harpers Ferry, WV − The nonpartisan National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) today joins the National Park Service and the Jefferson County, West Virginia NAACP in celebrating the centennial of the historic Niagara Movement—cornerstone of the modern-day civil rights movement and forerunner of the oldest civil rights organization, the NAACP.
“Visitors to Harpers Ferry can learn about and reflect upon the Niagara Movement, which played a critical role in shaping African American history and our history as a nation,” said Joy Oakes, NPCA Mid-Atlantic regional director.
On August 15, 1906, the Niagara Movement, led by author and scholar W.E.B. DuBois, held its first meeting on American soil on the campus of Storer College, now part of Harpers Ferry National Historical Park. The three-day gathering, held to discuss how to secure civil rights for African Americans, was later described by DuBois as “one of the greatest meetings that American Negroes ever held.” Attendees of the 1906 meeting walked from Storer College to the nearby farm of the Murphy family, then the site of the historic fort where John Brown’s quest to free four million enslaved African Americans reached its bloody climax.
Today, visitors to Harpers Ferry National Historical Park can experience this history at the place where original Niagara Movement participants marched, because Murphy Farm was preserved in 2002. At that time, the 99-acre privately owned Murphy Farm was threatened by plans for extensive development. NPCA and a broad coalition successfully blocked construction of a proposed housing subdivision and advocated for the incorporation of the historic land into Harpers Ferry National Historical Park so that its role in the Niagara Movement could be preserved for generations.
“If the Niagara Movement hadn’t taken place, the civil rights movement in this country would be years behind the times,” said George Rutherford, director of the Jefferson County NAACP. “This country would be nowhere near where we are right now in terms of civil rights.”
Descendants of the original Niagara Movement will recreate the historic walk from Storer College to Murphy Farm on Sunday, August 19, 2006, as part of the centennial festivities.
Also, just in time for the Niagara Movement Centennial, NPCA has developed a new brochure, Commemorating the African American Experience in America’s National Parks: From Civil War to Civil Rights, to increase awareness of the diverse stories of African American history in our national parks, and NPCA’s work with communities and partners to protect these national treasures for present and future generations. Copies of Commemorating the African American Experience in America’s National Parks will be made available to visitors attending the centennial activities at the park this weekend.
“The National Park Service is one of the largest stewards of African-American history and culture in the United States,” said Oakes. “The challenge is getting the word out so that people whose stories are told in the national parks feel connected to these treasured places.”
NOTE: Invited guests for the Niagara Movement Centennial commemoration include Dr. Julian Bond, Ms. Donzaleigh Abernathy, Dr. Benjamin Hooks, Dr. Du Bois Williams (granddaughter of W.E.B Du Bois) and keynote speaker Dr. David Levering Lewis, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author.
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