If you would like to learn more about African American History and other genres of African American literature, please check out the information on this page. I give credit to the African American Read-In classes and committee at Penn State Altoona for their research and creation of the lists of books, poetry, prose, fiction, non-fiction, biographies, speeches, plays, sermons, and so much more written by African Americans and those of the African Diaspora.

African American History Books

Underground Railroad

The Underground Railroad Records by William Still (1872). It is based upon the diary that Mr. Still kept from 1850 to 1862 while living in Pennsylvania.

From PBS, https://www.pbs.org/video/wned-tv-history-underground-railroad-william-still-story/ “Underground Railroad: William Still Story”

The Underground Railroad from Slavery to Freedom by Dr. Wilbur H. Siebert, first published 1898–99. https://ohiomemory.org/digital/collection/siebert

The Underground Railroad in Pennsylvania, (1987) Hippocrene Guide to the Underground Railroad (1994), African Americans in Pennsylvania: Above Ground and Underground—An Illustrated Guide (2001) by Charles L. Blockson.

Underground Railroad in Pennsylvania by Dr. William Switala (2008, 2nd edition).

Gateway to Freedom: The Hidden History of the Underground Railroad by Eric Foner (2016).

Bound for Canaan: The Underground Railroad and the War for the Soul of America by Fergus M. Bordewich (2005) http://www.fergusbordewich.com/index.html

Slave Narratives of the Underground Railroad.  Christine Rudisel and Bob Blaisdell (Ed.), (2014)

The Underground Railroad: First Person Narratives of Escape to Freedom in the North by Charles Blockson (1987)

Recommended Books

African Americans in Pennsylvania by Charles Blockson (2001)

Black Genealogy by Charles Blockson (1997)

The Haitian Revolution: Celebrating the First Black Republic by Charles Blockson (2004)

The Mis-Education of the Negro by Carter G. Woodson (1933)

The Autobiography of Malcom X by Malcom X and Alex Hailey (1965)

Roots: The Saga of an American Family by Alex Hailey (1976)

Why we can’t wait by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1964)

Where do we go from here: Chaos or Community? by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (1967)

Black Reconstruction of America by W. E. B. DuBois (1933)

Souls of Black Folk by W. E. B. Dubois (1903)

We were always free: The Maddens of Culpepper County Virginia, a 200-year Family History by T. O. Madden (1993)

Up from Slavery: An Autobiography by Booker T. Washington (1901)

Four Months in Liberia: An American Colonization Exposed by William Nesbit (1855)

Four Years in Liberia; a sketch of the Life of Rev. Samuel Williams by Samuel Williams (1857)

Poems on Various Subjects: Religious and Moral by Phyllis Wheatley (1773)

Twelve years a Slave by Solomon Northup (1853)

Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave (1845)

My Bondage and My Freedom by Frederick Douglass (1855)

The Underground Railroad Records by William Still (1872)

The Bondwoman’s Narrative by Hannah Crafts (written between 1853 to 1860, published in 2002 by Dr. Henry Louis Gates)

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs (1861)

Memoirs of the Life, Religious Experience, Ministerial Travel and Labours of Mrs. Zilpha Elaw, an American Female of Colour, by Minister Zilphia Elaw (1846) (she traveled the Mainline Canal from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, which meant that she rode through Hollidaysburg on the Allegheny Portage Railroad)

Narrative of Sojourner Truth by Sojourner Truth and Olive Gilbert (1850)

Eliza Harris by Frances E. W. Harper (1853)

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

The Dead Are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X by Les Payne and Tamara Payne

Heavy by Kiese Laymon

The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson

Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America by Gilbert King

The Second: Race and Guns in a Fatally Unequal America By Carol Anderson

Across the Tracks: Remembering Greenwood, Black Wall Street, and the Tulsa Race Massacre By Alverne Ball, Stacey Robinson (Illustrator), Reynaldo Anderson (Contributions by), Dr. Colette Yellow Robe (Contributions by)

On Juneteenth By Annette Gordon-Reed

The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass: His Early Life as a Slave, His Escape from Bondage, and His Complete History By Frederick Douglass

The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story by Nikole Hannah-Jones

March Trilogy by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, Nate Powell (Illustrator)

1976 Democratic National Convention Keynote Speech by Barbara Jordan

Books by Black authors that have been banned or challenged

by schools, libraries, state or local officials, prisons, or other groups and entities
(this list is a work in progress and is not intended to be comprehensive)

Fiction

James Baldwin, Another Country, Blues for Mister Charlie, Go Tell it on the Mountain, If Beale Street Could Talk
Octavia Butler, Kindred
Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man
Ernest J. Gaines, A Lesson Before Dying
Yaa Gyasi, Homegoing
Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God
Toni Morrison, Beloved, The Bluest Eye, Song of Solomon
Walter Mosely, 47
Solomon Northup, 12 Years a Slave
Alice Walker, The Color Purple
Jacqueline Woodson, Red at the Bone
Richard Wright, Native Son

Nonfiction

Michelle Alexander, The New Jim Crow
Carole Anderson, White Rage
Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
A.K. Asante, Buck: A Memoir
Melba Pattillo Beals, Warriors Don’t Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock’s Central High
Derrick Bell, Faces at the Bottom of the Well: The Permanence of Racism
Derrick Bell, Kimberlé Crenshaw, et al, Critical Race Theory
Keisha N. Blain and Ibram X. Kendi, Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019 
Ta-Nehisi Coates, Between the World and Me
Kimberlé Crenshaw, Neil Gotanda, Garry Peller, and Kendall Thomas, Critical Race Theory: The Key Writings That Formed the Movement
Frederick Douglass, The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
W.E.B. DuBois, The Philadelphia Negro, The Souls of Black Folk
Shawn Ginwright, Black Youth Rising: Activism and Radical Healing in Urban America
Alex Haley and Malcolm X, The Autobiography of Malcolm X 
*Nikole Hannah-Jones, The 1619 Project 
Mikki Kendall, Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot
Ibram X. Kendi, Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America
Kiese Laymon, Heavy: An American Memoir
Charlton McIlwain, Black Software: The Internet & Racial Justice, from the Afronet to Black Lives Matter
Barack Obama, Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance
Clint Smith, How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery across America
Akiba Solomon and Kenrya Rankin, How We Fight White Supremacy: A Field Guide to Black Resistance
Bryan Stevenson, Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption
Beverly Daniel Tatum, Can We Talk about Race?: And Other Conversations in an Era of School Resegregation
Jacqueline Woodson, Brown Girl Dreaming
Richard Wright, Black Boy

Anthologies

Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain (Editors), *Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019

