The work of unifying the race along right lines now proceeded with the holding of state conventions. There was a state Temperance Convention of the colored men of Connecticut, held at Middletown, 1836, followed by a call for a New England Convention at Boston in October. Reference to its proceedings shows a prior convention held at Providence, R. I., in May. At the Boston convention a ringing appeal was made to the people, for total abstinence from all intoxicants, and almost immediately thereafter, local meetings were held for the purpose of putting in practical operation the principles enunciated. Not only in New England, but in the Middle and Western States, local conventions were held during the next decade.
The following extracts from a letter from the veteran educator, Peter H. Clark, shed a flood of light upon this early movement:
J. W. Cromwell,
Washington, D. C.
My Dear Sir:—
The people of Ohio held conventions annually for more than thirty years. Usually they printed their proceedings in pamphlets.
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A peculiarity of the Ohio conventions was that they were meant to improve the condition of the colored people of that State. The conventions of those residing in the more eastern States were simply anti-slavery conventions, and their memorials and protests were aimed at slavery. The first conventions of the men of Ohio were self-helpful. By their own sacrifices and with the help of friends, they purchased lots and erected school houses in a number of towns, or they organized schools and located them in churches.
Active in this work were the Yancy’s, Charles and Walter, Gideon and Charles Langston, (brothers of John M.), George Carey, Dennis Hill, and chief among them, David Jenkins. Walter Yancy was the agent of these men, travelling and organizing societies and schools, collecting funds, etc.
As a result of this self-helping movement, a number of farming communities were established, some of which accumulated large areas of land, and in Cincinnati, The Iron Chest Company accumulated funds and in 1840 erected a block of buildings which still stands.
Later, the action of the Convention was directed against the Black Laws of Ohio. These were repealed in 1849, and colored children were permitted to share in the benefits of the school funds, though in separate schools. The same legislature elected Salmon P. Chase to the United States Senate. The movement thus detailed was the result of a bargain between the Democrats of Ohio and the Free Soilers.