The National Colored Convention in Session at Washington, D.C.

In an engraving from Harper's Weekly, published on February 6, 1869, well-dressed African American men and women attend a session of the National Colored Convention in Washington, D.C. The stated goal of the gathering was "to inquire into the actual condition" of blacks in America. A committee petitioned President-elect Ulysses S. Grant to be vigilant in ensuring their rights under the law, and Grant pledged to do so.