Category Archives: Black History Month

In anticipation of the passage of the 15th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, The Elevator, a San Francisco newspaper serving the black community, asked its readers in 1869 to identify “colored male adults” in their communities, men … Continue reading →

A year after he celebrated his 100th birthday, Black pioneer John Scott died at his home on Reed’s Creek in Tehama County. He had had an adventurous life, although how much of the tales he told were true is impossible … Continue reading →

Sacramento citty / October 4th, 1849 Master Sam– I take the pains to write you a few lines & wish to hear you are well & doing well. There is no time for dogeing [dodging] now. We expect to go … Continue reading →

Obadiah Summers served as pastor in the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Chico in 1885, before moving on to serve congregations and build up churches in Sacramento, San Francisco, and Oakland. Summers was born a slave in Missouri in 1844. … Continue reading →

Black slavery in the United States did not disappear as soon as Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, nor did it end with the defeat of the Confederacy and the end of the American Civil War … Continue reading →