New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

Civil Rights

Beaten & Burned Out: Welsh Anti-Slavery Hero Robert Everett

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Rev. Robert EverettRev. Robert Everett was a Welsh-American who came to Oneida County, NY in 1823 from Wales. He very quickly became involved in the anti-slavery movement. In 1835, Utica was selected as the site for the first New York State Anti-Slavery Convention.

The meeting was broken up by an angry mob. From Utica Everett was forced to move several times as his church services were often interrupted by people who continued to support slavery. He was physically assaulted while preaching and had his horse injured and home burned down by pro-slavery activists. [Read more…] about Beaten & Burned Out: Welsh Anti-Slavery Hero Robert Everett

Harlem on Fire: Langston Hughes & Wallace Henry Thurman

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Ad for Hotel OlgaBefore the arrival of European settlers, the flatland area that would become Harlem (originally: Nieuw Haarlem after the Dutch city of that name) was inhabited by the indigenous Munsee speakers, the Lenape. The first settlers from the Low Countries arrived in the late 1630s.

Harlem was an agricultural center under British rule (attempts to change the name of the community to “Lancaster” failed and the authorities reluctantly adopted the Anglicised name of Harlem). During the American Revolutionary War in September 1776 it was the site of the Battle of Harlem Heights. Later, rich elites built country houses there in order to escape from the city’s dirt and epidemics (Alexander Hamilton built his Harlem estate in 1802). [Read more…] about Harlem on Fire: Langston Hughes & Wallace Henry Thurman

Schenectady Black History & Barber John Wendell

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black barber shaves the face of a lounging white man in a barber shopIn the early 19th century, Schenectady played host to a distinctly American process through which hundreds of Black people gained their freedom. Although Schenectady County had a small enclave of free African Americans into the late colonial period, the overwhelming majority of Black Schenectadians were enslaved.

As New York State legislation gradually abolished the institution of slavery by 1827, many Black Schenectadians had to confront a new reality in which they were legally independent, but by no means legally equal.

One of these people was John Wendell [Jr.] whose birth remains shrouded in mystery. [Read more…] about Schenectady Black History & Barber John Wendell

The 1883 Civil Rights Cases, the 14th Amendment, and Jim Crow New York

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New York Times headline, November 25, 1879, pg. 8The United States Supreme Court is now poised to overturn Roe v. Wade. In a draft opinion, Justice Samuel Alito described the 1973 7-2 Court decision as an over-extended application of the federal government’s 14th Amendment responsibility to protect the right of citizens to due process and equal protection of the law. He argued “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start.”

The Supreme Court took a similar position on the 14th Amendment in the 1883 Civil Rights Cases when an earlier conservative majority declared the Civil Rights Act of 1875 unconstitutional, effectively ending the post-Civil War Reconstruction era and ushering in 100 years of state and local Jim Crow segregation laws.

In the Civil Rights Cases, the Supreme Court consolidated four challenged to the constitutionality of the Civil Rights Act. One of the cases, U.S. v. Singleton, involved the refusal by a New York theater to admit an African American patron who had purchased a ticket. [Read more…] about The 1883 Civil Rights Cases, the 14th Amendment, and Jim Crow New York

Under Threat: South of Union Square Historic District, Manhattan

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Proposed South of Union Square Historic DistrictThe proposed South of Union Square Historic District in Manhattan contains a remarkable concentration of sites connected to key civil rights and social justice movements, as well as influential literary, artistic, and music movements.

It offers a unique window into New York City‘s development in the late-19th and early-20th century, with an eclectic array of buildings, many designed by world-class American architects.

Despite its historic importance, this neighborhood is severely lacking in landmark and zoning protections. [Read more…] about Under Threat: South of Union Square Historic District, Manhattan

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

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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)

Black History in Upstate New York Series Concluding

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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

Black History in Upstate New York Programs Begin August 16th

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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

A New Book on the Civil Rights Movement

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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

Gretchen Sorin On African American Travel And Civil Rights

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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