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.
Idlewild, Michigan, was one of the leading African American resorts in the era of Jim Crow segregation. White land developers marketed Idlewild as an all-Negro resort town in Lake County, Michigan, about 300 miles northwest of Chicago, Illinois and 250 miles north of Detroit, through … Read MoreIdlewild, Michigan (1912- )
Weeksville was a nineteenth century free black community located in what is now the Bedford-Stuyvesant area of Brooklyn, New York. It is remembered today as a historic site for its community programs, urban employment opportunities, and the promotion of racial respectability. In 1838, only 11 … Read MoreWeeksville, New York (1838- )
The Desire Housing Project was a Housing Authority of New Orleans (HANO) managed project located in the city’s largely African American Desire neighborhood, part of the Upper Ninth Ward. Authorized by the Housing Act of 1949, construction of the Desire project began in 1949 and … Read MoreDesire Housing Project, New Orleans, Louisiana (1956-2001)
Langston, Oklahoma is one of the few remaining all-black towns located in the former Oklahoma Territory. The town, which opened for settlement on October 22, 1890, was named for John Mercer Langston, who took office as the first black Virginian to serve in the United … Read MoreLangston, Oklahoma (1890- )
The Cabrini-Green Housing Project was a Chicago (Illinois) Housing Authority (CHA) managed housing project located on the city’s Near North Side neighborhood. The project was authorized by the Housing Act of 1937 which called for the construction of public housing as part of the effort … Read MoreCabrini Green Housing Project, Chicago, Illinois (1942 -2009)
The Pruitt-Igoe Housing Project was located in the predominantly African American and economically depressed Desoto-Carr neighborhood just north-west of downtown St Louis, Missouri. By 1956, the project totaled 33 high-rise buildings that consisted of the Wendell Oliver Pruitt Homes (1,736 units) and the William L. … Read MorePruitt-Igoe Housing Project, St. Louis, Missouri (1956–1976)
The Robert R. Taylor Homes in Chicago, Illinois were named after Robert Rochon Taylor, a black architect and civic leader who became the Chicago Housing Authority’s first African American chairman in 1942. Construction of the Robert R. Taylor Homes began in 1959 and was completed … Read MoreRobert R. Taylor Homes, Chicago, Illinois (1959-2005)
In the early 1820s, eleven African American families, some free, some fugitive, crossed the Mississippi River from the slave-state of Missouri to the free state of Illinois to found the first black town in the United States. According to oral tradition, the group was led … Read MoreBrooklyn, Illinois (ca. 1823- )
New Philadelphia, Illinois was one of the most famous of the antebellum all-black towns. Founded by Free Frank McWorter (1777-1854), a former Kentucky slave who purchased his freedom with his own earnings, New Philadelphia, Illinois was the first U. S. town to be registered by … Read MoreNew Philadelphia, Illinois (1836- )
Nicodemus, Kansas was founded in 1877 at the end of the Reconstruction Period. It soon became one of the most famous mostly black communities in the country formed by freedpeople migrating west. Nicodemus is located on the plains in the northwest corner of the state … Read MoreNicodemus, Kansas (1877- )
