The Hampton Negro Conference was a series of conferences held between 1897 and 1912 hosted by the Hampton Institute (now Hampton University) in

Hampton, Virginia Hampton is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 137,148 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, seve ...

. It brought together Black leaders from across the

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is List of regions of the United States, census regions defined by the United States Cens ...

, as well as some white participants, to promote, analyze, and advertise the progress of Black Americans. According to a description in the Institute's catalog, through the conferences "a general summary of the material and intellectual progress of the Negro race asobtained." The first Conference was held from July 21 to July 22, 1897. The conferences ranged over a variety of topics including

health Health has a variety of definitions, which have been used for different purposes over time. In general, it refers to physical and emotional well-being, especially that associated with normal functioning of the human body, absent of disease, p ...

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

, women's issues,

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definiti ...

, and

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

. In preceding years there appear to have been more informal meetings of alumni at the Institute, also referred to as the Hampton Negro Conference, as seen for example in the papers of

Booker T. Washington Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856November 14, 1915) was an American educator, author, and orator. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the primary leader in the African-American community and of the contemporary Black elite#United S ...

. The 1907 trustees report of the John F. Slater Fund for the Education of Freedmen, which had directed $10,000 to the Hampton Institute in that year, stated that the conference was attended by four hundred to five hundred teachers, prominent business and professional men, and farmers. Writing in 1917, John Manuel Gandy characterized the Conference as "the clearing house of ideas of Negro activities" for its time.

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{{Use mdy dates, date=September 2020 19th-century conferences 20th-century conferences Conferences in the United States Social sciences conferences Cultural conferences Political conferences Hampton University African-American history of Virginia African-American history between emancipation and the civil rights movement African-American cultural history History of African-American civil rights Cultural heritage of the United States Defunct organizations based in Virginia 1897 establishments in Virginia Organizations established in 1897 1912 disestablishments in the United States Organizations disestablished in 1912

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