Poetry

Amanda Gorman, Call Us What We Carry: Poems

“Buzzwords and Banned Books,” a poem about banned Black books by Khalisa Rae

Young Adult Books

Elizabeth Acevedo, Clap When You Land, The Poet X
Kalynn Bayron, Cinderella Is Dead Read it here
Echo Brown, Black Girl Unlimited: The Remarkable Story of a Teenage Wizard
Brandy Colbert, Little and Lion
Sharon Flake, The Skin I’m In
NikKi Grimes, Bronx Masquerade
Tiffany D. Jackson, Monday’s Not Coming
George M. Johnson, All Boys Aren’t Blue
Kim Johnson, This Is My America
Keely Hutton, Soldier Boy
Walter Dean Myers, Fallen Angels, Monster
Junauda Petrus, The Stars and The Blackness Between Them
Jason Reynolds, All American Boys, Long Way Down,  Miles Morales: Spider-Man
Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi, Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You
Jewell Parker Rhodes, Ghost Boys
Nic Stone, Dear Martin, Odd One Out
Angie Thomas, On the Come Up, The Hate U Give
Ngozi Ukazu, Check, Please
Renée Watson, Watch Us Rise
Ibi Zoboi, American Street, Black Enough: Stories of Being Young & Black in America, Pride

Children’s Books (fiction and nonfiction)

Kwame Alexander, The Undefeated, illustrated by Kadir Nelson
D. Barnes, Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut, illustrated by Gordon C. James
Ruby Bridges, Ruby Bridges Goes to School: My True Story
JaNay Brown-Wood, Imani’s Moon, illustrated by Hazel Mitchell
Marianne Celano (white), Marietta Collins (African American), and Anne Hazard (white), Something Happened in Our Town: A Child’s Story About Racial Injustice, illustrated by Jennifer Zivoin
Lucille Clifton, The Boy Who Didn’t Believe in Spring, illustrated by Brinton Turkle
Jerry Craft, New Kid, Class Act
Matthew A. Cherry, Hair Love, illustrated by Vashti Harrison
Christopher Paul Curtis, Elijah of Buxton
Taye Diggs, Mixed Me!, illustrated by Shane W. Evans
Sharon M. Draper, Blended
Zetta Elliott, Milo’s Museum, illustrated by Purple Wong
Shane W. Evans, We March, illustrated by Evans
Ashley Franklin, Not Quite Snow White
Joel Christian Gill, Bass Reeves: Tales of the Talented Tenth
Vashti Harrison, Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History, Little Legends: Exceptional Men in Black History
Tiffany Jewell, This Book is Anti-Racist: 20 Lessons on How to Wake Up, Take Action, and Do the Work, illustrated by Aurelia Durand
Ibram X Kendi, Antiracist Baby, illustrated by Ashley Lukashevsky
Sharee Miller, Don’t Touch My Hair!
Oge Mora, Thank You, Omu!, Saturday, both illustrated by Mora
Christopher Myers, Wings, illustrated by Myers
Vaunda Micheaux Nelson, The Book Itch: Freedom, Truth & Harlem’s Greatest Bookstore , illustrated by R. Gregory Christie
Lisa Moore Ramée, A Good Kind of Trouble
Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi, adapted by Sonja Cherry-Paul, Stamped (for Kids): Racism, Antiracism, and You
Suzanne Buckingham Slade, Exquisite: The Poetry and Life of Gwendolyn Brooks
Mildred D. Taylor, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
Artilla R. Tyner, Black Lives Matter: From Hashtag to the Streets
Renée Watson, Harlem’s Little Blackbird: The Story of Florence Mills, illustrated by Christian Robinson
Carole Boston Weatherford, Before John was a Jazz Giant: A Song of John Coltrane, illustrated by Sean Qualls
Lakita Wilson, What Is Black Lives Matter?, illustrated by Gregory Copeland
Jacqueline Woodson, The Day You Begin, illustrated by Rafael Lopez

Resources

About the Bans and Challenges

American Library Association’s Banned Books page
BannedBooksList2020.pdf (ala.org)
Frequently challenged books/classics (ALA)
Equal Justice Initiative, “Banning Books in Prison”
National Coalition Against Censorship, “Top 10 Banned Books the Changed the Face of Black History”
“Books on race and sexuality are disappearing from Texas schools in record numbers”
Emily Knox, “Banned Books Are Often Diverse Books. Check the Stats.”
“Book Bans in Schools Are Catching Fire: Black Authors Say Uproar Isn’t about Students”
“Texas School District ‘Postpones’ a Black Author’s School Visit Because Parents Claim his Books Teach Critical Race Theory”
Jerry Craft on Into America with Trymaine Lee
Joshua Johnson Speaks with Jerry Craft (video)
Jerry Craft discussing his childhood and his books (video)
ACLU “Banned Books by Black Authors”
“Book Banning in the US: These Are the Authors of Color Who Censors Are Trying to Silence” 
“Calls to Ban Books by Black Authors Are Increasing Amid Critical Race Theory Debates”

About the Resistance

“Meet the Teens Fighting Book Bans with Banned Book Clubs”
ALA’s Intellectual Freedom Blog: “Reclaiming the Narrative: Advice from Authors of Challenged Books”
ALA’s Intellectual Freedom Blog: “The Hate U Give and All American Boys Challenged by Charleston County Police”
ALA’s Intellectual Freedom Blog: “The Hate She Received: Why the Banning of Angie Thomas’s Book Was an Insult to the Black Lives Matter Movement”
ALA’s Intellectual Freedom Blog: “Divisive’ Books Help Children Experiencing Trauma: An Interview with the Authors of Something Happened in Our Town: A Child’s Story about Racial Injustice”
Interview with Toni Morrison, 2009 (audio, 8 minutes)
“Salem-Keizer Denies Request to Ban Anti-racism Book ”This Black Parents Association Successfully Got this Book Un-banned in their TX Classroom (Ali Velshi, 4:35 min video)
“This Book Puts The Spotlight On Missing Black Girls Who’ve Been Ignored By Police”
Ali Velshi’s Banned Book Club, author Nic Stone discusses Dear Martin”

The Other African Americans:
African Immigrants Writing America

POETRY

Chris Abani, Sanctificum, There Are No Names for Red, Feed Me The Sun: Collected Long Poems, Hands Washing Water, Dog Woman, Daphne’s Lot, Kalakuta Republic
https://www.chrisabani.com/
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/chris-abani#tab-poems
There Are No Names for Red PSU Libraries Ebook here

‘Gbenga Adeoba, Exodus, Foreword by Kwame Dawes
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/search?query=%20%27GBENGA%20ADEOBA&refinement=poems

Adedayo Agarau, Origin of Names, For Boys Who Went, The Arrival of Rain
https://8poems.com/when-god-walked-adedayo-agarau

Afua Ansong, American Mercy and Try Kissing God
https://www.afuansong.com/

Gabeba Baderoon, A Hundred Silences , The Dream in the Next Body, and Silence Before Speaking, The History of Intimacy
https://poets.org/poet/gabeba-baderoon

Syl Cheney-Coker, Stone Child and other poems, The Blood in the Desert’s Eyes, The Graveyard Also Has Teeth with Concerto for an Exile, and Concerto for an Exile
http://www.xinshi.org/xlib/lingshidao/waiwen/coker.htm

