Seeking and Submit Records

The Colored Conventions Project (CCP) is continually adding minutes to this site that have not been previously included in book collections of state or national conventions, which stop at the Civil War. This project focuses on emigration, teaching, and political conventions from any region between 1830 and 1900. We are interested in conventions that took place in both the United States and Canada occurring after the Civil War period (mid-1860s) and through the Niagara conventions (early 1900s).

We are seeking records for the following conventions that are organized by state and by year. If you have or know of records not featured on our site that you would like to share, please fill out our Convention Records Submission Form.

Examples of convention minutes include:

Proceedings of the Colored People’s Convention of the State of South Carolina, 1865.
Proceedings of the Convention of Colored Citizens of Arkansas, 1865.

General questions or comments about this project can be directed to: info@coloredconventions.org.

To submit records, please include:

Full title of document
Convention date (YYYY-MM-DD)
Convention location
Source
Permanent URL
File upload (JPG or PDF)

SUBMIT RECORDS

RECORDS NEEDED
Organized by State

California

1889 State Convention of the California Afro-American League

Connecticut

1886 Connecticut State Convention of Colored People

Delaware

1881 State Convention of the Colored People of Delaware

District of Columbia

1871 Colored National Labor Union Convention held in Washington, DC

1873 State Convention of Colored Citizens held in Washington, DC

1873 National Civil Rights Convention held in Washington, DC

1882 National Colored Press Convention held in Washington, DC

1889 National Colored Press Convention held in Washington, DC

1890 Convention of Colored Americans held in Washington, DC

1891 American Citizens Equal Rights League Association Conference held in Washington, DC

Georgia

1869 Georgia State Colored Labor Convention held in Macon

1871 Georgia State Convention of Colored Men held in Atlanta

Illinois

1880 Illinois State Convention of Colored People held in Springfield

1883 Illinois State Convention of Colored People held in Springfield

1885 Illinois State Convention of Colored Men held in Springfield

1889 Illinois State Convention of Colored Men held in Springfield

1890 National Convention of the Afro-American League held in Chicago, Illinois

Indiana

1866 Indiana State Equal Rights League Convention held in Indianapolis

1871 Indiana State Convention of Colored Men held in Indianapolis

Iowa

1868 Iowa State Colored Convention held in Muscatine

1876 Iowa State Colored Convention held in Oskaloosa

1885 Iowa State Colored Convention held in Oskaloosa

1885/6 Iowa State Colored Convention possibly held in Des Moines

1891 Iowa State Colored Convention held in Red Oak

Kansas

1887 Kansas State Convention of the Afro-American League held in Topeka

Kentucky

1869 Kentucky State Colored Educational Convention held in Louisville

1880 National Colored Press Convention held in Louisville, Kentucky

Louisiana

1870 Louisiana State Convention held in New Orleans

1871 Louisiana State Convention of Colored People held in New Orleans

1872 National Convention of Colored People held in New Orleans, Louisiana

1874 Louisiana State Convention

1879 Louisiana Convention held in New Orleans

Maryland

1866 Maryland State Convention of Colored People held in Baltimore

1869 Maryland State Convention of Colored Mechanics held in Baltimore

1869 Maryland State Colored Labor Convention

1882 Maryland State Convention held in Baltimore

1890 Maryland State Convention of Colored People held in Boston

1894 National Convention of Colored Teachers held in Baltimore, Maryland

Massachusetts

1872 New England States Convention of Colored Citizens held in Boston, Massachusetts

1883 Massachusetts State Convention of Colored Men held in Boston

1892 Massachusetts State Convention of Colored Men held in Boston

Missouri

1877 Missouri State Convention of Colored Teachers held in St. Louis

1878 Colored Laborer’s and Business Men’s Industrial Convention held in Kansas City, Missouri

1883 National Colored Press Convention held in St. Louis, Missouri

1884 Missouri State Convention of Colored Teachers

Nebraska

1871 Nebraska State Convention held in Omaha

1872 Nebraska State Convention of Colored People held in Omaha

New Jersey

1866 New Jersey State Colored Convention held in Gloucester

1868 New Jersey State Convention of the Colored Men held in Trenton

New York

1843 New York State Convention of Colored People held in Rochester

1870 New York State Labor Convention held in Saratoga

1872 New York State Convention of Colored Men held in Troy

1874 New York State Convention of Colored Citizens held in Utica

1891 New York State Convention of the Afro-American League

North Carolina

1877 North Carolina State Convention of Colored Citizens held in Raleigh

Ohio

1867 Ohio State Equal Rights League Convention held in Cincinnati

1873 Ohio State Convention of Colored Citizens held in Chillicothe

1883 Ohio State Convention of Colored People held in Columbus

1886 Ohio State Convention of Colored People held in Alliance

1891 National Colored Press Convention held in Cincinnati, Ohio

Pennsylvania

1851 Pennsylvania State Convention of Colored People held in Sandy Lake

1868 Pennsylvania State Convention of Colored Men held in Pittsburgh

1869 Pennsylvania State Equal Rights League Convention held in Philadelphia

1872 Pennsylvania State Equal Rights League

1873 Pennsylvania State Equal Rights League Convention

1874 Pennsylvania State Equal Rights League Convention

1877 Pennsylvania State Equal Rights League Convention held in Erie

1898 Pennsylvania State Convention of the Afro-American League

South Carolina

1876 Charleston City Meeting of Colored Citizens

Tennessee

1874 Tennessee State Convention held in Nashville

1876 National Convention of Colored People held in Nashville, Tennessee

1888 National Colored Press Association held in Nashville, Tennessee

Texas

1866 Texas State Central Committee of Colored Men

1869 Texas State Colored Labor Convention held in Galveston

1884 Texas State Convention of Colored Men held in Houston

Virginia

1885 Virginia State Convention of Colored People held in Lynchburg

1894 National Afro-American Press Association Convention held in Richmond, Virginia

Location unknown

1872 Convention of the Colored People of the Choctaw Nation

1886 New England States Convention of Colored Men

1887 National Convention of Colored Men

1890 National Colored Press Convention

1892 National Convention of Afro-American Press Association

1897 National Afro-American Press Association Convention

1898 National Afro-American Press Association Convention

RECORDS NEEDED
Organized by Year

1840s/1850s