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.
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- )
Black Enterprise (BE) is a bi-monthly publication that is now the premier source for investing, wealth-building, and business information for African Americans. In 1969, founder Earl Gilbert Graves Sr. recognized that the then major publications being targeted towards black audiences were focusing on fashion and … Read MoreBlack Enterprise (1970- )
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)
Essence magazine is a monthly publication whose target audience is African American women. It focuses on culture, beauty, fashion, and entertainment. Essence Communications Inc. (ECI) was founded in 1968 by Clarence O. Smith, Cecil Hollingsworth, Jonathan Blount, Denise M. Clark, and Edward Lewis. The original … Read MoreEssence Magazine (1970- )
The Black Scholar is a quarterly journal founded in 1969 by Nathan Hare, Robert Chrisman, and Allan Ross. It is the third-oldest journal of Black history and culture in the United States after The Crisis, the publication of the NAACP founded in 1910, and the … Read MoreThe Black Scholar (1969- )
During a period in history when little attention was paid to Black consumers, husband and wife George and Joan Johnson co-founded the Johnson Products Co. in Chicago, Illinois, to cater specifically to Black consumers. The Johnsons founded the company with just $254 in 1954. While … Read MoreJohnson Products Company (1954- )