Frank Chipasula, On the Shoulders of the Mountain: A Selection of Poems, Whispers in the Wings: New and Selected Poems, O Earth, Wait for Me, and Visions and Reflections
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/frank-chipasula

Kwame Dawes, Wisteria: Poems From the Swamp Country. Duppy Conqueror: New and Selected Poems,  City of Bones: A Testament, Midland
http://kwamedawes.com/
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/kwame-dawes#tab-poems
https://pionline.wordpress.com/2016/06/25/kwame-dawes-an-archive-of-online-poems/
Midland PSU Libraries Ebook here

Safia Elhillo, The January Children
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/safia-elhillo
Penn State Libraries Users can access this Ebook 

Saddiq Dzukogi, Your Crib, My Qibla
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/saddiq-dzukogi

Tsitsi Ella Jaji, Beating the Graves
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/search?query=tsitsi+jaji
Beating the Graves PSU Libraries Ebook here

Safia Jama, Eating in My Sleep, Long Pond, Surface Tension and Two Gifts
https://thesafiajamaexperience.com/

Cheswayo Gabriel Mphanza, The Rinehart Frames, Foreword by Kwame Dawes
https://www.hurstonwright.org/cheswayo-gabriel-mphanza-2017-poetry-winner/

Mukoma Wa Ngugi, Logotherapy
http://www.mukomawangugi.com/

Romeo Oriogun, Sacrament of Bodies
https://harvardreview.org/contributor/romeo-oriogun/

Ladan Osman, Exiles of Eden, The Kitchen-Dweller’s Testimony and Ordinary Heaven
https://blueflowerarts.com/artist/ladan-osman/
Penn State Library users can access an Ebook here

Matthew Shenoda, Somewhere Else, Seasons of Lotus, Seasons of Bone
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/matthew-shenoda

Mahtem Shiferraw, Fuchsia and Your Body Is War
https://poets.org/poet/mahtem-shiferraw
Penn State Library users can access Fuchsia Ebook here

Patricia Jabbeh Wesley, Praise Song for Our Children: New and Selected Poems, When the Wanderers Come Home, Where the Road Turns, The River is Rising, Becoming Ebony, Before the Palm Could Bloom, Homecoming: New & Selected Poems
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/patricia-jabbeh-wesley
When the WanderersCome Home PSU Libraries Ebook here
Becoming Ebony PSU Libraries Ebook here

Tryphena L. Yeboah, First Light, If the Body Makes a Sound, The Ravages of an Unloved Life and To This God I Will Say
https://www.narrativemagazine.com/authors/tryphena-l-yeboah

POETRY ANTHOLOGIES

A Bloom of Stones: A Tri-Lingual Anthology of Haitian Poems After the Earthquake, edited by Kwame Dawes
https://repeatingislands.com/2013/03/21/new-book-kwame-dawes-a-bloom-of-stones/

Bending the Bow: An Anthology of African Love Poetry, edited by Frank Chipasula
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6623528-bending-the-bow
Penn State Library Users can access Ebook here

The Heinemann Book of African Women’s Poetry, edited by Frank Chipasula and Stella Chipasula

Hold Me to an Island, Caribbean Place, An Anthology of Writing, edited by Kwame Dawes and Jeremy Poynting
http://kwamedawes.com/hold-me-to-an-island-caribbean-place-an-anthology-of-writing/

Modern Sudanese Poetry: An Anthology, translated and edited by Adil Babikir, forward by Matthew Shenoda
https://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/nebraska/9781496215635/

Seeking: Poetry and Prose Inspired by the Art of Jonathan Green, edited by Kwame Dawes and Marjory Wentworth
https://muse.jhu.edu/book/23938
PSU Libraries Ebook here

We Have Crossed Many Rivers: New poetry from Africa, edited by Dike Okoro
https://www.africanbookscollective.com/books/we-have-crossed-many-rivers

When My Brothers Come Home: Poems from Central and Southern Africa, edited by Frank Chipasula
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1221798.When_My_Brothers_Come_Home

FICTION & NONFICTION

Chris Abani, The Secret History of Las Vegas, Song for Night, The Virgin of Flames, and Becoming Abigail
https://www.chrisabani.com/

Chimamanda Adichie, Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto In Fifteen Suggestions, We Should All Be Feminists, Americanah, The Thing Around Your Neck, Half of a Yellow Sun, Purple Hibiscus
https://www.chimamanda.com/

Gabeba Baderoon, Regarding Muslims: From slavery to Post-Apartheid
https://theconversation.com/profiles/gabeba-baderoon-1235817
Regarding Muslims: From Slavery to Post-Apartheid PSU Libraries Ebook here

NoViolet Bulawayo, We Need New Names
http://novioletbulawayo.com/book/

Syl Cheney-Coker, The Last Harmattan of Alusine Dunbar
https://blackmountaininstitute.org/asylum-fellow/syl-cheney-coker/

Teju Cole, Open City, Everyday is for the Thief, Known and Strange Things, Black Paper: Writing in a Dark Time
http://www.tejucole.com/

Kwame Dawes, Fiction: She’s Gone, Bivouac, A Place to Hide
Non-Fiction: A Far Cry From Plymouth Rock: A Personal Narrative, Bob Marley Lyrical Genius, Natural Mysticism, Talk Yuh Talk, When the Rewards Can be So Great
http://kwamedawes.com/
A Place to Hide PSU Libraries Ebook here
A Far Cry from Plymouth Rock PSU Libraries Ebook here

Yaa Gyasi, Homegoing
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/2117741/yaa-gyasi/
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/mar/20/white-people-black-authors-are-not-your-medicine

Helon Habila, Prison Stories, Waiting for an Angel: A Novel, New Writing, Measuring Time: A Novel, Miracles and Jazz: An Anthology of New Africa Fiction, Oil on Water: A Novel, The Granta Book of the African Short Story, The Chibok Girls, Travelers: A Novel
https://www.helonhabila.com/

Laila Lalami, Conditional Citizens: On Belonging in America
https://lailalalami.com/

Dinaw Mengestu, How to Read the Air
https://lannan.georgetown.edu/past-guests/dinaw-mengestu/

Imbolo Mbue, Behold the Dreamers, How Beautiful We Were
https://www.imbolombue.com/

Dinaw Menestu, The Beautiful Thing That Heaven Bears, How to Read the Air
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/170308/dinaw-mengestu/
link to a short story: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/07/07/magazine/dinaw-mengestu-short-story.html

Trevor Noah, Born A Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood
https://www.trevornoah.com/
PSU Libraries Ebook here

Dike Okoro, Lupenga Mphande, Eco-Critical Poet and Political Activist (Literary Criticism)
https://www.africanbookscollective.com/authors-editors/dike-okoro

Nnedi Okorafor, Binti, Lagoon, Who Fears Death, The Book of Phoenix, Kabu Kabu
https://nnedi.com/

Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, The Black Hermit, This Time Tomorrow, The Trial of Dedan Kimathi, and I Will Marry When I Want
https://ngugiwathiongo.com/
The Black Hermit PSU Libraries Ebook here
This Time Tomorrow PSU Libraries Ebook here

