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.
There was much racial unrest in New York City, New York in the early 1800s as immigrants from across Europe and migrants from neighboring states arrived in the city. Slavery was abolished in New York state in 1827. Although black New Yorkers were free, many of their families were broken because … Read MoreThe Colored Orphans Asylum of New York (1836-1946)
Founded and constructed in 1867 in Harford County, Maryland, the McComas Institute, also known as Mountain School, was built two years following the establishment of the U.S. Freedmen’s Bureau which provided aid to former enslaved blacks and poor whites in the South in the wake of the U.S. Civil … Read MoreMcComas Institute (1867-1954)
The Eastern Colored Branch was a segregated public library located at 600 Lampton Street in Louisville, Kentucky. Opened in 1914, it was the second of the city’s “colored” libraries and served Louisville’s east end. The Western Colored Branch, which opened in 1905, was the first free public library in the United … Read MoreEastern Colored Branch Library, Louisville, Kentucky (1914-1975)
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