The “Conventions” of the Conventions:
The Practices of Black Political Citizenship
This exhibit takes as its focus the rituals of the conventions—the carefully crafted actions repeated by delegates and audience members again and again over years, and sometimes decades. By identifying moments throughout the conventions in which delegates, speakers, and audience members perform these actions, this exhibit traces the rituals—or conventions—of the conventions.
Credits and Citations
Curated and Written by Carolyne King, PhD Candidate in English at the University of Delaware, and Erica L. Ball, Professor of American Studies at California State University, Fullerton. Created for Dr. P. Gabrielle Foreman’s History/English 641 class, Spring 2016.
Edited by P. Gabrielle Foreman and Sarah Patterson.
Additional contributions: Exhibit Migration 2025-2026 by Christiana Dillard, University of Pennsylvania, and Lauren Cooper, Penn State University.
Special thanks to Gale, a Cengage Company, and Accessible Archives Inc.® for granting permission for the use of the materials from 19th Century U.S. Newspaper and African American Newspapers: The 19th Century.
