Horton And Flaherty Summary

In this chapter of Taylor’s book, Horton and Flaherty examine and name the individuals that constituted the leadership of African-American society in Antebellum Cincinnati. They use primary sources obtained from records obtained between the 1830 and 1860 to substantiate these facts. These works include “lists of com- munity representatives selected to attend local, state, and national conventions, lists of organizational leaders, and lists of those elected to serve on the school committee of the separate African American school system.” They used these records to generate a list of 82 names that, based on their own criteria, they considered to be leaders of Cincinnati’s black community. Using this data they also give a statistical analysis on the background of the members of the black leadership. This includes their ethnic background, economic status, age, and where they lived. …show more content…
They state that, “Many nineteenth-century blacks believed that ‘the only leaders among the colored people [were] those whom they personally [knew] and [who] live[d] and associate[d] among them.’” They go on to make the claim that, though Cincinnati’s black leaders were elites, they were not akin to a ruling class. They comingled and lived amongst the average members of their community. The authors demonstrate that the social hierarchy amongst Cincinnati’s black community in the years leading up to the Civil War was complex. This chapter of their book is a scientific and methodic look at of Cincinnati’s chosen black