Working as a class or in small groups or partners, have students carefully examine the illustration of the National Colored Convention. Students can use an adaptation of the See, Think, Wonder thinking routine developed by Project Zero, a research center at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Students can utilize the provided graphic organizer to organize their observations and to generate inferences and questions.
Share some background information with students about the origins of the Colored National Labor Union. In 1869, several Black delegates were invited to attend a meeting of the National Labor Union (NLU), which had been formed by White workers. Although the president of the NLU William Sylvis made a speech arguing for color-blindness, the White unions refused to allow African American members to join their ranks. In response to this, African American laborers organized their own organization, also called the National Labor Union, but more commonly referred to as the Colored National Labor Union (CNLU). In December 1869, 214 delegates attended the first Colored National Labor Union convention in Washington, D.C.
Next, have students read excerpts from the address of George T. Downing in the Proceedings of the Colored National Labor Convention. (Note: This document is 45 pages long. If you choose to use it, identify specific sections or passages you want students to look at before beginning the lesson.) Depending on the reading levels in your class, you may have students read alone, in pairs, or together as a group.
After reading, discuss:
- What were the goals of the CNLU?
- What strategies did the CNLU plan to employ to achieve their goals?
- Was it necessary to form a separate organization of African American laborers, rather than uniting with White workers? Why or why not? Consider your knowledge of history, including information gleaned from other sources.
- What were the advantages and disadvantages of having a separate organization for African American laborers?