While Garnet favored emigration
to Liberia, Delany became an advocate of moving to Central and
South America. He said that the United States had violated its
own principles of republicanism and equality and that it was
keeping Negroes in economic and political bondage. He concluded
that Negroes were left with a choice between continued
degradation in America or emigration. By 1852 he had come to
prefer the latter choice.
In 1854 a colonization convention was held in Cleveland for
those who were interested in emigration within the boundaries of
the western hemisphere. The convention noted that the
Afro-American community was developing a growing sense of racial
consciousness and pride. Although blacks were in the minority in
Europe and America, it pointed out that most of the world's
population was colored. Integration into the mainstream of
American life, besides appearing to be impossible, seemed to
demand the denial of selfhood for the black man. Therefore, black
separatism grew in popularity and became a platform from which to
maintain a sense of identity and individual worth.
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