Born May 6, 1812
Charleston, Virginia (now West Virginia)
Died January 24, 1885
Wilberforce, Ohio

Black abolitionist and political activist
First black field officer in the Union Army

"[Black] elevation must be the result of self-efforts, and the work of [their] own hands. No other human power can accomplish it."

Martin R. Delany was one of America's leading black political activists of the nineteenth century. In the 1840s, he became a leading abolitionist (person who works to end slavery). From the 1850s through the 1870s, his political beliefs changed, and he became one of the country's best-known supporters of black emigration (leaving one country to settle in another country) to Africa and pan-Africanism (a belief that all black peoples should unite to improve their lives). Delany is also well known for his Civil War activities. He was a leading recruiter of black...