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 further the 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 hosts a national conference every year and envisions “an inclusive community rooted in liberation where all persons can exercise their civil and human rights without discrimination.”

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. He was bitterly opposed to the “conciliatory, accommodationist approach” to civil rights held by Tuskegee Institute founder Booker T. Washington, and the two men openly disagreed with each other.

In 1905, Du Bois invited 59 men to attend 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.

In 2015, the Town of Fort Erie installed a plaque to commemorate the Niagara Movement at Erie Beach. President Barack Obama acknowledged the 110^th 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. A group of residents known as the Waverly Beach Community Group raised donations to help pay for the current plaque.

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 new page to share information and foster dialogue about the Niagara Movement and its significance.

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.

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.

The Niagara Movement Declaration of Principles included strong words to encourage protest and progress for civil rights:

The Niagara Movement location in Fort Erie was close to Niagara Falls. A group photo shows some Niagara Movement members with a scenic backdrop at this iconic waterfall.

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 ofenergy and momentum. For the group, Niagara’s waters represented the unstoppable power of protest that they wanted to encourage.

The Niagara Movement also designed a medallion that featured a drawing of the monument to Robert Gould Shaw and the soldiers of the 54th Massachusetts Regiment. This was the first Black unit in the North to serve in the Civil War, commemorated with a sculpture by August Saint-Gaudens that is in the Boston Common.

The Niagara Movement built on the progress gained in the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863. During their meetings in July 1905, members wrote a Declaration of Principles and created a pledge that furthered the fight for civil rights.

The Niagara Movement folded in 1909 and 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.

There was one Canadian among the 29 original Niagara Movement attendees.

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.

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.

Visit the institutions below for more information on the Niagara Movement and its significance, and to view original artifacts about this history:

Fort Erie Historical Museum

Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society

Archives at the University of Massachusetts – Du Bois Papers, “Niagara Movement” search grouped by date.

View a 2024 documentary by PBS on the conflict between WEB Du Bois and Booker T Washington, their different opinions on how best to fight for civil rights.

Read Cynthia Van Ness’ research in Western New York Heritage magazine, 2011.

Learn more about the NAACP and its work to advance civil rights and social justice.