On July 12, 1905, William Edward Burghardt (W.E.B.) Du Bois and 28 African American men met at the Erie Beach Hotel during inaugural meetings of the Niagara Movement.
Over two days, this group wrote founding principles to fight for civil rights in America.
The Niagara Movement laid groundwork for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
Founded in 1909, the NAACP describes itself today as “the home of grassroots activism for civil rights and social justice….the legacy of W.E.B. Du Bois, Ida B. Wells, Thurgood Marshall, and many other giants.”
The NAACP envisions “an inclusive community rooted in liberation where all persons can exercise their civil and human rights without discrimination.”
Image credit: National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People
W.E.B. Du Bois
W.E.B. Du Bois was the first African American to earn a PhD from Harvard University, a Professor of Economics and History at Atlanta University, and a writer on race and racism in America.
Du Bois was bitterly opposed to the “conciliatory, accommodationist approach” to civil rights held by Booker T. Washington, and the two men openly disagreed with each other.
W.E.B. Du Bois in Philadelphia, 1896. Image Credit: the Herndon Foundation
In 1905, Du Bois led inaugural meetings of the Niagara Movement to draft a Declaration of Principles that set the course for civil rights activism in America.
In his autobiography, Du Bois wrote that he sent out “a call to a few selected persons ‘for organized determination and aggressive action…” and that he “hired a little hotel on the Canadian side of the river at Fort Erie” where these historic meetings would take place.
Commemoration
In 2015, the Town of Fort Erie installed a plaque to commemorate the Niagara Movement at Erie Beach. The Waverly Beach Community Group raised donations to help pay for the current plaque.
President Barack Obama acknowledged the 110th anniversary of the Niagara Movement with a signed letter. The Mayors of Fort Erie and Buffalo spoke at the plaque unveiling together with community members who worked to recognize this important part of community history.
Image Credit: Town of Fort Erie
In 2025 the Town of Fort Erie hosted a gathering at the Niagara Movement plaque to celebrate 120 years since the original meetings in 1905. Leon Russell, Chairman of the NAACP, sent greetings to the Town in a video message below:
The Town also created this page to share information about the Niagara Movement and its significance.
The Erie Beach Hotel
The Niagara Movement held its first conference on July 11, 1905 in Buffalo, New York. More meetings continued in following days at the Erie Beach Hotel. This wooden structure stood on the Lake Erie shoreline at what is now known as Waverly Beach in the Town of Fort Erie.
The Erie Beach Hotel, c.1900. Image Credit: Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society
Du Bois chose the Erie Beach Hotel as “a quiet place outside the city near the water where we can be to ourselves, hold conferences together and at the same time have bathing, croquet, tennis and fishing for recreation.”
By leaving Buffalo, Du Bois provided some seclusion for the Niagara Movement to work on its constitution, by-laws and founding principles without any interruptions from Booker T. Washington and his followers.
Principles and Pledge
The Niagara Movement Declaration of Principles included strong words to encourage protest and progress for civil rights:
Niagara Movement members also took a pledge that was written in the name of William Lloyd Garrison. Garrison was an American abolitionist and journalist who published a widely read anti-slavery newspaper called The Liberator.
What’s In a Name
Image Credit: University of Massachussetts Amherst, Robert S. Cox Special Collections
The Niagara Movement name also refers to the speed and strength of water flowing along the Niagara River. Both Niagara Falls and the Niagara River are symbols of energy and momentum. For the group, Niagara’s waters represented the unstoppable power of protest that they wanted to encourage.
The Niagara Movement medallion featured the monument to soldiers of the 54th Massachusetts Regiment that is in the Boston Common. This was the first Black unit in the North to serve in the Civil War.
Image Credit: University of Massachussetts Amherst, Robert S. Cox Special Collections
Legacy
The Niagara Movement built on the progress gained in the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863.
After the Niagara Movement folded in 1909 many of its members, including W.E.B. Du Bois, went on to establish the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People. The NAACP is still an active, growing organization and today remains a strong advocate for civil rights and social justice in America.
Canadian Connections
George Henry Jackson was born in Ontario and moved to Ohio as a child. He married and settled in Cincinnati, where he became a lawyer and then was elected as a Republican member of the Ohio House of Representatives from 1891-93.
Image Credit: Susan Balley Robinson
Jackson ran a real estate business in Chicago, became the president of the Liberal Culture Club and was a member of the Appomatox Club. He was a trustee for the New Orphan Asylum for Coloured Children, Crawford Old Men’s Home, and Sallie McCall Industrial School.
Jackson is buried at Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Niagara Movement members also autographed a menu from Burnett's Restaurant that was located in Fort Erie Grove, near the Erie Beach Hotel. This autographed menu was kept by Du Bois and is now held at the University of Massachusetts Amherst Archives.
Image Credit: University of Massachussetts Amherst, Robert S. Cox Special Collections
Learn More
Visit the institutions below for more information:
Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society
Archives at the University of Massachusetts Amherst
View The Niagara Movement a 2024 documentary by PBS
Read Cynthia Van Ness’ research in Western New York Heritage magazine, 2011.
