The following are short descriptions of the places 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.
With a population of nearly 4 million people, Los Angeles, California is the second-largest city in the United States. About 48.6% of the population in the city identifies as Latino and 9% as African American. Los Angeles also has some of the most polluted air … Read More8) Los Angeles (1781)
Located in Palm Beach County, Pahokee, Florida is a small city with a population of approximately 6,269 people. Every October, residents of Pahokee witness the fall of “black snow.” The “snow” is a sooty byproduct of the agricultural practice of burning the sugar cane fields … Read More2) Pahokee, Florida (1909- )
The Bronx is one of New York City’s five boroughs, located in the state of New York. It shares the same boundaries as Bronx County, the country’s third-most densely inhabited county. It is also considered one of the most diverse boroughs in the city. The … Read More5) The Bronx (1898)
Houston, Texas, with a population of 2.3 million people, 23% of whom are African American, is fourth largest city in the United States. Long recognized as the “energy capital of America,” Houston is also one of the nation’s greatest contributors to greenhouse gas and fossil … Read More7) Houston, Texas (1837- )
When residents of St. Gabriel, Louisiana took note of the large number of fellow community members being diagnosed with cancer along Jacobs Drive, the community nicknamed the street “Cancer Alley.” As the number of cancer cases steadily grew within their community and across the state, … Read More1) Cancer Alley, Louisiana (1987- )
Uniontown is a community of 1,880 people, located in Perry County, Alabama, and was originally named Woodville, after the first family to settle there in 1818. In the winter of 2008, a malfunction at the Tennessee Kingston Fossil Plant in Kingston, Roane County, Tennessee led … Read More4) Uniontown, Alabama (1818- )
Founded in 1779, Warren County, North Carolina, is the birthplace of the environmental racism movement. In 1982 members of the predominantly Black population of Warren County, situated on the North Carolina border with Virginia, began protesting the decision by the State of North Carolina to … Read More9) Warren County, North Carolina (1779- )
Mississippi State Penitentiary is less than an hour drive from where Emmett Till was murdered. One of three state prisons administered by the Mississippi Department of Corrections, it is also known as Parchman Penal Farm because it was owned by a prominent Sunflower county family, … Read MoreMississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman (1901 – )
Sundown Towns are all-white communities, neighborhoods, or counties that exclude Blacks and other minorities through the use of discriminatory laws, harassment, and threats or use of violence. The name derives from the posted and verbal warnings issued to Blacks that although they might be allowed … Read MoreSundown Towns
Blackdom Oil Company started in 1919 during the Red Summer which marked a year of nationwide violence against Black people. That year Blackdom, New Mexico’s only all-black town, entered into contracts with National Exploration Company and Mescalero Oil Company. Oil was first discovered in southeastern … Read MoreBlackdom Oil Company (1919-1930)
