• Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar

New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • Adirondacks & NNY
  • Capital-Saratoga
  • Mohawk Valley
  • Hudson Valley & Catskills
  • NYC & Long Island
  • Western NY
  • History
  • Nature & Environment
  • Arts & Culture
  • Outdoor Recreation
  • Food & Farms
  • Subscribe
  • Support
  • Submit
  • About
  • New Books
  • Events
  • Podcasts

Civil Rights

Elizabeth Jennings: America’s First Freedom Rider (Virtual Event)

February 21, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

america's first freedom rider book coverBy the 1850s, the horse-drawn streetcars on rails had become a more common mode of transportation, competing with the increasingly obsolete enclosed horse-drawn omnibuses in the city of New York. The streetcars regularly barred access to their service on the basis of race and owners and drivers easily refused service to passengers of African descent and omnibuses became the default mode for people of color.

On Sunday, July 16, 1854, Elizabeth Jennings boarded a streetcar of the Third Avenue Railroad Company at the corner of Pearl and Chatham Streets in Manhattan on her way to the First Colored Congregational Church, where she was an organist. The conductor ordered her off, instructing her to take a omnibus. When she refused, the conductor, with the help of a New York police officer, removed her by force. [Read more…] about Elizabeth Jennings: America’s First Freedom Rider (Virtual Event)

Filed Under: Events, History, New York City Tagged With: Black History, Chester A. Arthur, Civil Rights, Crime and Justice, Eighth Avenue Railroad, Legal History, New York City, railroads, Third Avenue Railroad Company, Transportation History

Black History in Upstate New York Series Concluding

August 20, 2021 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

black history in upstate new yorkThe final programs of the Black History in Upstate New York series created by Colgate University graduate and Upstate Institute Fellow Victoria Basulto will be posted online from August 23rd through 26th.

These short online programs highlight individuals, events, and places in Upstate New York central to movements like abolitionism, civil rights, and women’s suffrage movement. [Read more…] about Black History in Upstate New York Series Concluding

Filed Under: Events, History, Western NY Tagged With: Abolition, Black History, Civil Rights, Gender History, National Abolition Hall of Fame, Political History, Suffrage Movement, Voting Rights, womens history

Black History in Upstate New York Programs Begin August 16th

August 4, 2021 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Black History Upstate Poster Basulto j 7-21-21The National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum (NAHOF) will present Black History in Upstate New York programs, created by Colgate University graduate Victoria Basulto, beginning August 16th.

The daily programs will provide a combination of bite-sized informational videos and longer presentations by scholars on historical figures and places that emphasize the crucial role Black Americans have played in the history of Upstate New York. The events will be available on the Hall of Fame’s YouTube channel. [Read more…] about Black History in Upstate New York Programs Begin August 16th

Filed Under: Events, History, Western NY Tagged With: Abolition, Auburn, Black History, Civil Rights, Colgate University, Elmira, Harriet Tubman, National Abolition Hall of Fame, Slavery, Suffrage Movement, Underground Railroad, womens history

A New Book on the Civil Rights Movement

February 21, 2021 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The 20th Century Civil Rights MovementBook purchases made through this link support New York Almanack’s mission to report new publications relevant to New York State. 

The new book 20th Century Civil Rights Movement: An Africana Studies Perspective (Kendall Hunt Publishing, 2021) by Dr. Mark Christian looks at the major aspects of the 20th Century Civil Rights Movement, featuring sources directly associated with those whom led and marched on the campaigns. [Read more…] about A New Book on the Civil Rights Movement

Filed Under: Books, History, New York City Tagged With: Black History, Books, Civil Rights, Political History

Gretchen Sorin On African American Travel And Civil Rights

January 17, 2021 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

driving while blackThe Jay Heritage Center is set to host Gretchen Sorin, author of Driving While Black: African American Travel and the Road to Civil Rights (2020), to share her compelling account of the impact of automobile transportation on the Civil Rights movement. [Read more…] about Gretchen Sorin On African American Travel And Civil Rights

Filed Under: Books, Events, History Tagged With: Black History, Books, Civil Rights, Transportation, Transportation History

Marcus Garvey In Harlem: Roots of African Independence

August 31, 2020 by James S. Kaplan Leave a Comment

Universal African Legion in front of the UNIA Liberty Hall on 138th Ave in Harlem, NY during the 1924 UNIA Convention's opening day parade. Photo by James Van Der Zee.Marcus Garvey was a Jamaican-born printer who as a young man became keenly aware of the severe discrimination against Black people, particularly dark skinned people, internationally.

He later moved to London where he met several Black Nationalists seeking to end white European colonialism in Africa.

