National Equal Rights League
Encyclopedia
The National Equal Rights League (NERL) is the oldest nationwide human rights
organization dedicated to the liberation of black people
in the United States
. Its origins can be traced back to the emancipation of slaves in the British West Indies
in 1833.
, a large celebration of pro-abolitionist
, free black men was held in Buffalo, New York
. During this celebration, planning began for the creation of a wholly black organization to fight for the human rights for blacks in the United States
.
Ten years later, in 1843, after the establishment of several state conventions, the first National Convention of Colored Men of America was held in Buffalo with several hundred delegates, free black men and escaped slaves, from throughout the U.S.
At this convention, the Chairman Samuel H. Davis defined their purpose:
Several resolutions were passed endorsing the abolition of slavery, legal equality regardless of color or race, and black manhood suffrage. The members also wrote their own constitution and founded the National Equal Rights League (NERL), and its subsidiary state Equal Rights Leagues.
The NERL used the susu economics practices of its many West Indies immigrant members to fund its activities, which included the establishment of self-sufficient black communities (Black Wall Streets) throughout the U.S.
The work of the membership of the NERL created other such organizations as the National Negro Business League
, the National Negro Bar Association, and the Pan-African Conference.
The NERL also had significant international influence as well. Its leadership was received by heads of state and they even had a delegate attend the Paris Peace Conference
of 1919.
The two most well known leaders of the NERL were John Mercer Langston
and William Monroe Trotter
. Some notable members included Madam C.J. Walker, Ida B. Wells-Barnett (who founded its Anti-Lynching Bureau), Mary Church Terrell
, Marcus Garvey
, Octavius V. Catto
, Charles Lewis Reason, John Rock, William Cooper Nell, and Frederick Douglass
.
, to discuss the growing debate between followers of Booker T. Washington
and followers of W. E. B. Du Bois, and to develop a new strategy for dealing with race relations at the turn of the century. At this meeting, Du Bois unsuccessfully tried to convince the NERL members present, Trotter and Wells-Barnett, that whites should be permitted to help revitalize the NERL.
With this disagreement, Du Bois left to create NERL's rival organization, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
(NAACP). The rivalry between the two organizations persisted for almost three decades before the NERL was eventually disbanded.
One of the major skermishes in this rivalry was during the aftermath of the Elaine Race Riot
of 1919.
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
organization dedicated to the liberation of black people
Black people
The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Its origins can be traced back to the emancipation of slaves in the British West Indies
Emancipation of the British West Indies
The Emancipation of the British West Indies was proposed as early as 1787, but was not achieved until the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 ....
in 1833.
Origins
As a result of the 1833 British West Indies emancipationEmancipation of the British West Indies
The Emancipation of the British West Indies was proposed as early as 1787, but was not achieved until the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 ....
, a large celebration of pro-abolitionist
Abolitionism
Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...
, free black men was held in Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
. During this celebration, planning began for the creation of a wholly black organization to fight for the human rights for blacks in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Ten years later, in 1843, after the establishment of several state conventions, the first National Convention of Colored Men of America was held in Buffalo with several hundred delegates, free black men and escaped slaves, from throughout the U.S.
At this convention, the Chairman Samuel H. Davis defined their purpose:
"... we wish to secure for ourselves, in common with other citizens, the privilege of seeking our own happiness in any part of the country we choose ... unconstitutionally denied us in part of this union. We wish also to secure the elective franchise in those states where it is denied us - where are rights are legislated away, and our voice is neither heard nor regarded. We also wish to secure, for our children especially, the benefits of education, which in several States are entirely denied to us, and in others, are enjoyed only in name. These, and many other things, of which we justly complain, bear most heavily upon us as a people; and it is our right and our duty to seek for redress, in that way which will lead most likely the desired end."
Several resolutions were passed endorsing the abolition of slavery, legal equality regardless of color or race, and black manhood suffrage. The members also wrote their own constitution and founded the National Equal Rights League (NERL), and its subsidiary state Equal Rights Leagues.
The NERL used the susu economics practices of its many West Indies immigrant members to fund its activities, which included the establishment of self-sufficient black communities (Black Wall Streets) throughout the U.S.
The work of the membership of the NERL created other such organizations as the National Negro Business League
National Negro Business League
The National Negro Business League was an American organization founded in Boston, Massachusetts in 1900 by Booker T. Washington, with the support of Andrew Carnegie...
, the National Negro Bar Association, and the Pan-African Conference.
The NERL also had significant international influence as well. Its leadership was received by heads of state and they even had a delegate attend the Paris Peace Conference
Paris Peace Conference, 1919
The Paris Peace Conference was the meeting of the Allied victors following the end of World War I to set the peace terms for the defeated Central Powers following the armistices of 1918. It took place in Paris in 1919 and involved diplomats from more than 32 countries and nationalities...
of 1919.
The two most well known leaders of the NERL were John Mercer Langston
John Mercer Langston
John Mercer Langston was an American abolitionist, attorney, educator, and political activist. He was the first dean of the law school at Howard University and helped create the department. He was the first president of what is now Virginia State University. In 1888 he was the first African...
and William Monroe Trotter
William Monroe Trotter
William Monroe Trotter was a newspaper editor and real estate business man, and an activist for African-American civil rights. He earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees at Harvard University, and was the first man of color to earn a Phi Beta Kappa key...
. Some notable members included Madam C.J. Walker, Ida B. Wells-Barnett (who founded its Anti-Lynching Bureau), Mary Church Terrell
Mary Church Terrell
Mary Church Terrell , daughter of former slaves, was one of the first African-American women to earn a college degree. She became an activist who led several important associations and worked for civil rights and suffrage....
, Marcus Garvey
Marcus Garvey
Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Jr., ONH was a Jamaican publisher, journalist, entrepreneur, and orator who was a staunch proponent of the Black Nationalism and Pan-Africanism movements, to which end he founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League...
, Octavius V. Catto
Octavius Catto
Octavius Valentine Catto was a black educator, intellectual, and civil rights activist. He was also known for being a cricket and baseball player in 19th-century Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...
, Charles Lewis Reason, John Rock, William Cooper Nell, and Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass was an American social reformer, orator, writer and statesman. After escaping from slavery, he became a leader of the abolitionist movement, gaining note for his dazzling oratory and incisive antislavery writing...
.
Formation of a rival organization
In 1905, NERL leaders met with other black leaders, in what is now known as the Niagara MovementNiagara Movement
The Niagara Movement was a black civil rights organization founded in 1905 by a group led by W. E. B. Du Bois and William Monroe 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...
, to discuss the growing debate between followers of Booker T. Washington
Booker T. Washington
Booker Taliaferro Washington was an American educator, author, orator, and political leader. He was the dominant figure in the African-American community in the United States from 1890 to 1915...
and followers of W. E. B. Du Bois, and to develop a new strategy for dealing with race relations at the turn of the century. At this meeting, Du Bois unsuccessfully tried to convince the NERL members present, Trotter and Wells-Barnett, that whites should be permitted to help revitalize the NERL.
With this disagreement, Du Bois left to create NERL's rival organization, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, usually abbreviated as NAACP, is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909. Its mission is "to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to...
(NAACP). The rivalry between the two organizations persisted for almost three decades before the NERL was eventually disbanded.
One of the major skermishes in this rivalry was during the aftermath of the Elaine Race Riot
Elaine Race Riot
The Elaine Race Riot, also called the Elaine Massacre, occurred September 30, 1919 in the town of Elaine in Phillips County, Arkansas, in the Arkansas Delta, where sharecropping by African American farmers was prevalent on plantations of white landowners.Approximately 100 African American farmers,...
of 1919.