[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 24 (Monday, February 10, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E184]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




RECOGNIZING THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE NATIONAL CONVENTION OF COLORED 
          CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES IN SYRACUSE, NEW YORK

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. DANIEL B. MAFFEI

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, February 10, 2014

  Mr. MAFFEI. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride that I rise today to 
commemorate Black History Month and recognize the 150th anniversary of 
the National Convention of Colored Citizens of the United States in 
Syracuse, New York.
   On September 9, 1864, the anti-slavery newspaper The Liberator 
included a call for the convention. Frederick Douglass, a writer, 
statesman and leader of the Abolition Movement, annotated an ``Address 
to the People of the United States.'' In his address to the people, 
Frederick Douglass explains, ``No notice should be taken of the color 
of men; but justice, wisdom, and humanity should weigh alone, and be 
all-controlling.''
   The National Convention of Colored Citizens of the United States 
convened on October 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th of 1864 in Syracuse, New 
York.
   In October of 1864, Frederick Douglass came to Syracuse to discuss 
the state of the ex-slave following the Civil War. Douglass served as 
convention president, which drew nearly 150 delegates from all across 
the nation. During the meeting, the delegates crafted a document 
modeled after the Declaration of Independence, entitled ``Declarations 
of Rights and Wrongs'', which was read during the Convention in 
Syracuse.
   Central New York has a rich connection in history to the Abolition 
Movement. From Harriet Tubman and her tireless devotion to the cause, 
to Frederick Douglass with his Address to the People of the United 
States and ``Declaration of Rights and Wrongs,'' Central New York and 
the City of Syracuse have continued to lead the charge for equality.
   Mr. Speaker, we recognize the 150th anniversary of the National 
Convention of Colored Citizens of the United States in Syracuse, New 
York. Let us never grow old or weary of the struggle that our 
predecessors led, and let us work every day to uphold the values that 
Frederick Douglass and so many others demanded us to do at the National 
Convention of Colored Citizens of the United States.

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