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.
Image Ownership: Public domain The 13th Street (St.) Colored Branch was a segregated public library established by the city of Meridian, Mississippi, in 1912 and opened in March 1913. It was one of the first free public libraries for African Americans in the state of … Read MoreThe 13th Street Colored Branch Library, Meridian, Mississippi (1913-1974)
Following emancipation in 1865, former slaves across the South detached themselves from white-controlled congregations and established independent churches. In Fort Worth, Texas, historic Mt. Gilead Baptist Church was one of those new congregations. Over time it would serve the spiritual and cultural needs of African … Read MoreMt. Gilead Baptist Church, Fort Worth, Texas (1875- )
Excavation of the Boston Saloon, July 2000 Image Ownership: Public domain The Boston Saloon, which operated in Virginia City, Nevada, is the only black-owned Western saloon to be the subject of an archaeological excavation. During Virginia City’s heyday in the early 1870s, the town supported … Read MoreThe Boston Saloon (1864-1875)
Children at the Louisville Western Branch Library, 1950 Image Ownership: Public domain The Louisville Western Branch Library in Louisville, Kentucky, first opened in 1905. This library was the first public library in the nation to serve and be fully operated by black residents. In 1905 … Read MoreLouisville Western Branch Library (1905- )
Morning Star Baptist Missionary Church opened in 1946 on 631 South Douglas Avenue in Pasco, Washington, where it stands to this day. The church was founded to provide for the spiritual needs of the thousands of black workers who came to Hanford Atomic Facility during … Read MoreMorning Star Baptist Missionary Church Pasco, Washington (1946- )
Image Ownership: Public domain The First African Methodist Episcopal Church of Oakland, California emerged in the eastern part of the Bay Area in 1858. The congregation itself was founded by members of the black community in Oakland at the time, but it wasn’t until 1863 … Read MoreFirst AME Church, Oakland, California (1858- )
Image Ownership: Public domain The Hall of Negro Life, the first official recognition of African American achievements by a world’s fair in the United States, was a featured and well-visited part of the Texas Centennial Exposition at Fair Park, Dallas, Texas, in 1936. Early in … Read MoreHall of Negro Life, Texas Centennial Exposition, 1936
Mount Zion Baptist Church, originally named Second Baptist Church, was founded in 1909 by an African American religious study group under the leadership of Reverend Sandy Lyons, and established on North Hartford street of Tulsa, Oklahoma. At first, the church didn’t have it’s own building … Read MoreMt. Zion Baptist Church, Tulsa, Oklahoma (1909- )
“Image Ownership: Public Domain” The A. Philip Randolph Institute was founded by and named for labor leader Asa Philip Randolph, who was the longtime president of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters union. Randolph and his friend and fellow activist Bayard Rustin founded APRI in … Read MoreA. Philip Randolph Institute (1965- )
Organized in 1836, the Witherspoon Street Church is one of the oldest African American Presbyterian congregations in New Jersey. On March 10, 1836, 90 out of 131former African American members of the Nassau Presbyterian Church were released from the congregation to form their own church. … Read MoreWitherspoon Street Church (1836– )