Freedom for All: Syracuse's Colored Convention of 1864

Onondaga Historical Association's exhibition, “Freedom for All: Syracuse’s Colored Men’s Convention of 1864,” recently opened at CNY Art’s Art in the Atrium space, 201 E. Washington St. The exhibit will be on display there through late December, after which it will travel throughout the community to locations including OHA’s downtown comprehensive history museum, local schools and colleges, local libraries, various nonprofit partner organizations, and more.

The exhibition is based on the research of Syracuse University Writing and Rhetorical Studies graduate Phillip Haddix. Haddix has utilized OHA’s Richard and Carolyn Wright Research Center to compile images and biographies of 28 of the convention’s delegates – Black entrepreneurs, intellectuals, publishers, educators, and religious leaders. This research informs a collection of exhibit panels designed by OHA featuring images and profiles of the convention’s delegates. The exhibition aims to elevate the biographies and contributions of the best and brightest Black leaders of the movement, including Frederick Douglass, Jermain Wesley Loguen, Henry Highland Garnet and Edmonia Highgate.

“Freedom for All: Syracuse’s Colored Men’s Convention of 1864” also includes two original 24x36 pieces by artist and scholar Dr. Nadrea R. Njoku, commemorating the 160th anniversary of the National Colored Men's Convention in Syracuse and the role of historical figures at the convention who are often undocumented as civil rights figures.