REPORT FROM THE PRESIDENT

The Afro-American Historical Association of the Niagara Frontier (AAHANF) received an historic bonanza from Theresa J. White, a retired social worker and former community activist.  The papers from the personal files of Ms. White have become part of “The Buffalo Afro-American Collection,” a joint project of the AAHANF and Buffalo State College.  Ms. White has a special interest in African American studies.  One of her dream projects was to write a history of African Americans in Buffalo .  Many of the papers were collected by her with that in mind.

Over the years, Ms. White served on many boards of community civil rights, and cultural organizations and collected the minutes, news clippings, by-laws, reports, meeting notices, newsletters, correspondence, annual reports and other papers from some of those organizations.  Organizations represented in her collection include the Black Development Foundation (BDF), B.U.I.L.D., Citizens Council on Human Relations (CCHR), CORE, Cradle of Black Pearls Child Care Center, Housing Opportunities Made Equal (HOME), Buffalo NAACP, Buffalo Urban League, Model Cities, Community Action Organization (CAO), and the Walls Memorial Cultural Center.  In addition, Ms. White contributed many of her unpublished poems to the collection.

The collection was organized by Ms. White.  Papers are indexed and easy to find. Dr. Monroe Fordham and Freddie Fordham indexed the papers and prepared them for microfilming.  They were microfilmed in the Regional History Center at Buffalo State College. The microfilm is available to the public for viewing at the North Jefferson Library on E. Utica St. , the Butler Library Archives at Buffalo State College, and the Monroe Fordham Center for Regional History at Buffalo State College.

                                                                                                                                                                                        Madeline Scott

JOURNAL PART OF GALE DATABASE

Recently, the Association was informed that our journal, Afro-Americans in New York Life and History, has been accepted for inclusion in the Thomson Gale database for libraries.  The periodical database is a full text database and is held by most libraries in America . 

The AAHANF Journal, Afro-Americans In New York Life and History is one of hundreds of well established publications that is in the Gale listing.  The Association will receive royalties when their scholarly articles are accessed.

Another library data base where the Association Journal can be found is in Soft Line Communications which deals primarily with minority newspapers and publications.  For more information on the AAHANF, check out our web site at www.aahanf.org

THE BUFFALO ROOTS OF THE “ NIAGARA MOVEMENT”

Tommie E. Blunt

Many people believe that the civil rights movement began in the 1950s with Rosa Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King.  That is not entirely true, some historians argue that the philosophical origins of the modern day civil rights movement should be traced back to the Niagara Movement.

The Niagara Movement had it’s origin right here in western New York and Fort Erie , Canada .  Delegates met at the home of Mrs. Mary Talbert, on Michigan Street , before convening in Fort Erie . The movement ushered in a very radical and somewhat novel idea, that Black Americans should share in the freedom and justice that White Americans had always taken for granted.

In 1905, the year that saw 57 Black men lynched in the United States , the Niagara Movement announced to the world that the injustices of lynching, segregation and racism, to which Black Americans were constant victims, would be documented and challenged in the courts.  Under the leadership of Dr. W.E.B. DuBois and William Monroe Trotter, the Niagara Movement demanded justice and liberation for all men and women under the Constitution.

In his opening statement to the conference, Dr. DuBois declared that, “We claim for ourselves every right that belongs to a free-born American …and until we get those rights, we will never cease to protest and assail the ears of America with the story of its shameful deeds toward us.  We want full manhood suffrage, and we want it now, henceforth and forever.  We demand no more, and we will accept no less.”

From the Niagara Movement, a permanent organization of Blacks and Whites was formed on May 30, 1909 in New York City .  That organization became known as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, or the NAACP.  As we celebrate the 100^th anniversary of the Niagara Movement, it is important to recognize that the freedoms we enjoy in the year 2005, are to a large extent, the result of something that was set in motion in 1905, right here in Buffalo and on the Niagara Frontier.

ASALH CONFERENCE, 2005 TO MEET IN BUFFALO

The 90^th annual conference of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) will be held in Buffalo , October 5-9,2005 .  ASALH, founded by Dr. Carter G. Woodson, is the oldest and most prominent group of American scholars who specialize in the study of African American life and history.  This is the first time that the Association has met in Buffalo .  The theme for the 2005 conference is “The Niagara Movement: Black Protest Reborn, 1905-2005.”  The conference will commemorate the 100^th anniversary of the Niagara Movement.

