The National Equal Rights League (NERL) is the oldest nationwide human rights organization in the United States. It was founded in Syracuse, New York in 1864 dedicated to the liberation of black people in the United States.[1] Its origins can be traced back to the emancipation of slaves in the British West Indies in 1833. The league emphasized moral reform and self-help, aiming "to encourage sound morality, education, temperance, frugality, industry, and promote everything that pertains to a well-ordered and dignified life." [2] Black leaders formed state and local branches of the league which drew many members, which caused the society to grow quickly, in areas such as Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where people such as Thomas Morris Chester joined.[3]
- ^ Smith, Christi M. (December 18, 2009). "National Equal Rights League (1864–1921) | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed". www.blackpast.org. Retrieved December 3, 2015.
- ^ Chester, Thomas Morris (1989). Black Civil War Correspondent: His Dispatches from the Virginia Front. Baton Rouge: LSU Press.
- ^ White, Deborah; Mia Bay; Waldo Martin Jr. (2013). Freedom on my Mind A History of African Americans. pp. 384–349.