LETTER FROM D. JENKINS.

COLUMBUS, July 28 1856,

DEAR DOUGLASS:— I wish to say a word to our people, through your unflinching Journal;
but before I commence, permit me to mention the conduct of some of our citizens toward the Luca Family, who are unequalle'd to some respects. They gave three concerts in our city, at all of which they gave entire satisfaction, drawing full houses each evening: but to the [dis?] [illegible] was made on the part of some, to force the people of color to sit by themselves in a group, stating if this was done, they would get much larger houses. But to the honor of this noble family, they refused, stating that they came not to foster, but to break down this evil. Let the people of color give them their aid for this noble act, and bit them God speed.

As to our cause in our State, we must take courage; right is on our side. Let us only do our duty in the great work now going on in Ohio, and the victory is ours. The people of the Buckeye State are a thinking people, and the great question of our equality is being discussed all over the State. Then let us have earnest action and our struggle will be crowned with success

D. JENKINSJenkins, David

David Jenkins (c. 1816–76) was a Black abolitionist from Columbus, Ohio. Born in Virginia and educated at Oberlin College, Jenkins was described by Martin R. Delany as a highly skilled craftsman: “[He] received by contract, the painting, glazing, and papering of some of the public buildings of the State, in autumn 1847. He is much respected in the capital city of his state, being extensively patronized, having on contract, the great ‘Neill House,’ and many of the largest gentlemen’s residences in the city and neighborhood, to keep in finish. Mr. Jenkins is a very useful man and member of society.” Interested in the elevation of Black people in Ohio, Jenkins organized a debating society in Columbus and was active in the Masonic Lodge and in the temperance and abolition movements. He organized the first state convention for Blacks in Ohio in 1844 and was elected vice president and appointed to the central committee during Ohio’s State Colored Convention held in Cleveland on 11 September 1852. Jenkins was a delegate from Ohio at the Colored National Convention held in Rochester in July 1853 and was appointed to its finance committee. During the Civil War, he served as a recruiting agent at Camp Delaware. Jenkins was elected vice president of the Equal Rights League Convention held on 21 September 1865 in Cleveland and was appointed sergeant at arms for the 1867 State Convention of Colored People in Columbus. Jenkins removed to Mississippi in 1872 and became a member of that state’s legislature. He died suddenly in Canton, Mississippi in 1876 and foul play was immediately suspected. Frederick Douglass' Paper, 15 September 1843, 1 October 1852, 20 May, 15 July 1853; Liberator, 21 July 1865; Daily Cleveland Herald, 25 July 1863, 21 September 1865; Ripley (Ohio) Bee, 10 July 1867; Ohio State Journal, 25 February 1870; Cincinnati Commercial, 17 April 1872; Cincinnati Daily Gazette, 27 September 1876; Cincinnati Daily Times, 13 September 1876; New York Age, 16 January 1892; 1870 U.S. Census, Ohio, Franklin County, 55; Delany, Condition, Elevation, Emigration, and Destiny of the Colored People, 118; Ripley, Black Abolitionist Papers, 4:73.