Hidden History | Martin R. Delany

Martin Robinson Delany was born free in Charlestown Virginia on May 6th 1812. Delany’s interests garnished him many titles over his life. He was an Abolitionist, a black nationalist, a physician, journalist, editor, politician, and army officer over the course of his life, just to name a few. 

In his early life, Delany was forced to move to Western Pennsylvania when his mother was threatened for teaching him how to read and write. Eventually they settled in Pittsburgh where Delany studied under local black leaders. In the 1830s and 1840s Delany attended and organized black conventions in the region while apprenticing as a doctor. In 1843 Delany founded one of the first African Americans newspapers, Mystery where he worked for several years before joining Fredric Douglass to co-edit the North Star. Philosophical differences divided Douglass and Delany and eventually he left the North Star to attend Harvard Medical School. The school faced intense public backlash for admitting Delany and other Black students and eventually dismissed them from the school.

Unlike Fredric Douglass, Martin R. Delany believed in emigration, the idea that African Americans should leave America and return back to Africa. He published a book in 1852, The Condition, Elevation, Emigration and Destiny of the Colored People of the United States Which argued for emigration and outlined America’s Failure to extend citizenship to African Americans.

To realize his vision of emigration to Africa, Delany traveled to West Africa in 1859 and signed a treaty with the ruler of Abeokuta. This provided the land to create a settlement for African Americans leaving the states.

In 1861, the plan eventually deteriorated as the civil war erupted in the United States. Delany helped recruit thousands of African American troops for the newly formed United States Colored Troops (USCT). President Abraham Lincoln promoted Delany the rank of major, the highest military rank of any African American during the Civil War. Delany became the first Black man to become a field officer in the Union Army.

In the late 1870s, Delany helped reconstruction efforts in the late confederacy stronghold of South Carolina. Here his political career continued. He ran for lieutenant governor of South Carolina in 1874 but ultimately lost the race. Delany was appointed as a judge in Charleston but a scandal involving the church arose and he was removed from his position in 1875. He took a step back to focus on his family until he died on January 24, 1885.