On December 30, 1898, Paul Laurence Dunbar in Washington, D. C., was scheduled to make an address during a conference of the Afro-American Council, one of the first national civil rights organizations in the U. S. Paul was 26 years old and living in Washington, and had just resigned from his job at the Library of Congress.
Prominent colored men from all over the country are in Washington for the purpose of taking part in the deliberations of the National Afro-American Council, which will meet tomorrow morning at Metropolitan Baptist Church, and continue in session through Friday, with a special religious service Sunday. Papers will be read as follows
"The Negro in the Department of Letters," by Paul Laurence Dunbar, the poet of Ohio.
"Afro-American Council." The Evening Star (Washington, D. C.). December 28, 1898. Page 10.
Participants in the conference included Booker T. Washington of the Tuskegee Institute, the journalist T. Thomas Fortune, and Virginia Earle Matthews, who brought Paul and his wife Alice together for the first time. However, Paul was unable to give his remarks at the conference because the attendees became unruly.
Pandemonium Reigned at the Afro-American Council. Set Program Went to Smash.
There was complete tranquility in the Metropolitan Baptist Church this morning when the third session of the Afro-American Council was called to order. The fraternal feeling did not continue long, for the convention at once began to wrangle and indulge in acrimonious debate. Disorder reigned for two hours, the chairman calling vainly for quiet and order. Pandemonium was the supreme ruler of the council and everyone on the floor endeavored to be heard at one and the same time.
"A Great Uproar." The Evening Star (Washington, D. C.). December 30, 1898. Page 8.
The Afro-American Council concluded its first annual session last night. For a time the proceedings were entirely harmonious. The reign of peace and order was soon forgotten in the two hours' session of tumult and strife which followed. It had been arranged during the day that Paul Dunbar should address the conference at the close of its business after which the meeting was to adjourn. There were so many speakers who desired to say a few words before the council adjourned that the poet became tired of waiting to be called on and left the hall before the addresses were finished, and the council adjourned without hearing him.
"Two Noisy Sessions." The Washington Post (Washington, D. C.). December 31, 1898.
At the meeting in Washington of the Afro-American council, Paul Dunbar was present and was prepared to speak. It was decided that after hearing him the council should adjourn. There were a few of the 90 delegates who desired to say a few words before the council closed, and they were permitted to speak. As they rose, one after another, Dunbar's face grew longer and longer. He was sitting on the steps near the platform, waiting to be called upon. Finally, he could stand it no longer, and, throwing his overcoat over his arm, he strode down the aisle and out the door. The council adjourned.
"Editorial Points." The Boston Sunday Globe (Boston, Massachusetts). January 1, 1899. Page 30.