The American Colonization Society was established in 1816 by a coalition of Upper South politicians and Northern and Southern ministers to establish a colony on the west coast of Africa for the voluntary emigration of free Blacks from the United States. Many supporters hoped that reducing the free Black population would promote manumissions in the South and help to gradually end slavery. Most whites viewed free Blacks as troublesome. Although denied full freedom and equality, their very presence threatened the stability of slavery and white supremacy. Most free Blacks rejected the idea of African colonization although some found it appealing or had to choose between emigration and slavery. Contradictory though it was, colonization was the first organized national antislavery movement and catalyzed the Abolition movement.

The complex responses of Black and white Virginians to African colonization, slavery, freedom, and citizenship on both sides of the Atlantic are revealed in this collection of documents and data. They contribute greatly to otherwise scarce data on 19th century Black Virginians, including surnames, family and community relationships, occupations, former enslavers, literacy, and religion. As a public collaboration, this website is anticipated to reach scholars who can add more information about the individuals and families featured and will enlarge our understanding of the national political and social forces at work in antebellum America.