The journalistic period
began in 1827, its centre being New York and the work of the journals
almost wholly directed to two ends: the abolition of slavery, and the
enfranchisement and political elevation of the free blacks. This work
had reached its highest form in the Anglo-African, as that epoch of
our national history came to its close in the slave-holders' war.
The titles of the newspapers indicate the opening and continuance of a
period of anti-slavery agitation. Their columns were filled with
arguments and appeals furnished by men who gave their whole souls to
the work. It was a period of great mental activity on the part of the
free colored people. They were discussing all probable methods of
bettering their condition. It was the period that produced both
writers and orators. In 1830 the first convention called by colored
men to consider the general condition of the race and devise means to
improve that condition, met in the city of Philadelphia. The history
of this convention is so important that I append a full account of it
as published in the Anglo-African nearly thirty years after the
convention met. It was called through the efforts of Hezekiah Grice,
of Baltimore, who afterwards emigrated to Hayti, and for many years
followed there the occupation of carver and gilder and finally became
Director of Public Works of the city of Port-au-Prince.
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