Black Power -- The Debate in 1840

In 1840 free Negroes in New York & other northern cities called & held all-black conventions designed to achieve unrestricted suffrage & full civil equality. Their exclusion of whites roused antislavery spokesmen, esp the National AntiSlavery Standard, to criticize black racism as a dangerous response to white racism. Negroes, responding largely through the columns of the Colored American, defended exclusive action on the grounds that only action on their own would demonstrate their capacity as citizens, overcome prejudice, & offer black leaders a chance to develop their program without being overshadowed by better-known whites. Negroes' limited role in antislavery societies & the societies' timidity in pressing for full equality were also factors leading to exclusive action. Both David Ruggles & Henry Highland Garnet soon added to their convention leadership appeals to slaves to resist bondage actively & physically. Most whites & some Negroes regarded exclusive Negro conventions as inverse racism. AA.