Black America

Driving along Levy County highways, one can always see crops of corn, watermelons, peanuts, cantaloupes, and vegetables. The county contains the cities of Cedar Key, noted for its romantic atmosphere and annual seafood and art festivals; Chiefland, a small town with a friendly atmosphere; and Rosewood, noted today for its tours and markers dedicated to those who tragically lost their lives.

Pioneering African-American families, spanning generations from slavery to freedom, enrich Savannah's collective history. Men and women such as Andrew Bryan, founder of the nation's oldest continuous black Baptist church; the Rev. Ralph Mark Gilbert, who revitalized the NAACP in Savannah; and Rebecca Stiles Taylor, founder of the Federation of Colored Women Club, are among those lauded in this retrospective. Savannah's black residents have made immeasurable contributions to the city and are duly celebrated and remembered in this volume.

Norfolk has been a center of African-American life since this country's humble beginnings, when indentured African servants arrived in 1619 to the Tidewater region. Since that time, the African-American population has endured the atrocities of slavery, poverty, and inequality, and has emerged, through a remarkable combination of hard work, perseverance, and faith, as a vibrant community and an integral component to the identity and success of Norfolk and surrounding areas.

Situated between Atlanta and Athens, Walton County has always been a stronghold of the cotton industry. While some of the largest cotton crops in the world have emerged from its fertile fields, a strong community and storied history have come to define the county. Recognized as the site of America's last mass-lynching at Moore's Ford in 1946, Walton County has been a focal point of national attention, sparking changes that have contributed to the nation's Civil Rights movement. But it is not only this tragedy that has given Walton County a sense of identity. Indeed, other lesser-known events and accomplishments have contributed to its history. Whether boasting Atlanta's first black millionaire, a member of the U.S. Olympic basketball team, or a high school state football championship, Walton County has thrived both in and out of the national spotlight.

Throughout the years, the city of Baltimore has played host to many well-known figures, including Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and boxer Joe Louis; the city has been called home by Billie Holiday, Frederick Douglass, and Thurgood Marshall. But it is the local African-American community's members, working diligently to advance and empower themselves, who made history while they lived it.

Pleasant City, a neighborhood of West Palm Beach, Florida, is the oldest African-American community in Palm Beach County. The first black settlers came to a place called the Styx--later owned by white millionaires who then rented their backyards to black workers--to work on the railroad and Henry Flagler's hotel and mansion. Forced out when the land became valuable, the blacks purchased land and settled Pleasant City. Pleasant City was marketed as a "High Class Colored Subdivision" in 1913, and many of the pioneers still have descendants in the area today.

The African-American community of Gwinnett County boasts a rich heritage brought to life in scenes captured by early photography. These residents faced challenges and hardships both during and after slavery and entered into the turbulent 20th century poised for social change; theirs is an engaging story told by the proud faces in this volume. Men and women who built homes and businesses, who defended their country in times of war, and who educated their young make up the diverse and determined African-American citizenry of this greater Atlanta community.

Known as the "Land Between Two Rivers," Madison County is situated between the Pearl River to the east and the Big Black River to the west. It was created in 1828, and African slaves were among its earliest settlers. As the county grew, the African-American society began to create roots in this region, and their legacy continues to this day. Black America: Madison County explores a community marked by struggle, poverty, and segregation, a community that finally gained its voice during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. This volume celebrates the lives of Madison County's black residents-past and present-and tells their story through vintage photographs.

In this engaging new visual history showcasing Macon's African Americans, vintage photographs illuminate the contributions and achievements of black citizens who have lived and worked in the heart of Georgia for more than one hundred and fifty years. Local landmarks, such as the Douglass Theater and the Harriet Tubman Museum, and unique African-American communities, such as Summerfield and Pleasant Hill, are testament to the indelible mark left on Macon by its enterprising black residents.

Filled with remarkable vintage photographs, Black America: Augusta, Georgia captures the essence of the African-American heritage in this historic Southern community. The Garden City has produced a wide variety of intellectual and political pioneers, including a handful of educators who were instrumental in the pivotal Brown versus Board of Education case. Within the pages of this volume, their stories unfold.

Glynn County's African-American citizenry has left an indelible mark on the history of Georgia as well as the nation. Such notable figures as Dr. Charles Wesley Buggs, renowned microbiologist; Robert Sengstacke Abbott, founder of the Chicago Defender; and Marilyn Moore Brown, an internationally praised opera singer have emerged from this picturesque coastal community. Numerous others have achieved success in education, medicine, sports, and the arts. Their engaging stories of triumph and the legacy they have created are celebrated and preserved in this unique volume.

Located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Northeast Georgia, Hall County and the city of Gainesville have been significantly enriched by the contributions of their African-American residents. Hall County, Georgia is a retrospective photographic album; it is a glimpse of the past, featuring an array of churches, schools, businesses, and outstanding leaders in the African-American community.

South Carolina's capital city enjoys a strong African-American presence, one that has had considerable influence on the growth and development of Columbia's commerce and culture since the city's creation in the late 1700s. The challenges of the antebellum South, Reconstruction, the Civil Rights era, and even the present have shaped a vibrant and dynamic black community, which supplies a wealth of leaders for the city, state, and nation.

Hazard and Perry County have enjoyed a long and colorful history since founder Elijah Combs first settled in the area in 1795. The years have brought a multitude of changes, explored in this engaging visual history. Contained within these pages are vintage photographs depicting the history of an American small town that has always fancied itself a city. Images were culled from the collection at the Bobby Davis Museum, which includes selected photographs from John Kinner, Hal Cooner, L.O. Davis, and others. This work traces the area's development from an isolated mountain village to a center of Eastern Kentucky commerce and culture. Recorded in these images are the devastating floods that often threatened the community, as well as the building of the railroad that brought in everything from automobiles and telephones to Sears and Roebuck prefabricated homes. Aerial shots from the 1940s and 1950s are also included, and accompanying captions document the names and places familiar to oldtimers and intriguing to newcomers in Hazard, Perry County.