Binyavanga Wainaina, One Day I Write About this Place: A Memoir, How to Write About Africa
https://www.npr.org/2019/05/22/725657154/binyavanga-wainaina-kenyan-writer-and-lgbtq-activist-dies-at-48

DRAMA

Ama Ata Aidoo, The Dilemma of a Ghost,  Anowa
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ama-Ata-Aidoo#ref271054
The Dilemma of a Ghost PSU Libraries Ebook here
Anowa PSU Libraries Ebook here

Ngozi Anyanwu, the book of Lucy, Good Grief, The Homecoming Queen, and Nike or we don’t need another hero
https://newplayexchange.org/users/3607/ngozi-anyanwu

Jocelyn Bioh, Goddess, Nollywood Dreams, and School Girls; Or the African Mean Girls Play
https://newplayexchange.org/users/2891/jocelyn-bioh

Kwame Dawes, One Love
https://www.scencyclopedia.org/sce/entries/dawes-kwame/

Danai Gurira (actor: The Black Panther and The Walking Dead) playwright: The Convert, Eclipsed, Familiar, In the Continuum
https://www.playwrightshorizons.org/shows/plays/familiar/playwright/
Eclipsed PSU Libraries Ebook here

Mfoniso Udofia, Her Portmanteau, In Old Age, runboyrun, and Sojourners
https://www.mfonisoudofia.com/

BOOKS FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULTS

Jordan Ifueko, Raybearer, Redemptor
https://www.jordanifueko.com/
Raybearer PSU Libraries Ebook here

Oge Mora, Thank You, Omu!, Saturday, Everybody in the Red Brick Building
http://www.ogemora.com/

Nnedi Okorafor, Ikenga, Chicken in the Kitchen, The Shadow Speaker, Lin gJuju Man
https://nnedi.com/

Afrofuturism Recommended Reading List

 Fiction

Andre Alexis (Canadian), Childhood: A Novel, Despair and Other Stories of Ottawa

Zainab Amadahy, The Moons of Palmares

Robert Antoni, Divina Trace

Toni Cade Bambara, The Salt Easters

Steven Barnes, Blood Brothers, Firedance, Iron Shadows, Gorgon Child, The Kundalini Equations, Street Lethal

Jennifer Marie Brissett, Elysium

Octavia Butler, Lilith’s Brood (Dawn, Imago, Adulthood Rites), Parable of the Sower, Parable of the Talents, Bloodchild and Other Stories (“Bloodchild”), Seed to Harvest (Wild Seed, Mind of My Mind, Clay’s Arc, Patternmaster), Fledgeling, Kindred, Survivor

Samuel Delaney, Babel-17, Dhalgren, Empire Star, The Einstein Intersection, The Fall of the Towers, Hogg, Trouble on Triton, Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand, Tales of Nevèrÿon,

Maryse Conde, Crossing the Mangrove, I, Tituba: Black Witch of Salem, Windward Heights, Segu

W.E.B. DuBois, “The Comet,” “The Princess Steel”

Tananarive Due, The Between, My Soul to Keep, The Good House, Ghost Summer (collection of short stories)

Jewelle Gomez, The Gilda Stories

Sam Greenlee, The Spook Who Sat by the Door

Andrea Hairston, “Griots of the Galaxy,” Will do Magic for Small Change, Redwood and Wildfire, Mindscape

Chester Himes, Plan B

Nalo Hopkinson, Brown Girl in the Ring, Midnight Robber, Sister Mine, The Salt Roads, Skin Folk (short story collection), Falling in Love with Hominids (short story collection)

Kelvin Christopher James, A Fling with a Demon Lover, Jumping Ship and Other Stories, Secrets

N.K. Jemisin, The Fifth Season, Inheritance Trilogy

Alaya Dawn Johnson, Love Is the Drug

Charles Johnson, Dreamer, The Middle Passage, Oxherding Tale, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice: Tales and Conjurations

Toni Morrison, Beloved, The Bluest Eye, Song of Solomon, Sula, Tar Baby, Jazz, Paradise

Walter Mosely, Blue Light, The Tempest Tales

Albert Murray, The Seven League Boots: A Novel, The Spyglass Tree, Train Whistle Guitar

Gloria Naylor, Mama Day

Nnedi Okorafor– Binti, Binti 2: Home, Binti: Night Masquerade, Who Fears Death, Remote Control, “Hello Moto” in Kabu Kabu (short story collection), Lagoon, The Book of Phoenix

Rasheedah Phillips, Recurrence Plot

Jewel Parker Rhodes, Magic City, Voodoo Dreams

Charles Saunders, Imaro, The Quest for Cush, The Trail of Bohu, Nyumbani Tales

George Schuyler, Black No More

Nisi Shawl, Everfair, Filter House (collection of short stories), Something More and More (collection of stories and essays)

Sherri L. Smith, Orleans

Sheree R. Thomas, Sleeping under the Tree of Life, Shotgun Lullabies (collections of stories and poems)

Colson Whitehead, The Intuitionist, Zone One, The Underground Railroad

Children’s Literature

Zetta Elliott, Dragons in a Bag, The Phoenix on Barklay Street, Dayshaun’s Gift, The Magic Mirror, The Boy in the Bubble

Virginia Hamilton, The All Jahdu Storybook, The Dark Way: Stories from the Spirit World, Dustland, Justice and Her Brothers, The Gathering, The House of Dies Drear, The Mystery of Drear House: The Conclusion of the Dies Drear Chronicle, Sweet Whispers, Brother Rush

Robert B. Herring, Jr., Josh and his Superhero Booger Friends

Nnedi Okorafor—Long Juju Man, Iridessa and the Secret of the Never Mind, Chicken in the Kitchen

Jewell Parker Rhodes, Ghost Boys, Ninth Ward, Sugar, Bayou Magic

Maiya Williams, The Golden Hour, The Hour of the Cobra, The Hour of the Outlaw

Young Adult Literature

Tomi Adeyami, Children of Blood and Bone

Constance Burris, Coal, Chancedony, Black Beauty, Jade

K.T. Conte, Awoke

Zetta Elliott, Ship of Souls, The Deep, The Door at the Crossroads, Mother of the Sea, the Return, A Wish after Midnight

Shannon Freeman, Listed, The Accident, Taken, A Port in Pieces, The Public Eye, Deported

Robert B. Herring, Jr., Scars of a Magician

Shannon Humphrey, Hope Defined, Skin Trials, A Perfect Society

Wendy Raven McNair, Asleep, Awake

J. Moon, Book of the Annointed

Nnedi Okorafor—Akata Witch, Akata Warrior, Zahrah the Windseeker, The Shadow Speaker

Mila N. Sankale, Anathema, Runespeaker

Poetry

Linda D. Addison, Consumed, Reduced to Beautiful Grey Ashes

Aku Leslie Hope, Them Gone

Gary Jackson, Missing You, Metropolis and poems in Callaloo, Tin House, 32 Poems

Airea D. Matthews, Simulacra

Ishmael Reed, poems

Sofia Samatar, “The Sand Diviner,” “Notes Towards a Theory of Quantum Blackness”

