Why did the Niagara Movement come to Harpers Ferry in 1906?
The reasons “Niagarites” chose Harpers Ferry were both symbolic and practical. Harpers Ferry was the site of John Brown’s 1859 raid and regarded by many black Americans as “sacred” soil. Harpers Ferry was also home to Storer College, a black institution of higher learning, whose meeting rooms and dormitories were made available for use by Niagara Movement participants. Question 4 – Who were the principle leaders of the Niagara Movement? The leaders of the Niagara Movement were, by and large, African Americans from what biographer Paul D. Nelson has referred to as the “generation of the 1860s.” These were men and women who had been emancipated during the Civil War or born free during the conflict or in the years immediately following its conclusion. To a person, they chafed under the indignities a segregated society inflicted and determined to improve conditions for their race. William Edward Burghardt Du Bois (1868-1963) was one of the main driving forces behind the development of the
