The following are short descriptions of individuals, places and events which have contributed to the shaping of African American history. These encyclopedia entries serve as a starting point for much more inclusive descriptions and discussions that appear in other sources. For additional information please consult the print or website sources cited in the entry.
Campbell College, a now-defunct AME college in Mississippi, was founded in 1890 by the African Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of one of its bishops, Jabez Pitt Campbell. The college was originally located about one mile from the center of Vicksburg, Mississippi in … Read MoreCampbell College (1890-1964)
The Bank of Finance, the first state-chartered, black-owned commercial bank in Los Angeles, California, was founded in 1964. The bank was established by Onie B. Granville, a local real estate broker. Granville was frustrated by his real estate clients’ difficulties in obtaining home loans and the discriminatory practices they faced … Read MoreThe (Los Angeles) Bank of Finance (1964-1981)
Asbury Park, New Jersey’s West Side district—predominantly black and housing 40% of the town’s permanent population—was consumed by rioting from July 4 to July 10 in 1970. At the time of the riot, 30% of the population, 17,000 people approximately, were African American. The town’s huge tourist-resort industry … Read MoreAsbury Park Race Riot (1970)
The city of Camden, New Jersey was the setting for two deadly race-related riots on September 2nd, 1969, and August 20th, 1971. Both riots were in response to alleged police brutality or murder, the victims being an unidentified young black girl, who was beaten by a white police officer in … Read MoreCamden, New Jersey Riots (1969 and 1971)
The Carolyn Downs Family Medical Center is a government funded medical clinic that provides primary care services located in the heart of the Central District of Seattle, Washington. It was founded by Leon “Valentine” Hobbs in 1968 and further developed through Seattle Black Panther Party community services program. The Party saw … Read MoreCarolyn Downs Family Medical Center (1968- )
Frenchtown, a community built in 1922 in Houston, Texas, was constructed by hundreds of Creole descendants of free French, Spanish, and African people living in southwestern Louisiana in the eighteenth century. Coming to Houston for economic opportunities, they settled and created this community because of … Read MoreFrenchtown Houston, Texas (1922- )
Originally established as The African Church, The African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas was founded in 1792 by and for persons of African descent to foster personal and religious freedoms and self-determination. The original African Church was an outgrowth of the Free African Society, a … Read MoreAfrican Episcopal Church of St. Thomas Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1792- )
Houston Negro Hospital, 1926 "Image Ownership: Public Domain" The Houston Negro Hospital was created in 1926 when the earlier black Union-Jeramiah Hospital was no longer capable of accommodating the rapidly growing black population of Houston, Texas. African American community leaders began a campaign to garner … Read MoreThe Houston Negro Hospital-Riverside General Hospital (1926- )
"Image Ownership: Public Domain" Lyles Station, Indiana, is a community of African Americans located about five miles west of Princeton, Indiana, in Gibson County. It flourished from about 1880 to 1913, when it boasted an independent, self-sustaining community of about 800 black residents. The roots … Read MoreLyles Station, Indiana (c. 1840- )
Restored Historic Bell Family Home, The Settlement "Image Ownership: Public Domain" The Settlement in current-day Texas City, Texas, was an independent community of African Americans established after the end of the Civil War. The community was located on three hundred and twenty acres in Galveston … Read MoreThe Settlement (Galveston County, Texas) (1867-1953)