Traci K. Smith, Life on Mars, The Body’s Question, Duende

Naru Sundar, “Origami Crane / Light-Defying Spaceship”

LaSahwn M. Wandak, poems in Strange Horizons, Ideomancer, Daily Science Fiction

Francis Wesley, poems in Disturbed, Star*Line, Prune Juice, Scifaikuest, Illumen, Martian Wave, Trysts of Fate, and more

2015 Reading List

Suggested Reading List: Laughter

Beginning Readers

Picture Books                              

• The Cat’s Purr, Ashley Bryan
• The Sweet and Sour Animal Book, Langston Hughes
• Once Upon a Farm, Marie Bradby
• A Promise to the Sun: An African American Story, Tololwa Marti Mollel

Poetry

• Shoe Magic, Nikki Grimes
• It’s Raining Laughter, Nikki Grimes

Early Readers

Chapter Books

• Ziggy and the Black Dinosaurs,  Sharon Draper

Picture Books

• The People Could Fly, Virginia Hamilton
• Black Misery, Langston Hughes
• Hip Hop Speaks to Children, Nikki Grimes
• Jump up and Say! : A Collection of Black Story Telling, Linda Goss

Young Adults

• Selections from My Black Me
  “My Brother is Homemade,” Sam Cornish
  “Monument in Black,” Vanessa Howard
  “One Thousand Nine Hundred & Sixty-Eight Winters” Jackie Earle
• Ego- Tripping and Other Poems for Young People, Nikki Giovanni
• Tenderheaded: A Comb-Bending Collection of Hair Stories, Pamela Johnson

Adults

Books

• Hokum: An Anthropology of African American Humor, Paul Beatty
• Honey Hush!: An Anthology of African American Women’s Humor, Daryl Cumber Dance
• African American Humor: The Best Black Comedy from Slavery to Today, Mel Watkins

Plays

• Day of Absence Douglas, Turner Ward
• Fabulation, Lynn Nottage
• Poof, Lynn Nottage

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry (1957, play performed for the first time on Broadway was 1959)

“Oak and Ivory”(1892), “We wear the Mask” (1896), “Poems of Cabin and Field” (1899) by Paul Laurence Dunbar

“The Marrow of Tradition” by Charles W. Chestnutt (1901)

“The House behind the Cedars” by Charles W. Chestnutt (1900)

 https://sites.psu.edu/aareadin/suggested-reading-list/

November is known as Aviation month. This post is about Blair County African American aviation military veterans who were involved in US military conflicts starting with World War 1.

Fort Wayne military camp was located in Detroit, Michigan and the camp housed 500 African American men during the summer of 1918. Until July 1948, the US military soldiers were segregated by race.
https://www.historicfortwaynecoalition.com/10keyevents.html

Perry J. (1888 to 1969) and M. Irvin Brown (1894 to 1966) of Hollidaysburg enlisted for WWI. They were the sons of Blair Brown ( 1857 to 1929) and the grandsons of Moses Brown (1827 to 1916) of Hollidaysburg. Moses was one of the richest black men in Blair County and own the land that is now called Blairmont Country Club and Sylvan Hills Golf course in Hollidaysburg.

Perry and Irvin enlisted in May 1918 and were first sent to Fort Wayne camp, located in Detroit, Michigan and utilized as carpenters for the aviation corps. The news article stated that they were in Langley Field, which was in Hampton, Virginia. They were discharged in December 1918. These camps were one of several locations where drafted black men were sent because of US Military segregation policies.

From the Altoona Tribune’s archives of November 21, 1918, pg. 12.

John was a 1913 Hollidaysburg High School graduate. His grandfather, George Lyons (1848 to 1904) and his grand-uncle George J. Irons (1832 to 1909) fought in the Civil War. John’s brother, Dr. George A. Walker, Sr., (1900 to 1969), also graduated from Hollidaysburg High School, attended Howard University and graduated with a dentistry degree. Dr. Walker returned to Hollidaysburg, where he had a dentist office. Dr. Walker, Sr., his wife Agnes Walker, and C. Randolph Brown of Hollidaysburg were involved in the founding of the Pennsylvania chapter of the NAACP.

Marshall Wilson Pattillo moved to Claysburg/Greenfield Township in the mid-1930s and was employed as a general inspector of the General Refractories brick plant in Claysburg.

During WWII, 6 men with a Blair County connection enlisted or were involved with the air corps that would be known as the Tuskegee airmen.

Clarence Madden, Jr. (1925 – ) of Altoona visited Tuskegee, he was stationed in Florida and then Tennessee during the war.

From the Altoona Mirror Newspaper archives of October 30, 1942 pg. 7

Cadet Charles T. Ross, Jr. (1923-1952  ) of Altoona, a 1941 Altoona High School graduate, trained at Pennsylvania State School of Aeronautics in Harrisburg, PA. He was enlisted from March 1943 to August 1945.

1941 Altoona High School Yearbook from Ancestry.com

From the Altoona Mirror Newspaper archives of August 25, 1944 pg. 2. Charles Ross completes primary flight training at Tuskegee Airfield.

Eugene “Gene” Bell is commissioned as a 2^nd Lieutenant in June 1946. This information was from the Altoona Mirror Newspaper archives of July 18, 1946 pg. 5.

George Allen, Jr., (1910 –  ) formerly of Tyrone, moved to Tuskegee.

Major James T. Wiley, Jr. (1918 – 2000) of Pittsburgh, came to Altoona to learn how to fly. The Altoona Undergraduate Center, aka Penn State Altoona provided flight training in conjunction with the Federal Government’s CAA. Major Jim T. Wiley, Jr. of Pittsburgh, was taught to fly in Altoona, before becoming a Tuskegee Airman and earned the highest marks possible, according to the Pittsburgh Courier of February 16, 1952, pg. 2

Photo of Major James T. Wiley and his family. Photo taken in Pittsburgh by the famed photographer Teenie Harris of the Pittsburgh Courier newspaper.

James T. Wiley of Pittsburgh and future Tuskegee Airman received training in Altoona from the federal program called CAA (Civil Aeronautics Authority), the precursor to the FAA. From the Altoona Mirror Newspaper archives of July 16, 1941, pg. 15.

https://www.faa.gov/about/history/brief_history

The Tuskegee Airmen were the first African American military aviators in the United States armed forces. During their years of operation, 1940 to 1946, 996 pilots were trained at Tuskegee Army Air Field. Approximately 445 were deployed overseas and 150 lost their lives during that period.

https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/tuskegee-airmen

At least one Blair County woman of color enlisted in the Air Force.

Janet M. Garnett from Hollidaysburg was a 1952 graduate from Hollidaysburg High School.

From the Altoona Mirror’s archives of December 9, 1952, pg. 21.

