Citation metadataDocument controlsMain contentArticle Preview : Show "Believe in life! Always human beings will live and progress to greater, broader, and fuller life."- W. E. B. Du Bois Over a century ago in February 1905, thirty-two African Americans met secretly in the Buffalo home of Mary B. Talbert to discuss the resolutions that would become the Niagara Movement. This group invited fifty-nine selected "African American businessmen to a meeting that summer in western New York. On July 11 thru 14, 1905 on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls, twenty-nine met and formed a group called the Niagara Movement" ("Founders of the Niagara Movement at Niagara Falls."). The name "Niagara Movement" allegedly came from the location of the meeting, along with the '"mighty current' of protest they wished to unleash." But before looking at the Movement, we need to take a closer look at some of the founding members. W. E. B. Du Bois is arguably the most well-known and respected founding member of the Niagara Movement. Du Bois was born in Barrington, Massachusetts in 1868. He completed high school and then went to Fisk University, where, in 1888, he received a B.A. degree. Du Bois went on to go to Harvard where he obtained his M.A. and his Ph. D. ("Dubois Obituary"). Du Bois was the first African American to earn a Ph. D. at Harvard (Meier, and Franklin, 65). Du Bois used his training in social sciences and published the first in-depth case study of a black community in the United States, in The Philadelphia Negro, in 1899. When dealing with civil rights for African Americans, Du Bois believed in a college-educated "Talented Tenth." This Talented Tenth were going to be the educated African Americans who would lead the rest of the African Americans to equality by being committed to the "welfare of the black masses." This Talented Tenth would be the leadership that would elevate the "blacks economically and culturally." This will play in later to the conflict between Du Bois and the largest black figure of this time, Booker T. Washington. [Du Bois was also a noted propagandist]. Since Du Bois was the leading intellectual African American at this time, it seems appropriate that this would be one of his roles. Du Bois even wrote in his autobiographical book, Dusk of Dawn, that it was his "role as a master of propaganda" (Meier and Franklin, 63-66). Du Bois also had a personal platform, which he circulated, that would heavily influence the Niagara Movement's platform that will be discussed later on. Du Bois' personal platform was as follows: Full political rights on the same terms as other Americans; higher education of selected Negro youth; industrial education for the masses; common school training for every Negro child; a stoppage to the campaign of self-depreciation; a careful study of the real conditions of the Negro; a national Negro periodical; the raising of a defense fund; a judicious fight in the courts for civil rights. (Meier and Franklin, 67) It is apparent in this platform that Du Bois... Get Full Access Gale offers a variety of resources for education, lifelong learning, and academic research. Log in through your library to get access to full content and features! Access through your library Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2008 Afro-American Historical Association of the Niagara Frontier, Inc. Source CitationGale Document Number: GALE|A182027490
The Niagara Movement Annual Meeting, Boston, 1907 Public domain image The Niagara Movement was a civil rights group organized by W.E.B. Du Bois and William Monroe Trotter in 1905. After being denied admittance to hotels in Buffalo, New York, the group of twenty-nine business owners, teachers, and clergy who comprised the initial meeting gathered at Niagara Falls, Ontario (Canada) from which the group’s name derives. The principles behind the Niagara Movement were largely in opposition to Booker T. Washington’s philosophy of Accommodationism. Trotter, editor of the Boston Guardian, had publicly reprimanded Washington at a Boston, Massachusetts meeting in 1903. In The Souls of Black Folk (1903), Du Bois had also condemned Washington for his lowered expectations for African Americans. The Niagara Movement drafted a “Declaration of Principles,” part of which stated: “We refuse to allow the impression to remain that the Negro-American assents to inferiority, is submissive under oppression and apologetic before insults.” The Niagara Movement attempted to bring about legal change, addressing the issues of crime, economics, religion, health, and education. The movement stood apart from other black organizations at the time because of its powerful, unequivocal demand for equal rights. The Niagara Movement forcefully demanded equal economic and educational opportunity as well as the vote for black men and women. Members of the Niagara Movement sent a powerful message to the entire country through their condemnation of racial discrimination and their call for an end to segregation. While the movement had grown to include to 170 members in 34 states by 1906, it also encountered difficulties. W.E.B. Du Bois supported the inclusion of women in the Niagara Movement, William Monroe Trotter did not. Trotter left the movement in 1908 to start his own group, the Negro-American Political League. The Niagara Movement met annually until 1908. In that year a major race riot broke out in Springfield, Illinois. Eight blacks were killed and over 2,000 African Americans fled the city. Symbolically important because it was the first northern race riot in four decades and because it was in the hometown of Abraham Lincoln, black and white activists, including members of the Niagara Movement, felt a new more powerful, interracial organization was now needed to combat racism. Out of this concern, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was formed. The Niagara Movement was considered the precursor to the NAACP and many of its members, such as W.E.B. Du Bois, were among the new organization’s founders. Do you find this information helpful? A small donation would help us keep this available to all. Forego a bottle of soda and donate its cost to us for the information you just learned, and feel good about helping to make it available to everyone. BlackPast.org is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and our EIN is 26-1625373. Your donation is fully tax-deductible. Cite this article in APA format:Christensen, S. (2007, December 16). Niagara Movement (1905-1909). BlackPast.org. https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/niagara-movement-1905-1909/ Source of the author's information:Kate Tuttle, “Niagara Movement,” Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience (New York: Oxford University Press, 2005); Susan Altman, “Niagara Movement,” The Encyclopedia of African American Heritage (New York: Facts On File, Inc., 1997); Scott Kirkwood, “And Justice for All” National Parks (Washington: Summer 2006). What was the Niagara Movement quizlet?What was the Niagara Movement? A movement, led by W. E. B. Du Bois, that focused on equal rights for the education of African American youth. Rejecting the gradualist approach of Booker T. Washington, it favored militant action and claimed for African Americans all the rights afforded to other Americans.
What did the Niagara Movement lead to?With its comparatively aggressive approach to combating racial discrimination and segregation, the Niagara Movement served as a forerunner to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the civil rights movement.
Why was it called the Niagara Movement?On July 11 thru 14, 1905 on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls, twenty-nine men met and formed a group they called the Niagara Movement. The name came because of the location and the "mighty current" of protest they wished to unleash. Du Bois was named general secretary and the group split into various committees.
Why was the Niagara Movement in Canada?The Niagara Movement forcefully demanded equal economic and educational opportunity as well as the vote for black men and women. Members of the Niagara Movement sent a powerful message to the entire country through their condemnation of racial discrimination and their call for an end to segregation.
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