The Afro-American Historical Association of the Niagara Frontier will serve as the local host for the ASALH conference.  Mrs. Madeline Scott is chair of the local arrangements committee.  Drs. Lillian Williams and Felix Armfield are co-chairs of the program committee.  We hope that the local community will support and attend this prestigious gathering of hundreds of our nation’s top scholars who specialize in the study of African American history and culture.  For three days, they will present papers on various aspects of African American life and history.  This is a “once in a lifetime opportunity” for members of our community who have an interest in African American history.  Plan now to register and attend.  For more information contact: www.asalh.com/90thconvention.html.

2005 CARTER G. WOODSON ESSAY CONTEST

The theme for the 28^th  Annual Carter G. Woodson Essay Contest was, "Justice for African Americans in Western New York ."  The contest was open to all young people in grades 4-12.  The top three essays in each age group category were read at a program on Saturday, February 26 at the North Jefferson Branch Library and Center for Local Afro-American History and Research.  Certificates and cash prizes were awarded during the program.  Co-sponsors of the program were the Afro-American Historical Association of the Niagara Frontier, the Lit-Mus Club, the North Jefferson Branch Library, and the BECP Library Dept. of Extension Services.  Sharon Holley was chairman and coordinator of the contest.  The winning essays are as follows:

3rd Place , Grades 4-6

Keaira Aiken

Houghton Academy   - grade 4

I think African Americas have not received equal justice. They have been treated poorly by other people that are not African Americans. They have been treated poorly because of their skin color. People should act the way Martin L. King wanted. He wanted people to be judged by the content of your character and not the color of your skin.

The equal justice law has not been enforced for the poor. It has only been enforced for the rich. It has only been for the rich because they have money ,a nice car, and a nice house. It is not for the poor because they have no money and all those things the rich have. I think it should not be for the rich if the poor can’t  have it. It is just not right.

I think the laws should be changed because people like African Americans don't like them. The poor have to do all the work and the rich don't. A law that has to be changed is that people all over the United States have to go to school in the district they live in.   Kids should be able to go to a school any where in the United States . For example kids that live in the Buffalo district have to go to a Buffalo school.  They should be able to go to a school out of their district.

2nd Place , Grades 4-6

Allana Benton

Community School #77-E.C.C.  - grade 4

In my school there are a lot of different colors, African Americans, Hispanics, Caucasians, and some are bilingual. Years ago people of different colors weren't allowed to be in the same classrooms, use the same drinking fountain, or use the same restrooms. Today different colors are in the same classrooms, using the same water fountains and using the same restrooms. Some schools have more money than other schools. When schools have more money than others the school with more money get more and better school supplies, like better school books. In a lot of schools in Erie County school nurses have lost their jobs. I think that the school nurses should have kept their jobs instead of getting fired.

With poor schools its hard to get a job as a teacher or to get a job as a nurse. People are getting laid off because the city doesn't have enough money to keep them. We need more minorities in professional areas like doctors, lawyers, and teachers.

In housing there are houses that look better and cost more than other houses and most people on the west side of Buffalo cannot afford to buy, so they rent. The more people who rent, the less tax money the city receives. 

African Americans in W.N.Y. have not been given equal justice. For example, some police officers are racist. Several Buffalo Police Detectives were just sent to jail for stealing from drug dealers. Also, African American have a much greater chance of being sent to prison than any other ethnicity.

The founders of the Niagara Movement would be proud of the improvements that we have made today in our schools, jobs, legal systems and housing. However, it is a long battle that must continue.

1st Place , Grades 4-6

Michelle Baskins

Community School #77-E.C.C.

“We want justice!" We want the law to be the same for the rich as well as the poor.  “We want the law to "be the same for the "black people as well as the white people. We want the constitution enforced.”  This is the voice of an African American who wanted freedom and to be heard in 1906.

Back in 1905, scholar W.E.B DuBois began the Niagara Movement. He began meetings and discussed what they could do. The first meeting was held at the Erie Beach Hotel in Fort Ontario, Canada DuBois planned the biggest outcome by writing the Declaration of Principles.The meeting became what is now known as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The second meeting of the Niagara Movement was in West Virginia in August 16,1906 .