From the Altoona Mirror’s archives of June 11, 1954 pg. 6.

She met and married Staff Sergeant Lloyd Smith and returned home. She worked as a

Several Blair county residents enlisted in the Air Force prior to and during the Vietnam War.

Ronald Mallett and Keith Mallett, are the sons of Dorothy Kimbrough Mallett Williams and Boyd Mallett. Both are graduates of Altoona High School, both enlisted in the Air Force and then enrolled into higher education institutions. Ronald earned a bachelor’s, a Master’s and a Ph.D. degree in Physics at PSU. He taught Physics at the University of Connecticut. He is recognized as an expert in researching time travel.  Ronald Lawrence Mallett.

Ron Mallett, Professor of physics

From the Altoona Tribune’s archives of August 6, 1966 pg.16

Keith Mallett studied art at Art Students League of New York and Hunter College in NY, after he finished his stint as an Air Force veteran.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Mallett  .

From the Altoona Mirror Newspaper Archives’ of March, 18 1968, pg.26.

Photo of Keith Mallet, from https://www.keithmallett.com/.

Thomas M. Walker or Michael T Walker. The Altoona Mirror listed his name both ways. He is the son or Robert J. Walker and Dorothy Dannals of Hollidaysburg.

From Altoona Mirror newspapers’ archives of October 21, 1965, pg. 20.

From the Altoona Mirror newspapers’ archives of January 31, 1966, pg. 9.

Michael T. Walker aka Thomas M. Walker, Airman 2nd Class mechanic from the Altoona Mirror newspapers’ archives of November 7, 1966, pg. 6.

Larry Smith’s book of “Bedford County, Pennsylvania – Two and a half centuries in the Making” documented the presence of a Air Force General Surveillance radar at Blue Knob. Construction began in 1951 and the US Air Force center existed until 1962. One person who came to this county as a result of this military organization was Willard Duffel. According to his February 14, 2009 obituary, Willard was born in Kansas, fought in WWII and the Korea conflict and when he retired from the military, he was a staff sergeant. From the Altoona Mirror’s news archives, pg. 7.

https://folklife.si.edu/magazine/storied-life-james-wiley-tuskegee-airman

https://explorepahistory.com/displayimage.php?imgId=1-2-E9A

https://tuskegeeairmen.org/

There were at least three Brown families living in Hollidaysburg during the 19th and early 20th century. I have written a blog post on Moses Brown’s and his family. This post is a brief overview of the John “Jack” Brown, David Brown, and C. Randolph Brown’s families of Hollidaysburg

Jack or John Brown, (1797 to 1878), came to the Hollidaysburg’s area in 1828. According to the death notice from the Altoona Mirror’s archives of January 4, 1878, pg. 4, his home was in Mifflin County, born near McVeytown. He was brought to this area by Major Vance and his family. Jack may have been an enslaved person.

There was a Mary Vance who was a member of First Hollidaysburg Presbyterian. She gave funds to the American Colonization Society (ACS) in 1881, 1883 and 1885.  (The ACS supported the founding of the Liberia to send American Black residents to that country as one solution to ending American slavery. There were several African Americans from Hollidaysburg and Johnstown who moved to Liberia in 1853 and some were members of First Presbyterian of Hollidaysburg.  I don’t know if she is related to Major Vance and his wife.

According to the 1850 Census, he was 53 years old. The 1850 census record notes that he was married to Mary Brown, age 39. The following children were listed: Roth (or Robert) age 20, William age 14, George, age 9, Henry age 6, Hall (or Hale) age 4, Melton (or Milton) age 2 and another Brown, age 13.  David’s birth year is 1852.

Robert, Andrew W., William A., and Henry L. Patterson Brown or Henry C. Patterson Brown fought in the Civil War. Robert fought with the 45^th Infantry.  Andrew W. fought with the 21^st or 22^nd Infantry. William fought with the 22^nd Infantry. and Henry fought with the 54^th Massachusetts. All 3 are buried in the Union Cemetery.

Henry was employed in the law office of Thaddeus Banks in Hollidaysburg and became acquainted with the law, legal processes, and procedures. He used his knowledge of the law to assist the local black community in dealing with legal issues. According to his death notice from the Altoona Tribune’s archives of February 13, 1895, pg. 4,Henry was at the charge at Fort Wagner, South Carolina, on July 18, 1863, but survived unscathed. He died in 1895 as the result of an injury that occurred in Williamsburg while working on that railroad line.

Altoona Tribune’s archives of February 13, 1895, pg. 4

Andrew died in the 1880s. Robert died in 1893.

Milton went into the ministry and moved to Steubenville OH.  George also moved to Ohio and stayed with Milton for a time.

Milton Brown preached at Hollidaysburg AME Zion Church after the funeral of Robert Brown. From the Altoona Tribune’s archives of Oct 31, 1893 pg. 4

William died in January 1916. The funeral was held in David’s home. William was buried in the Union Cemetery. From the Altoona Tribune’s archives of January 25, 1916, pg. 3.

George W. Brown died June 7, 1914, in Pittsburgh. He was buried in Allegheny County. This information came from the Altoona Tribune’s archives of June 12, 1914, pg. 7.

David Brown (1852 to 1920) married Idella Josephine Lockard Brown (born in 1852 or 1854 or 1858 to 1934). They were the parents of Charles Randolph Brown (1878 to 1967) , Bertha Elizabeth Brown Faithful (1884 to 1951), Louise I. Brown Ferguson (1887 to 1987), and Frank Goodfellow Brown (1891 to 1954). David was employed as a laborer. One of his job requirements was to kill rabid animals in found in Hollidaysburg.

Idella, was born in an area of Virginia which would later be located in West Virgina. She moved to Cleveland. After, David’s death, she moved back to Cleveland where she died in 1934.She was buried in the Woodland Cemetery in Cleveland. Idella was a domestic worker in Hollidaysburg. According to the Altoona Mirror’s archives of September 2, 1913, pg. 14, Idella’s aunt and 3 other Black people fleeing from slavery were found in Chimney Rock. They were brought to the courthouse jail for safekeeping and then freed by the local Black community and their White allies. David met Idella in Ohio.

The David Brown family lived on Garber Street. Census records state that he and his family were in the 1st Ward of Hollidaysburg.

From Ancestry.com

After the Civil War, David and his brother Henry became involved in local politics and state politics. David was a member of the Hollidaysburg’s African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church (AMEZ), where he was a class leader, a member of the literary society committee, was one of the caterers which provided food and snacks for the church’s camp meetings. The death notice of Hollidaysburg’s William Jackson from the Altoona Tribune’s archives of March 25, 1916, pg. 3, stated that William and his father was found in Chimney Rocks by David and his dog. William and his father had arrived in that area by way of the “Underground Railroad.” David brought his family to where the Jacksons were on Chimney Rocks, and they brought the Jacksons to Hollidaysburg and they were integrated into the life of Hollidaysburg’s black community. David was asked to speak at the Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church to celebrate the 50^th Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation in September 1913. At that program, David shared a story of an underground railroad incident that occurred in Hollidaysburg.  He died in March of 1920 in Scottdale, Westmoreland County PA. He moved to Scottdale and lived with his daughter, Louise Brown Ferguson and his son-in-law, Earle or Earl Ferguson. David was buried in Hollidaysburg’s Union Cemetery.

