Past ASALH Conventions

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written permission of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History.

Past ASALH Conventions

There is perhaps no better way to appreciate
the richness of ASALH's history than to
peruse old programs from our annual
meetings. In the beginning the meetings
were held on black colleges campuses and at
black churches. The participants were more
often intellectuals from the ranks of black
leadership rather than advanced degree
holders. By the mid~1960s, the meetings had
become full~fledged conferences held at major
hotels with university~trained experts leading
the program. Below is a list of convention
dates and a sampling of past programs.

10th Annual Meeting
Washington, 1925

33rd Annual Meeting
Washington, DC, 1948

The 1950 Annual Meeting of ASNLH marked the passing of Carter G.
Woodson on April 3rd. The Founder of Bethune Cookman College and
President of the Association, Mary McLeod Bethune gave a memorial
address, "True Leadership Is Timeless."

ASNLH held a luncheon in honor of the Gwendolyn Brooks, who had
recently been awarded a Pulitzer Prize, the first ever received by an
African American.

35th Annual Meeting
Atlanta, 1950

39th Annual Meeting
St. Louis, 1954

53rd Annual Meeting
New York, 1968

55th Annual Meeting
Philadelphia, 1970

57th Annual Meeting
Cincinnati, 1972

At the 10th Annual Meeting, Alain Locke, the celebrated
philosopher, lectured on the need to study Africa.
C.C. Spaulding, owner of North Carolina Mutual Insurance, then
the largest black business in America, presided over a session.
The black press was well represented with the heads of the two
most important black newspapers, Robert S. Abbott (The Chicago
Defender) and Robert L. Vann (The Pittsburgh Courier) discussing
the African American Press.
Nannie H. Bourroughs, a leading institution builder, and Langston
Hughes, the well-known Harlem Renaissance poet, worked on local
arrangements Committee. Hughes organized the Negro History
Tour, a conference feature that continues to this day.

1917        Aug. 29       Washington, DC
1922        Nov. 22       Louisville, KY
1923        Oct. 24        Atlanta, GA
1924        Sept. 29       Richmond, VA
1925        Sept. 9         Washington, DC*
1926        Oct. 21        Baltimore, MD
1927        Oct. 24        Pittsburgh, PA
1928        Oct. 21        St. Louis, MO
1932        Nov. 13       Atlanta, GA*
1936        Oct. 25        Petersburg, VA
1940        Sept. 25       Chicago, IL
1945        Oct. 26        Columbus, OH*
1946        Oct. 25        Philadelphia, PA*
1947        Oct. 24        Oklahoma City, OK*
1948        Oct. 29        Washington, DC*
1950        Oct. 27        Atlanta, GA*
1951        Oct. 26        Tallahassee, FL*
1953        Oct. 23        Nashville, TN*
1954        Oct. 29        St. Louis, MO*
1956        Oct. 26        Houston
1968        Oct. 3          New York, NY*
1970        Oct. 22        Philadelphia, PA
1972        Oct. 19        Cincinnati, OH
1977        Oct. 12        Washington, DC*
1981        Oct. 29        Philadelphia, PA*
1995        Oct. 4          Philadelphia, PA*
1997        Oct. 1          Los Angeles, CA*
2005                           Buffalo, NY
2006        Sept. 27        Atlanta, GA
2007        Oct. 3          Charlotte, NC

*An asterisk indicates that the Convention Program is
available below.

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(C) ASALH, June 20, 2008