ABSTRACT
African Americans living in the North were in a unique position. The white world stimulated African Americans with its democratic rhetoric and promises of religious salvation and worldly treasures. Memories of the slave community, personal and/or communal, offered other sources of self-worth, sometimes resonant with ancient African values. In the aftermath of the second civil rights' revolution, America continues struggling to achieve an equitable society and African Americans are found on the front lines of social conflict. African Americans had as long a history in Ohio as whites. They accompanied the first wave of white settlers into Ohio. The dialogue over strategy and tactics would continue in local, state and national meetings of African Americans. Activists addressed their words and deeds toward two worlds: that of white America and that of the mass of Northern African Americans. The chapter also presents an overview on the key concepts discussed in this book.
