“Image Ownership: Public Domain” Villa Lewaro, built by Madam C.J. Walker from 1918 to 1918, is a thirty-four-room, 20,000-square-foot mansion located at Fargo Lane and North Broadway in Irvington, New York. The estate is situated near the resident of the Franklin D. Roosevelt family on … Read MoreVilla Lewaro, The Mansion of Madam C.J. Walker (1916– )
The Golden West Hotel was the first hotel in Portland, Oregon, to serve black patrons. William D. Allen, an entrepreneur from Tennessee and prominent member of the local black community, founded the hotel in 1906 to serve African-American railroad workers who were denied accommodations elsewhere … Read MoreGolden West Hotel Portland (1906–1931)
“Image Ownership: Public Domain” The A. Philip Randolph Institute was founded by and named for labor leader Asa Philip Randolph, who was the longtime president of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters union. Randolph and his friend and fellow activist Bayard Rustin founded APRI in … Read MoreA. Philip Randolph Institute (1965- )
Laura Towne and the First Penn School Students in an Outdoor Classroom, 1862 "Image Ownership: Public Domain" Formerly The Penn School, The Penn Center is an African American cultural and educational center located on St. Helena Island, South Carolina. In 1862 during the second year … Read MoreThe Penn Center (1862 – )
The St. John African Methodist Episcopal Church (“St. John’s AME”) was first organized in 1865 in North Omaha, Nebraska Territory, with an initial membership of five people. Two years later, at about the time Nebraska was admitted to statehood, the congregation built its first church. … Read MoreSt. John African Methodist Episcopal Church, Omaha, Nebraska (1865- )
Bethel Baptist Institutional Church is the oldest Baptist church congregation in the state of Florida. At the end of the Civil War, Bethel Baptist Church was recognized by the court in Jacksonville to be a black church, but the history of this church extends well … Read MoreBethel Baptist Institutional Church of Jacksonville, Florida (ca. 1865- )
Holy Cross Catholic Church, the first church for African American Catholics in Corpus Christi, Texas, was organized before the parish obtained a physical building. Before African Americans in that area had a church, they attended Saint Patrick’s Church, and some joined the Mexican Church, Our Lady of … Read MoreHoly Cross Catholic Church, Corpus Christi, Texas (1914- )
The Julius Rosenwald Fund schools were built across the South beginning in 1912 with money donated from businessman and philanthropist Julius Rosenwald. Although the first schoolhouses were completed in 1912, the Rosenwald Fund was officially established in 1917 and was used primarily to fund projects … Read MoreRosenwald Fund Schools (1912-1932)
Image Ownership: Public Domain Norfolk State University (NSU), one of the largest historically black universities in the nation, was founded in 1935. The university began as the Norfolk State Unit, a branch of Virginia Union University in Richmond, Virginia. This college was the only predominantly … Read MoreNorfolk State University (1935- )
The Highlander Research and Education Center formerly known as Highlander Folk School is a leadership school and cultural training center located in New Market, Tennessee. It was primarily known as a training center for labor and civil rights activists from across the United States from … Read MoreHighlander Research and Education Center (1932- )