Bertha Elizabeth Brown Faithful was buried in the Evergreen Cemetery in Brooklyn, NY. Find a grave for Bertha Elizabeth Brown Faithful

Louise Ingold Brown Ferguson was buried in Hghland Park Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio. Find a grave for Louise I. Brown Ferguson

Frank Goodfellow Brown was buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Sharpsburg, Allegheny County, PA. Find a grave for Frank Goodfellow Brown

Charles R. was called “Ran” (I heard this nickname from the Rev. Dr. Gwen Pattillo). C. Randolph lived from 1878 until 1967, where he died in Detroit, MI. Ran was hired in 1908 as one of the first 3 employees of the US Postal Service (USPS) in Hollidaysburg. He was involved in the creation of the Pennsylvania State NAACP and was elected as one of their State Presidents. Throughout most of his life, he was involved in the Hollidaysburg and Blair County NAACP branches.

Find a grave for Charles Randolph Brown

From the Altoona Mirror’s archives of December 29, 1955 pg. 13.

A brief history of the USPS in Hollidaysburg.

Postal carrier C.R. Brown finds lost wallet and returns it. From the Altoona Mirror’s archives of July 31 1915 pg. 12.

He married Florence Oneita Grady in 1899. From that union came Dr. Randolph Kelly Brown (1909-1975), Dr. Kenneth B Brown or Kenneth Grady Brown (1910-1984), and Sue or Sudell Idella Brown (1912 -1994)

Kelly, Kenneth and Sue were graduates of Hollidaysburg High School. Kelly and Kenneth were admitted to Howard University as undergraduates and graduates of its College of Medicine. Both were inducted into the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. (From the 1933 Bison yearbook)

All were musically inclined and shared their talents in school and at their home church of Bethel AME in Altoona and other local churches.

1927 High School graduate photo (Ancestry.com)

After his graduation from Howard University College of Medicine, Dr. Kelly Brown eventually taught at his Alma Mater’s College of Medicine.

Altoona Mirror Newspaper Archives October 22, 1951 pg. 3 word document

Altoona Mirror Newspaper Archives October 22, 1951 Page 3 Dr. Kelly Brown tackles unusual health issue.

Kenneth Brown HHS graduate of 1928 admitted to Howard University Feb. 1930 (From the Altoona Tribune’s archives of February 6, 1930 pg. 9)

Kenneth Brown 1928 High School graduate photo (Ancestry.com)

Sue Brown 1930 High School graduate photo (Ancestry.com). After her High School graduation, she attended Freeman Hospital in Washington where she learned and met the requirements to became a Registered Nurse. She graduated in June 1933. After graduation, she returned to Hollidaysburg and was employed by the State Health Board. She married Dr. John B. Green(e) in 1935. She and her husband moved to Detroit after she was accepted a position as a supervisory nurse for a Detroit hospital.

The  C. Randolph Brown family lived on 918 Wayne Street, 918 Union Street and 918 N. Wayne Street in Hollidaysburg.

The Altoona Mirror’s archives of Jan 3, 1967 pg. 17 informed the readers of the death of C. Randolph Brown, He died in Detroit where he was living with his daughter Sue. He was buried in the First Presbyterian Church of Hollidaysburg’s cemetery.

http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/portal/communities/documents/1776-1865/abolition-slavery.html#:~:text=Nevertheless%2C%20slavery%20never%20was%20prominent,a%20total%20of%20120%2C000%20residents.

The link listed above is information on the “An Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery – March 1, 1780”, from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission

From the Altoona Mirror’s archives of December 9, 1938 pg. 6.

The J. Rosamond Johnson Singers were officially formed in 1934. The idea of this quartet began as a chorus associated with the local community welfare organizations for Blair County African American residents. Their rehearsals were first held at the Altoona City Hall’s community hall. When Howard W. Lindman, the Altoona High School music director, offered to direct this quarter, the practices were held at the Altoona High School auditorium.

Rosamond Johnson composed the music and his brother, James Weldon Johnson wrote the words to what is called the “Black National Anthem” “Lift Every Voice and Sing”.

Rosamond performed jazz music in Altoona in the month of August 1911 and the month of October 1918 at the Orpheum Theatre. This theatre was located on 1124 – 1126 11th Avenue.

The Blair County’s J. Rosamond Johnson singers consisted of Dr. George Walker, Sr., Mrs. Agnes Walker, Mrs. Grace Bell and Mr. William J. Merritt.

Dr. George Walker, Sr. (1900 -1969) grew up in Hollidaysburg, was a Hollidaysburg High School graduate in 1918 and a 1923 graduate of Howard University with a dentistry degree. He moved back to Hollidaysburg where he set up a dentist office to take care of the Hollidaysburg residents. His wife, Mrs. Agnes (Hughey) Walker (1902 – 1992), grew up in Everett and was a 1921 graduate of Everett High School, Bedford County. She married George in 1926. Her father taught at Storer College in Harpers Ferry, WV. Storer is a HBCU (Historically Black College and University) institution.

Mrs. Grace (Russell) Bell (1888 -1966) lived in Indiana, married Calvin Bell in 1913 in Atlantic City, NJ and moved to Altoona. Calvin Bell was employed as an Altoona police officer.

Mr. William J. Merritt, Sr. (1890 -1952) was from Altoona. He was a barber and owned the shop.

Mrs. Christine (Washington) Richardson (1917 -1967) worked at the Penn Alto and was an organist and pianist for the Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church.

The quartet performed in Blair and Bedford churches such as Trinity United Methodist Church in Roaring Spring (which was known as Trinity Methodist Episcopal), Grace Evangelical and Reformed Church in Altoona, Hollidaysburg Church of the Brethren, civic and fraternal organizations.

Their repertoire consisted of Black spirituals, Christmas carols and other appropriate songs reflecting Black Culture like “Lift Every Voice and Sing”, which is also known as the Black National Anthem.

From the Altoona Mirror Newspapers’ archives of November 27, 1937, pg. 2

https://naacp.org/find-resources/history-explained/lift-every-voice-and-sing (Lift Every Voice and Sing recognized by the NAACP as National Black Anthem)

After the death of William Merritt in 1952, the quartet disbanded.

Mrs. Grace Bell provided the history of this musical group in her writings on the history of the Booker T. Washington Community Center. (From the Altoona Mirror’s archives of April 13, 1961, pg. 66.) The formation of this quartet was also mentioned in the Altoona Mirror’s archives of December 17, 1935, pg. 18.

In addition to the quarter, these members were involved with the NAACP of Hollidaysburg and Blair County, the Community Aid organization, Booker T. Washington Community Center, the Mary McLeod Bethune reading club, Masonic lodges and members of Altoona’s Bethel AME Church and Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church.

