African-American

Louisville's African-American community dates back to the early 1800s. Before the 1850s, many Black churches such as the Quinn Chapel A.M.E. Church were founded in the area.

Prominent African Americans, including Whitney M. Young, Woodford Porter, Frank Stanley, and Calvin Winstead, became Louisville's pioneer families in modern business and politics. Within the pages of this volume are many of the families who worked to become institution builders and leaders--in Louisville and around the world. African-American Life in Louisville covers the period from the late nineteenth century to the 1960s and focuses on the people and places in the Greater Louisville area, including Shelbyville. Author Bruce Tyler, Associate Professor of History at the University of Kentucky, Louisville, has created this unique collection of vintage photographs as a tribute to his community.

Buckingham County, located in the heart of central Virginia, was established in 1761.

Since Buckingham County's formation, African Americans have contributed to the history and legacy of the county and were the majority of its population from 1810 to 1910. Former residents include Frank Moss, a Reconstruction lawmaker, and Carter Godwin Woodson, noted African-American educator and ""the Father of Black History.""

After the American Civil War, many African Americans found a new life in ""River Town,"" later to become a major city in Kentucky.

Louisville became a historic marker for freed men and women of color who bought acres of land or leased shotgun cottages and lots from whites to begin their new emancipated life. Smoketown is the only neighborhood in the city of Louisville with such continuous presence. By 1866, Smoketown was settled by these freemen, and by 1871 the first public building, the Eastern Colored School, was erected. By the 1950 census, 10,653 people lived in Smoketown, and other historic black neighborhoods--such as Petersburg/Newburg, Parkland, California, Russell, Berrytown, Griffytown, and Black Hill in Old Louisville--were thriving. As these new neighborhoods sprang up, another historic event was taking place: in 1875, the first Kentucky Derby convened, and 13 of the 15 jockeys were black. Such astounding history embraces this city, and Images of America: Louisville's Historic Black Neighborhoods relives its magnificent and rich narrative.

Black Baseball in Pittsburgh chronicles the history of the Negro League in the Steel City from the Homestead Grays in the 1910s to the great Pittsburgh Crawfords teams of the 1930s and through the 1950s.

When the Negro National League was formed in Kansas City in 1920, a new chapter in America's sports history had begun. Here, you will meet legends such as ""Smokey"" Joe Williams, the famed ""Thunder Twins,"" Josh Gibson, the Steel City's Slugger Supreme, and Buck Leonard, the King of Negro League first basemen.

Georgia and the Power of the Vote traces the history of Georgia’s enfranchisement and its influence on American politics from 1865 to 2023.

Since Reconstruction, Georgia’s enfranchisement history has captured the nation’s attention. During multiple waves, massive voter registration, mobilization, and suppression efforts were influenced by the pull-pull forces of those wanting to sustain power and those untiringly committed to acquiring it; those hoping to maintain the status quo and those steadfastly determined to disrupt it; and those trying to exercise their right to vote and those trying to suppress it. This historical tug-of-war amongst Georgians has consistently had national implications. The outcome, nevertheless, has shaped national policy, influenced landmark court decisions, ignited social movements, and produced national leaders.

Explore the rich history of Haywood County, one of only two remaining counties in Tennessee with a majority African-American population.

Surviving slavery, Reconstruction, poverty, and the Civil Rights tensions of the twentieth century, Haywood County's black community has done much to shape the identity of this historic West Tennessee county. This volume, containing over 200 black-and-white images, highlights the county's settlement, the early slave culture, the legacy of its many soulful and talented musicians, such as Anna Mae Bullock (better known as Tina Turner), the hard-fought strides in bringing education to African-American citizens, the importance of church in molding the social and spiritual elements of life, and some of the county's most recognizable faces and names.

Author and historian Sharon Norris has composed a wonderful tribute, in word and image, to the black experience of Haywood County, capturing life of yesteryear in Brownsville and some of the smaller communities, such as Nutbush and Stanton. A visual treasure, Haywood County serves as fitting testimony to a community that has persevered through much of the South's darkest moments and has created a truly special place, full of spirit, fellowship, and melody.

In this valuable volume of oral history, the recorded childhood memories of African Americans--from family rituals to first jobs, neighborhood games to school--are illustrated with vintage photographs culled from family albums and archives.

Chronicling the period from 1900 to the 1950s, Growing Up Black in New Castle County, Delaware brings together the touching stories of African Americans in northern Delaware who grew up during an era of both hardship and happiness. In a time when racial segregation was law and the nation faced such challenges as war and economic depression, African-American children in New Castle County and around the country were busy exploring the world around them-playing with friends, celebrating holidays, attending school, and learning the important life lessons that would carry them through the rest of the twentieth century.

Located in one of the Palmetto State's most picturesque regions, Georgetown County is a beautiful coastal county full of African-American traditions and the distinct Gullah heritage.

