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.
Fourth Ward is the oldest established African American neighborhood in Houston, Texas. It was created in 1839 by the city of Houston as one its six political districts. Fourth Ward is located directly west of downtown Houston and in 1866, it was the site of … Read MoreFourth Ward, Houston, Texas (1839- )
Empire, Wyoming was an African American community founded in 1908 by Charles and Rosetta Speese along with three of Charles’ brothers—John, Joseph and Radford—and their families. John’s brother-in-law, Baseman Taylor, and relative, Otis Taylor, also joined the settlement. The families migrated from Nebraska. With the … Read MoreEmpire, Wyoming (1908-1930)
The town of Pinhook, Missouri was founded in 1927, by a group of black sharecroppers from the surrounding area. The town, about ten miles west of the main channel of the Mississippi River, took its name for a nearby ridge that resembled the tip of a pinhook. These new … Read MorePinhook, Missouri (1927-2011)
Located in the Sandhills of Cherry County, Nebraska, the settlement of DeWitty was established in 1908 by black homesteaders who constructed housing made of stacked sod. These settlers farmed some of the least hospitable land in the state. The families were spurred to the area by the 1904 … Read MoreDeWitty/Audacious, Nebraska (1908- )
Orange Mound is an African-American neighborhood located in the southeast part of the Memphis, Tennessee. Orange Mound is the first African American community built solely by and for African Americans. Orange Mound was built on the John George Deaderick Plantation. Deaderick purchased 5,000 acres of land … Read MoreOrange Mound, Memphis (1890- )
Beale Street was created in 1841 by entrepreneur and developer Robertson Topp who named it after a forgotten military hero. The original name was Beale Avenue. Its western end primarily housed shops of merchants who traded goods with ships along the Mississippi River while the eastern part … Read MoreBeale Street (1841- )
The Carolyn Downs Family Medical Center is a government-funded medical clinic that provides primary care services located in the heart of the Central District of Seattle, Washington. It was founded by Leon “Valentine” Hobbs in 1968 and further developed through Seattle Black Panther Party community services program. The Party saw health … Read MoreCarolyn Downs Family Medical Center (1968- )
Compton is a city in Southern California, located in south Los Angeles County. Compton was settled in 1867 by thirty pioneer families led by Griffith Dickenson Compton, after whom the city was named. The first black families came to the city just before World War … Read MoreCompton, California (1867- )
Freedmen’s Town is a nationally registered historical site. The site was originally a community located in the Fourth Ward of Houston, Texas that began in 1865 as the destination for former enslaved people from surrounding plantations in Texas and Louisiana after the Civil War. Freedmen’s … Read MoreFreedmen’s Town, Houston, Texas (1865- )
The prohibition of alcohol in the United States during the early 20th century didn’t really affect the nightclubbing scene in Los Angeles, California, especially in the Culver City area during the 1920s. Sebastian’s Cotton Club, at the intersection of Washington Boulevard and National Street, was … Read MoreSebastian’s Cotton Club Culver City, California (1926-1938)
