 1910,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 W.E.B. 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 they removed their shoes and socks to honor the hallowed ground and participated in a ceremony of remembrance.The Niagara Movement suffered from a number of organizational flaws including a lack of funding and central leadership.Following the Springfield Race Riot of 1908,the Niagara Movement admitted their first white member,Mary White Ovington,a settlement worker and socialist.In 1911,the remaining members of the Niagara Movement joined with a number of white progressives to form the NAACP.