The second lasting effect [of the La Amistad incident] was that a committee of abolitionists formed to defend and care for the Amistad Africans. The committee stayed together after the captives returned to Africa and sent a mission to Christianize them and other Africans in the vicinity. The committee developed into the American Missionary Association ("AMA") when it merged with two other missionary antislavery societies in 1846. The AMA also sought to enhance educational opportunities for blacks and other minorities in the United States. After 1850, the AMA focused primarily on abolitionist activities. During the Civil War, the AMA opened schools for slaves freed by the Union Armies. These schools were actually open to all students and often operated as integrating institutions during Reconstruction. As the South recovered from the effects of the war and developed public school systems, the AMA gave its elementary and secondary schools, numbering more than 500, to the public. It then concentrated on improving and expanding colleges for blacks in the South. Ten predominantly black colleges arose from the AMA's efforts: Atlanta University, Berea College, Dillard University, Fisk University, Hampton Institute (now Hampton University), Howard University, Huston-Tillotson College, Le Moyne College, Talladega College, and Tougaloo College. Six of these institutions are still closely affiliated with the AMA. Today, the AMA also conducts educational and other social programs for American Indians, Asians, and migrant laborers.