Governor's wife, president's wife, United Nations delegate, teacher, political activist, author, newspaper columnist, business owner, traveler, and mother-Eleanor Roosevelt was truly "First Lady of the World." With her very busy life, she sought peace, solitude, and renewal. She found all three at Valkill, her small stone cottage on the Roosevelt Estate in Hyde Park, east of the Hudson River. A National Historic Site, Valkill is operated by the National Park Service and is the only site in the country dedicated to the preservation of the memory of a presidential first lady. With detailed description and some two hundred stunning images-many published here for the first time-Eleanor Roosevelt's Valkill depicts the events and times of the first lady at Valkill, the place where she felt most at home. In addition, the book traces the development of the site and reveals the depression-era business that was located there, a furniture factory and metal forge known as Valkill Industries.

Along the picturesque southern banks of the Ohio River, the African-American communities of Boone, Campbell, and Kenton Counties have provided laborers and entrepreneurs to aid in the economic growth of the region from the earliest settlements to today. Despite numerous obstacles and against seemingly insurmountable odds, African Americans in Northern Kentucky made significant contributions in many fields, ranging from music, medicine, and literature to performing arts, poetry, education, and athletics.

African-American Entertainment in Baltimore captures the brilliance of the city's musical heritage from 1930 to 1980. This educational and entertaining volume invites readers to take a visual trip down memory lane to the days when Pennsylvania Avenue, the heart of the city's African-American community, vibrated with life. Celebrated within these pages are entertainers such as The Ink Spots, Sonny Til & the Orioles, Illinois Jacquet, Cab Calloway, Lionel Hampton, Sammy Davis Jr., Slappy White, Pearl Bailey, Billie Holiday, and Ella Fitzgerald; The Avenue's hottest nightspots and theaters including the legendary Royal Theater, The Regent Theater, the Sphinx, and Club Casino; and the DJs and promoters who helped cultivate the city's musical talents.

From 1722 to the present, thousands of people of African descent have occupied the region that today encompasses Natchitoches Parish. For almost 300 years, African Americans have made significant contributions to the area's economic and social development. In Natchitoches Parish, the lives of some of those individuals are documented as they share their views on work, religion, education, socialization, and community leadership.

Cradled at the foothills of the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains and once known as the "Textile Center of the South," Greenville has evolved into a prosperous hub for corporate development and global commerce. Greenville County's African American community, proud and resourceful, has strong roots dating back to 1770, when blacks helped to carve the county out of an upstate wilderness. The experiences of the black community and its long relationship with whites up to the civil rights movement helped to create the climate for the kaleidoscope of races and cultures in Greenville today.

Alachua County's African American ancestry contributed significantly to the area's history. Once enslaved pioneers Richard and Juliann Sams settled in Archer as early as 1839. They were former slaves of James M. Parchman, who journeyed through the wilderness from Parchman, Mississippi. They and others shaped the county's history through inventions, education, and work ethics based on spirituality. This book shows people working together, from the early1800s rural farm life, when racial violence was routine, until African Americans broke the chains of injustice and started organizing and controlling civic affairs.

Since the founding of St. Louis in 1764, Downtown St. Louis has been a center of black cultural, economic, political, and legal achievements that have shaped not only the city of St. Louis, but the nation as well. From James Beckworth, one of the founders of Denver, Colorado, to Elizabeth Keckley, Mary Todd Lincoln's seamstress and author of the only behind-the-scenes account of Lincoln's White House years, black residents of Downtown St. Louis have made an indelible mark in American history. From the monumental Dred Scott case to entertainers such as Josephine Baker, Downtown St. Louis has been home to many unforgettable faces, places, and events that have shaped and strengthened the American experience for all.

Kinsman Township is part of the Connecticut Western Reserve. It is more reflective of this connection than many communities because John Kinsman, one of 35 men who formed the Connecticut Land Company in 1795 to purchase the land and have it surveyed into five-mile-square townships, actually made this his home and encouraged his Connecticut neighbors to do likewise. Kinsman first saw his land in 1799, traveling via horseback with his brother-in-law Simon Perkins, an agent for the land company who would become the most prominent settler of nearby Warren. Their small entourage entered the area that would become Kinsman and built a cabin near the southeast corner of the current square. The Lakeshore and Southern Michigan Railway came through the area in 1873, leading to a flurry of entrepreneurial activity. A fire dramatically altered the face of the original square, but many new fashionable homes rose out of the ashes. The Kinsman Fair also became a major event in the area, drawing thousands to its commodious facilities. This book commemorates the rich history of Kinsman through vintage photographs.

Cleveland's Gospel Music documents the history of black gospel music from the 1920s through the 1980s. The gospel quartet groups, radio announcers, solo artists, and promoters established Cleveland as the gospel singers' metropolitan hub. An integral part of Cleveland's history and its rich African-American community, gospel singers didn't sing for money or fame, but sang to the glory of God, often beyond the point of exhaustion. This work is a celebration of the past praises of those who sang tirelessly for some 60 years.

African Americans in Pittsburgh chronicles the distinct trends in this African American community. There was never one centralized neighborhood where a majority of the black population lived, and city schools were integrated until after desegregation laws were passed. Photographs captured by famed Pittsburgh photographer Charles "Teenie" Harris show the candid experiences of residents, including the achievements and celebrations of people struggling to put scraps of food on the table.