At a library in London he read Booker T. Washington’s Up From Slavery in which Washington, the founder of the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, urged that African-Americans pull themselves up and establish black institutions, over seeking equal rights through integration. [Read more…] about Marcus Garvey In Harlem: Roots of African Independence

Filed Under: History, New York City Tagged With: Black History, Civil Rights, Harlem, New York City, Political History

July 4th, 1827: Freedom Day

July 3, 2020 by Deirdre Sinnott 8 Comments

Mother A. M. E. Zion Church Historical marker As the last enslaved people living in New York State were officially freed on July 4th, 1827, celebrations reigned.

According to the New-York Spectator, people packed the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church on the corner of Church and Leonard Streets in Manhattan. The major societies for the support and liberation of African American people were there. Banners and flags festooned the church. “Several hymns written for the occasion were sung.”

Portraits of John Jay, a founder of the Manumission Society who had himself owned five people until 1800, and Matthew Clarkson, who introduced a bill for the gradual end of slavery to the New York State Legislature, were hung near a bust of Daniel D. Tompkins, who as Governor of New York had proposed this date as the day for emancipation. [Read more…] about July 4th, 1827: Freedom Day

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: Abolition, Black History, Civil Rights, Fourth of July, Manhattan, Political History, Slavery

Preservation Long Island Offering Racial Bias Virtual Events, Resources

July 3, 2020 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Jupiter Hammon ProjectThe painful effects of racial bias and the long legacy of slavery are now on full display in our country. While many people live their lives shielded from such brutal realities, others must live them each day; carefully and often wary that any encounter could be fatal.

This different reality is a topic that causes discomfort, pain, and fear. Honest communication about race and the legacy of slavery in America is necessary to initiate change and foster a more equitable society. Conversation alone will not address or repair these issues. What is essential is dialogue towards understanding and empathy. [Read more…] about Preservation Long Island Offering Racial Bias Virtual Events, Resources

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Events, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, New Exhibits, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: Abolition, Black History, Civil Rights, Preservation Long Island, Slavery

LGBTQ Pride Month Is History In Action

June 17, 2020 by Kelly Metzgar Leave a Comment

ANCGALGBTQI+ Pride Month is normally associated with colorful parades and marches and speeches by local, regional, and national leaders, but it’s part of an important political history as well.

Out of all the months in the year, why June? [Read more…] about LGBTQ Pride Month Is History In Action

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: Adirondack North Country Gender Alliance, Civil Rights, diversity, Gender, Gender History, LGBTQ, Political History

Fred Hazel: Binghamton’s Fighter For Racial Justice

May 19, 2020 by Richard White Leave a Comment

Fred C HazelAfter moving to Binghamton from the City of New York in 1911, Fred C. Hazel’s civil rights work spurred his biographic inclusion in the 1915 edition of Who’s Who of the Colored Race.

His notable pre-1911 accomplishments included graduating from the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute (the Hampton Institute, who boasted Booker T., Washington as an alum), and owning a business, the Hampton Upholstering Company. After the 27-year-old man relocated to the Parlor City, he quickly pursued two ventures that were completed by the middle of 1912. [Read more…] about Fred Hazel: Binghamton’s Fighter For Racial Justice

Filed Under: History, Western NY Tagged With: Binghamton, Black History, Civil Rights, NAACP, New York City

  • Go to page 1
  • Go to page 2
  • Go to page 3
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Go to page 8
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Help Support Our Work

Subscribe to New York Almanack

Subscribe! Follow the New York Almanack each day via E-mail, RSS, Twitter or Facebook updates.

Recent Comments

  • Nicole on The Rise and Fall of NY’s Taylor Wine Company
  • Michael Devito on Summer in Historic Richmond Town Begins May 25th
  • Alan Levi on Catskills Resort History: The Beginning of the End
  • Jeff on In Praise of Dandelions
  • Mark Levine on Catskills Resort History: The Beginning of the End
  • Jim Yasko on Gaslight Village: Lake George Fun Yesterday
  • RICHARD A FRIEDMAN on Catskills Resort History: The Beginning of the End
  • RICHARD A FRIEDMAN on Catskills Resort History: The Beginning of the End
  • Editorial Staff on Comments On Increasing Adirondack Park Road, Snowmobile Trail Mileage Sought
  • Pat Boomhower on Comments On Increasing Adirondack Park Road, Snowmobile Trail Mileage Sought

Recent New York Books

Spaces of Enslavement and Resistance in Dutch New York
ilion cover
Spare Parts
new yorks war of 1812
a prison in the woods cover
Visitors to My Street
Greek Fire
Building THe Ashokan Reservoir
ilion book cover
Bryan Jackson the Titanic Was Dooomed

Secondary Sidebar

preservation league
Protect the Adirondacks Hiking Guide