W. A. Pledger of Georgia,
Robert Pelham, Jr., of Michigan,
Edward E. Cooper of Indiana,
H. C. Smith of Ohio,
John Mitchell, Jr., of Virginia,
Magnus L. Robinson of Virginia,
J. C. Price of North Carolina,
John C. Dancy of North Carolina,
Thomas T. Symmons of the District of Columbia,
F. L. Barnett of Illinois,
Z. T. Cline of New Jersey,
Van N. Williams of Alabama,
B. Prillerman of West Virginia,
William H. Heard of Pennsylvania,
R. K. Sampson of Tennessee,
H. M. Morris of South Carolina,
James G. McPherson of Mississippi,
and others.
The reader will notice that this call is signed, in the main, by the young and progressive newspaper element.
The local leagues having been organized in various sections, delegates were elected to the national convention according to the direction of the call. The call for the convention was indorsed by The A. M. E. Church Review, in the following forcible language: "The interest and enthusiasm with which the call for a meeting of the Afro-American leagues in the several states to convene at Chicago, January 15, 1890, for the purpose of effecting a national organization, has been received by the race in every section of the country, is one of the most remarkable and significant manifestations of awakened manhood shown by the race since or before the war. The unanimity with which the people have responded to the call for national organization effectually disposes of the belief, long current and firmly rooted, that the Afro-American
