Black abolitionists became increasingly irritated by the racial
attitudes of their white colleagues. Many of the whites were
influential businessmen, and they were attacked for their own
hiring practices. It was claimed that, when they hired blacks at
all, they hired them only in menial positions. Martin R. Delany,
abolitionist, journalist, and physician, complained that the
blacks had taken a back seat in the movement for too long. He
also bitterly attacked whites for thinking that they knew best
what was good for the African. He concluded that both friend and
foe shared the same prejudices.
The Underground Railroad was another project which involved large
numbers of whites. Besides providing financial backing for it,
they worked as conductors and station masters. They helped
runaways to safety, and they sheltered escapees. These men wanted to do
more than speak out on the issue of slavery; they wanted to take action.
Helping runaway slaves was against the law, and
these men had such strong convictions that, while they did not
think of themselves as criminals, they were willing to
deliberately break the law.
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