1833 – African American Delegates Attend British Anti-Slavery Convention

On May 21, 1833, several African American abolitionists attended the British Anti-Slavery Convention in London, forging vital international alliances. Figures like James McCune Smith and Samuel Ringgold Ward helped connect the U.S. struggle against slavery to global movements. The 1833 convention played a key role in ending slavery across the British Empire later that year, and African Americans were not just observers—they were influencers. Their testimonies about American slavery strengthened British resolve to act. May 21 thus marks a moment when transatlantic Black activism reached new heights. These interactions laid the groundwork for ongoing cross-Atlantic cooperation and helped build a collective identity of global Black resistance. It also proved that African-descended people were not passive recipients of emancipation but active agents of change. This early international collaboration remains a blueprint for global Black solidarity today.