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
The 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.
LGBTQI+ Pride Month is normally associated with colorful parades and marches and speeches by local, regional, and national leaders, but it’s part of 
After moving to Binghamton from the City of New York in 1911, Fred C. Hazel’s 
The Utica/Oneida County Branch NAACP is set to kick off Black History Month 2020 with its annual program at the Oneida County History Center. The program features guest speakers, including County Legislator Evon Ervin and Councilman Delvin Moody, poetry recitals, dance presentations, music, and more.
Adirondack Experience, the Museum on Blue Mountain Lake, has announced a new acquisition on view in its Life in the Adirondacks exhibition: a cramped, dilapidated shack, known as “The Closet” that for two summers was home to a young and talented African-American tenor, Fulton Fryar.