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Evaluation ViewAttendees 14

Professionalism + Leadership at Every Level

Teaching + Training

The Niagara Movement: How Far Have We Come with Voting Rights

Monday, July 17, 2023
10:45am – 11:45am EDT
Location: Hynes-311
The Niagara Movement was the first African American organization to demand equality in all spheres of contemporaneous life. At their first conference held in Erie, Ontario, near Niagara Falls, they drafted a “Declaration of Principles,” part of which stated: “We refuse to allow the impression to remain that the Negro-American assents to inferiority, is submissive under oppression, and apologetic before insults.”

Voter suppression continues a legacy of disenfranchisement, which leads to oppression. The panelist will discuss current voting laws and practices considering the Niagara Movement. Grassroots efforts and voter registration drives continue the efforts to fight oppressive acts like gerrymandering, restrictive voter ID laws, etc.

This program is sponsored by the Black Law Librarians SIS.

Target Audience:

Librarians in all types of libraries who work with patrons and scholars researching suffrage and civil liberties.

Takeaways:

  • Participants will identify and list the ways the Niagara Declaration is similar and dissimilar to present-day efforts for equality for African- Americans.
  • Participants will be able to list five reasons why voting rights are a necessary component of participation in a democratic society.
  • Participants will learn three actionable strategies that librarians can take to support voter rights.