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 Nashville Christian Leadership Council (NCLC) was a civil rights organization based in the capital city of Tennessee. The NCLC was created on January 18, 1958 following a meeting by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in Atlanta, Georgia where a Nashville representative was in attendance. … Read MoreNashville Christian Leadership Council (1958-1964)
The Tent Cities of Fayette and Haywood Counties in Tennessee were the result of early efforts to register African American voters in those counties between 1959 and 1962. When John McFerren of Fayette County and other activists began their voter registration drive, many of the … Read MoreTent Cities of Fayette and Haywood Counties (1960-1962)
Virginia University of Lynchburg was established in 1886 during the 19th session of the Virginia State Baptist Church Convention, held at the First Baptist Church in Lexington, Virginia. As one of the oldest institutions of higher education for black Virginians, it was founded on the … Read MoreVirginia University of Lynchburg (1886- )
The Free Colored Library of Knoxville, Tennessee was a segregated public library that opened in 1918 and closed 43 years later in 1961. It was the first municipally-supported library for African-Americans in Knoxville, Tennessee and one of twelve segregated public libraries opened in the South … Read MoreFree Colored Library, Knoxville, Tennessee (1918-1961)
The Dryades Branch of the New Orleans Public Library was the first municipally-supported library for New Orleans’s black citizens and one of a dozen public libraries in the South established for African Americans between 1908 and 1924 and funded by Andrew Carnegie. Opened in 1915, … Read MoreDryades Branch Library, New Orleans, Louisiana (1915-1965)
The Carnegie Negro Library of Greensboro, North Carolina, a free public library for African Americans, opened in 1924. It stood at 900 East Washington Street on the Bennett College campus and was the last of twelve public libraries for African Americans opened in the South … Read MoreCarnegie Negro Library, Greensboro, North Carolina (1924-1963)
The Negro Public Library (later the Negro Branch of the Nashville Public Library) operated for over thirty years as a segregated library facility in Nashville, Tennessee. It was the city’s first public library for African Americans and one of only a dozen segregated public libraries … Read MoreNegro Public Library, Nashville, Tennessee (1916-1949)
The Colored Carnegie Library was a segregated branch of the Houston Lyceum and Carnegie Library (later the Houston Public Library). It opened in 1913 in Houston’s Fourth Ward and was one of the first public libraries for African-Americans west of the Mississippi River. It was … Read MoreColored Carnegie Library, Houston, Texas (1913-1961)
The Cherry Street Library was a segregated branch of the Evansville Public Library (now Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library) located at 515 Cherry Street in Evansville, Indiana. It was the first free public library built north of the Ohio River exclusively for African Americans and one … Read MoreCherry Street Library, Evansville, Indiana (1914-1955)
The Second Baptist Church, Bismarck, North Dakota, organized in 1917 to serve the African American residents of the city, including some who had previously attended the predominantly white First Methodist Episcopal Church. The immediate impetus for organization of Second Baptist came from a series of … Read MoreSecond Baptist Church (1917-ca. 1930)
