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 Dexter Avenue Baptist Church was built in 1883 on the corner of Dexter Avenue and Decatur Street in Montgomery, Alabama. The church served as a meeting place and planning hub for some of the most influential actions of the Civil Rights movement throughout the … Read MoreDexter Avenue Baptist Church, Montgomery, Alabama (1883- )
Homer G. Phillips Hospital, one of the country’s most prestigious medical institutions, was designed by architect Albert Osburg. The hospital was opened in 1937, six years after the assassination of its benefactor and advocate Homer G. Phillips, a St. Louis, Missouri-based African American lawyer. The … Read MoreHomer G. Phillips Hospital (1937-1979)
In March 1897 the Oklahoma Territorial Legislature created a land grant college to train African American teachers, calling it the Colored Agricultural and Normal University. Classes opened in the fall of 1898 in a church in the town of Langston. Langston had been founded in … Read MoreLangston University (1898- )
Paul Quinn College, founded by members of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in Austin, Texas in 1872, is the oldest African-American liberal arts college in the state and one of the oldest west of the Mississippi River. The institution was named for Bishop Paul … Read MorePaul Quinn College (1872- )
Wiley College in Marshall, Texas, is the first African-American college established in the Lone Star State. The institution was founded in 1873 by Bishop Isaac Wiley of Methodist Episcopal Church and chartered by the Freedman’s Aid Society in 1882. Isaac Wiley grew up with dreams … Read MoreWiley College (1873- )
In the years prior to World War II through segregation, Lincoln Hills Country Club was a renowned vacation development for African Americans in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Located in Gilpin County, an hour outside Denver, between Pinecliff and Rollinsville, Lincoln Hills was for years … Read MoreWinks Lodge (1928-1965)
In the years prior to World War II, the Lincoln Hills Country Club was a renowned vacation development for African Americans in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Located in Gilpin County, an hour outside Denver, between Pinecliff and Rollinsville, Lincoln Hills was for years the … Read MoreLincoln Hills Country Club (1922-1966)
The First Baptist Church, founded in 1780 by Joshua Morris, emerged in the aftermath of the Great Awakening religious revival movement (1730s-1770s) that spread across the South. In contrast to the other churches in Richmond organized during the same time, the First Baptist attracted both … Read MoreFirst Baptist Church, Richmond, Virginia (1780- )
The Union Bethel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) church in Great Falls, Montana, is one of the state’s oldest active churches. The African American community in Great Falls dates to the town’s beginnings. As elsewhere in the western United States, the community came together early on for mutual benefit … Read MoreUnion Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Great Falls, Montana (1890- )
The Creek Seminole College was officially opened in 1906 in Boley, a black town in Creek Nation, Indian Territory (today Oklahoma). The school’s founder and president was John C. Leftwich, a graduate of Selma University in Alabama. Leftwich built the college on five acres of … Read MoreCreek Seminole College (1906-ca. 1925)