What should be done in 2005? I recently interviewed a 3rd grade African American teacher and she said that a African American had to cross four lanes of traffic to get out of the mall. She also said that African Americans had to score high enough to get a good job. Affirmative Action should come back. Hate crimes are on the rise. Police departments have a responsibility to do their job according to the law. A white man shot a home because the black /white couple who lived there brought a baby home that was of a mixed race. We want police who don't take advantage of the African American poor. Back in May 2002, the Commission on Citizens' Rights and Community Relations got various complaints of police discrimination. They received complaints from all over the city.

In 2005, people should live in the same neighborhood, white or black and not hate each other. People still act like long ago, but they could change. It depends on your heart, not the color of your skin.

In the future, we will not hate people for their color. We are brothers and sisters in this world! “Courage , brothers! The battle for humanity is not lost or losing. All across the skies sit the signs of promise!---the black Africans are writhing toward the light, and everywhere the laborer, with ballot in his hand, is voting open the gates of opportunity and peace.”

1st Place , Grades 10-12

Tanisha Fordham

Buffalo Academy of the Sacred Heart grade - 12

Since the Niagara Movement, an organization founded by W.E.B. DuBois and William Monroe Trotter, there have been various attempts in Western New York to demand that, "laws be enforced against the rich as well as the poor." Although this vision of equality has been realized to an extent, there are still many examples in Western New York that prove it has not. One example that exposed the inequality between the rich and the poor and caused great change is the death of Cynthia Wiggins.

Cynthia Wiggins was a seventeen year old African American teen who worked at the Walden Galleria Mall. She was one of the many people who took the bus to work. At the time, December of 1995, the NFTA Walden Avenue bus dropped off people coming from the Buffalo area on the side of the street across from the mall. This practice required bus passengers going to the mall to cross the busy intersections that meet at Walden Avenue - an intersection that is dangerous even for drivers. On December 14, 1995 Cynthia Wiggins was attempting to cross the seven lane highway and was hit and killed by a truck. This tragic incident became a major lawsuit in which many evils and injustices were exposed.

The Wiggins family retained Attorney Johnny Cochran, well known lawyer from the O.J. Simpson case, to prove that the Galleria Mall was responsible for Miss Wiggins' death. He set in motion a wrongful death suit against the Walden Galleria Mall for causing the death of Cynthia, claiming that racist transportation practices were at the root of the tragedy. During the case these accusations were proven to be true. Although the case was settled between attorneys and never reached a verdict it is the general belief that the verdict would have been in favor of Ms. Wiggins. Allegations from the community stating that the seven lane highway was being used as a barrier to keep the African American population out of the mall were proven to be much more than simple allegations after the trial was settled. The officials from the transportation authority revealed at the conclusion of the trial that they had asked repeatedly to be allowed to drop people off on the mall side of Walden Avenue , but the mall officials refused repeatedly stating that this was the only way to avoid the intrusion of "rambunctious youth." The assumption of mall officials was that African American would most likely come to the mall from the Buffalo area. Thus the "rambunctious youth" that the officials were referring to were African American teens.

Shortly following the trial, the Galleria Mall allowed the NFTA to begin to drop people off on the mall side of the street, but not prior to the motion by the Buffalo Teachers Union to boycott the mall. Although in many ways the dreams of many black leaders like DuBois and Trotter have come to fruition, there are incidents all around Western New York , like the tragedy involving Cynthia Wiggins, that are constant reminders that although we are taking strides toward equality, we have not fully achieved it thus far.

28^TH ANNUAL FAMILY HISTORY DINNER

The Afro-American Historical Association’s 28^th Family History Dinner will be held on Friday, May 6^th at 6:45 P.M. at the New Golden Nugget, 2046 Fillmore Avenue .

The family history presentation will be made by Zola Crowell who has done extensive research on her family genealogy.  Her research currently goes back to 1831 and the slave plantation in Alabama ( Covington County ).  Some of the family names she has researched are Cauley, Butler , Feagin, Lowery, Howard, and Daniels.  Her papers have been accepted at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.  In 2004 she was inducted into the International Society of Sons & Daughters of Slave Ancestry.

William Wells Brown Awards for the preservation of regional African American History will be presented to Dr. Felix Armfield, Pam Fordham, Karen Carter Davis, LaDonna Clements, Georgia Burnette, Teresa J. White, and the African & African American History and Diversity Committee of McKinley High School.

Tickets for this event are $20 and can be obtained by sending payment to; Madeline Scptt, 5 Coronation Drive , Amherst NY 14226 .  Advance Reservations are required.