The following are short descriptions of the major institutions 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.
The Institute of the Black World (IBW) was a collective Black intellectual think tank spearheaded by Vincent Harding, chair of History and Sociology at Spelman College, Stephen Henderson, chair of English at Morehouse College, and independent scholar William Strickland from 1969 to 1983. The institute … Read MoreInstitute of the Black World (1969-1983)
Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, established 1864, was the first African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E. church) in the state of Mississippi and the site for T.W. Stringer Grand Lodge of Freemasonry for the State of Mississippi in Vicksburg founded by Rev. T.W. Stinger in 1867, as … Read MoreBethel African Methodist Episcopal Church (1864- )
The Wire was a popular television series which aired for five seasons on the HBO network, from June 2, 2002, to March 9, 2008. The show, set in Baltimore, Maryland, was created by former police reporter David Simon and based on his experiences and those … Read MoreThe Wire (2002-2008)
Black librarians have always gathered at meetings to discuss the relevance of their profession and the needs and desires of the African American community. As far back as the beginning of their first library school for Negroes at Hampton Institute (now Hampton University) in Virginia, … Read MoreBlack Caucus of the American Library Association (1970- )
In 1816, Rocky Fork near Godfrey, Illinois, was established by four free African American families who purchased five adjacent parcels of land and built homes and a church that soon became a large-scale secret Underground Railroad station for escaped enslaved people fleeing to safety from … Read MoreRocky Fork Underground Railroad Community (1816- )
Belmead is an historic plantation located near Powhatan, Virginia. The plantation’s main residence, a two-story Gothic revival style structure, was built about 1845 and designed by the architect Alexander Jackson Davis. In 1860, 124 enslaved people toiled on the plantation and over 130 were buried … Read MoreSt. Frances de Sales School (1896-1970); St. Emma Military Academy (1899-1972)
St. Philip’s College began as St. Philip’s Normal and Industrial School, in 1898 as an HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities), in San Antonio, Texas, to educate and train newly freed slave girls in a weekend sewing class known as Bowden’s School (Artemisia Bowden, a … Read MoreSt. Philip’s College (1898- )
Although the Smithsonian National African American Museum of History and Culture (NAAMHC) officially opened in 2016, the ideal of a federally-owned museum to describe the African American experience dates back to 1915 with a meeting of the U.S. Colored Troops, veterans of the Civil War, … Read MoreThe Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) (2016- )
Over a century before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 opened colleges and universities to all students, public and private colleges were established in the United States to meet the educational needs of African Americans. These institutions, now called Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), … Read MoreBlack Collegiate Education in the United States (1828-2019)
In the mid 1600’s, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was a busting port for enslaved Africans. The city was also a place where the abolition movement saw its beginnings. The first document drafted in support of giving enslaved Africans their freedom was created in 1688 by four German … Read MoreThe Founding of the Pennsylvania Abolition Society (1775)