Derived from the West Africans who were brought to the Carolinas in bondage, the Gullah culture is a melting pot of traditions of different African nations, and while the Gullah region once extended from North Carolina and into Florida, today the Gullah area is mostly confined to Georgia and the Lowcountry of South Carolina. An integral part of the identity of the Lowcountry, the Black community has played a prominent role in the successful development of the county since the first Africans' arrival in the 1600s. This volume serves to highlight and celebrate the county's people, their struggles, and their achievements.

Nadine McIlwain and Geraldine Radcliffe reveal the celebrated legends, unsung heroes and historic firsts of African Americans residing in the Canton community.

From Canton's earliest days, the black population has contributed to the city's, and even the nation's, prominence and prosperity. During World War II, nineteen-year-old Harold White joined the famed Tuskegee Airmen of the Ninety-Ninth Fighter Squadron. Only a few years later, Dorothy White persevered through prejudice to become Canton's first black teacher, paving the way for a long line of dedicated teachers stretching to the present day. Renowned R&B group the O'Jays formed in Canton, and professional golfer Renee Powell is just one of many local athletes to reach the heights of her profession.

This volume pays homage to religion, work, service, education, and the human touch that brought families through undeniably difficult times.

Spotsylvania County, Virginia, was established in 1721, but it was not until after the Civil War that the names of approximately 4,700 African Americans born and/or living in the county were recorded for the first time. More than 150 African Americans were over the age of 70 as recorded in the 1870 census report. The county is best known as the namesake of its dynamic governor, Alexander Spotswood, and for its bloody Civil War battles. The African American community emerged from the ravages of war after more than 140 years of slavery. The community formalized the institutions they developed for survival during those years and charted a path for their growth.

Many of the unsung heroes of the Underground Railroad lived and worked in Washington, D.C.

Men and women, black and white, operatives and freedom seekers - all demonstrated courage, resourcefulness and initiative. Leonard Grimes, a free African American, was arrested for transporting enslaved people to freedom. John Dean, a white lawyer, used the District courts to test the legality of the Fugitive Slave Act. Anna Maria Weems dressed as a boy in order to escape to Canada. Enslaved people engineered escapes, individually and in groups, with and without the assistance of an organized network. Some ended up back in slavery or in jail, but some escaped to freedom. Anthropologist and author Jenny Masur tells their stories.

Author and researcher Char McCargo Bah recounts the stories of the men and women buried in Alexandria's freedman's cemetery and the search for their descendants.

At the beginning of the Civil War, Federal troops secured Alexandria as Union territory. Former slaves, called contrabands, poured in to obtain protection from their former masters. Due to overcrowding, mortality rates were high. Authorities seized an undeveloped parcel of land on South Washington Street, and by March 1864, it had been opened as a cemetery for African Americans. Between 1864 and 1868, more than 1,700 contrabands and freedmen were buried there. For nearly eighty years, the cemetery lay undisturbed and was eventually forgotten. Rediscovered in 1996, it has now been preserved as a monument to the courage and sacrifice of those buried within.

Discover the contributions notable Black South Carolinians gave to bring encouragement and inspiration to their communities.

Did you know that eighty-eight years before Rosa Parks's historic protest, a courageous black woman in Charleston kept her seat on a segregated streetcar? What about Robert Smalls, who steered a Confederate warship into Union waters, freeing himself and some of his family, and later served in the South Carolina state legislature? In this inspiring collection, historian Damon L. Fordham relates story after story of notable black South Carolinians, many of whose contributions to the state's history have not been brought to light until now. From the letters of black soldiers during the Civil War to the impassioned pleas by students of ""Munro's School"" for their right to an education, these are the voices of protest and dissent, the voices of hope and encouragement and the voices of progress.

Learn and discover how African-Americans have held a prominent place in the history of Chattanooga dating back to the 16th century.

Did you know that Chattanooga is the hometown of the first African-American appointed to lead counsel on a Supreme Court case? The home of the nation's oldest student, who learned to read at age 116? The home of the African-American blacksmith who put shackles on the "Andrew's Raiders" after the Great Locomotive Chase? The site of one of the first integrated police departments in the South? Author Rita Lorraine Hubbard chronicles the ways African-Americans have shaped Chattanooga, and presents inspirational achievements that have gone largely unheralded over the years - and so much more!

Victorine Quille Adams was a Baltimore native and the first African American woman elected to the city council. Born in 1912, she lived through stringent segregation, racial violence and economic turbulence

Victorine Quille Adams was a Baltimore native and the first African American woman elected to the city council. Born in 1912, she lived through stringent segregation, racial violence and economic turbulence.

Educated at Morgan State and Coppin State Universities, she took to the classroom and enriched the lives of her students. In 1946, she founded the Colored Women's Democratic Campaign Committee to educate African American women about the vote and the power of the ballot box. In concert with fellow educators Mary McLeod Bethune, Kate Sheppard and Dr. Delores Hunt, she persisted in educating and empowering voters throughout her life. Author Ida E. Jones reveals the story of this civic leader and her crusade for equity for all people in Baltimore.