From the Altoona Mirror’s archives of December 17, 1935, pg. 18.

From the Altoona Mirror’s archives of December 14, 1940 pg. 10.

Here is a version of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONgOH_tq7-Q

Information about the history of the poem and music and how it came to be designated as the “Black National Anthem” can be viewed at this YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qe4rwFDpyeQ

In Honor of Martin Luther King Jr.’s Holiday:

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., (1929 to 1968) spoke at the Rec Hall of PSU University Park campus on Thursday, January 21, 1965.

From the Altoona Mirror Newspaper archives of January 22, 1965 pg. 17

His wife, Coretta Scott King, (1927 to 2006) spoke in Altoona at the Jaffa Shrine on Saturday, June 9, 1984 on behalf of a fundraiser for the Altoona’s Martin Luther King, Jr Cultural Center. The Center was a non-profit organization sponsored by the Prince of Peace Church of God in Christ.

From the Altoona Mirror News archives of June 4, 1984 pg. 26.

From the Altoona Mirror News archives of June 11, 1984 pg. 11.

Yolanda King, (1955 to 2007) the oldest daughter of Dr. and Mrs. King, spoke at Juniata College on Tuesday, February 7, 1989, she returned to Juniata College and gave the commencement address on May 14, 2005 and was granted a honorary degree. She spoke at Penn State Altoona on Sunday, January 19, 1997 and Wednesday, January 22, 2003.

F

Former Penn State Altoona Professor Sharon Redhawk Love contributed to the book “Open My Eyes, Open My Soul”, which was edited by Yolanda King and Elodia Tate.

From the Altoona Mirror News archives of January 25, 1989 pg. 17.

From the Altoona Mirror News archives of January 3, 1997 pg. 7.

From the Altoona Mirror News archives of January 20, 1997 pg.1.

From the Altoona Mirror News archives of January 19, 2003 pg. 18

From the Altoona Mirror News archives of January 23, 2003 pg. 1

From the Altoona Mirror News archives of May 17, 2007 pg.1

https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/46514/union-african-methodist-episcopal-cemetery

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Union+Cemetery/@40.4396047,-78.4012923,15z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x62e2dd4972896064!8m2!3d40.4396047!4d-78.4012923 (map of Union Cemetery on North Montgomery Street, Hollidaysburg, PA)

In the late 1860s, the AMEZ (African Methodist Episcopal Zion) and the AME (African Methodist Episcopal) churches’ cemetery known as the African Zion Union or Union Cemetery was moved from North Juniata Street to North Montgomery Street in Hollidaysburg. Thanks to the Blair County Genealogical Society for finding and providing a copy of the deed of the cemetery. The land on North Montgomery was owned by “Colonel” William Jack. The trustees of the Union cemetery were William Nesbit, Moses Brown, and Daniel Williams, II. Daniel died in 1868 in Baltimore, MD. William died in 1895 and Moses died in 1916. William and Moses are buried in the Union Cemetery. The descendants of Daniel Williams, II and William Nesbit moved from Blair County. Moses Brown’s grandson, M. Irvin Brown, died on August 29, 1966, and was buried in Union cemetery.  After his death and the closing of the Hollidaysburg’s African Methodist Episcopal Church in the late 1980s, the upkeep of the cemetery was done by a few of Hollidaysburg’s black military veterans and a next-door neighbor. In 2015, the Sons of the American Legion Squadron of Hollidaysburg took over the care of the cemetery.

Deed for Union Cemetery

Census records from 1840 to 1860 of Hollidaysburg

1846 is the year that Blair County was formed out of the two former counties of Huntingdon and Bedford.

1840 Census

A total of 161 African Americans lived in this part of Huntingdon; 89 lived in Hollidaysburg, 26 in Antis Township home, Tyrone Township has 14 African American residents and Williamsburg has 17

1850 Census

260 African Americans lived in Blair County; 141 in Hollidaysburg; 19 in Gaysport; 23 in Allegheny Township; 19 in Blair Township; 24 lived in the “Morrision Cove” area of Blair County (N. Woodbury, Huston, Woodbury, Martinsburg); 10 lived in Williamsburg.

The Altoona Tribune of Dec. 30, 1858, stated that 168 people of color resided in Hollidaysburg. The total population of Hollidaysburg was 3,175 at that time.

1860 Census

14 African Americans lived in Gaysport; 116 African Americans lived in Hollidaysburg

Union Cemetery houses the remains of Black men and women who were involved in the Underground Railroad, fought for the Union in the Civil War, fought for the US in WWI and WWII, and were involved in the life of Hollidaysburg.

Underground Railroad

In October of 1855, Jacob Green, who had escaped from the Parsons’ plantation in Romney, Virginia, now in West Virginia, came to Hollidaysburg. He was found by James Parsons, Jr., a nephew of the slaveowner, Isaac Parson, in Hollidaysburg on the Allegheny Portage Railroad. When James Parson, Jr., attempts to take Jacob Green back to Virginia, he is asked by a local resident, Stephen Potts (who would be elected as the first mayor of Altoona), to produce proof that Jacob was owned by Isaac Parsons. James stated that he did not have to provide proof that Jacob was a slave due based upon the provisions of the Fugitive Slave Act. Other white and black residents of Hollidaysburg and Gaysport (which is now incorporated into Hollidaysburg), appeared and added to the heighten atmosphere. Eventually, some of the black and white residents succeeded in freeing Jacob Green and sending him further north. A few of the Pennsylvania newspapers’ accounts stated that Jacob was staying with Snyder or Simon Carr, a black Gaysport resident, who was a African Methodist Episcopal minister and barber. Carr, his son and three other black men were charged with creating a “riot” while assisting Jacob Green to escape from James Parsons, Jr.

From the Altoona Tribune’s archives of February 14, 1856, pg. 3.

Commonwealth vs. William Carr, Benjamin Johnson, Richard Martin, and Hiram Watkins: “a party of colored boys”, Indictment: Riot. True Bill. “Johnson, Martin, and Watkins not taken.  Verdict as to Carr, guilty.  Sentenced to pay $10 and costs of prosecution. (These men were involved in the rescuing of Jacob Green, a runaway slave being pursued by his former owners, Jacob Parsons, etc. in October of 1855 in Gaysport/Hollidaysburg)

and

Commonwealth vs. Snyder Carr – Indictment: Assault and Battery.  Not a true bill and Daniel Beatty, prosecutor, pay the costs except for $4, which was to be paid to the county.

Several of Rev. Carr’s children are buried in the Union Cemetery and according to the Hollidaysburg Register’s archives of October 7, 1891 pg. 3, his wife’s body was sent from Washington DC and buried in Union Cemetery. Rev. Carr died in 1859 or 1860.

Margaret Carr 1843, Ellenor Carr 1850 and Elizabeth Carr 1855

From the Altoona Tribune’s archives of July 29 1858 pg.1, it listed the Altoona’s churches and their ministers.

Remains of Mrs. Snyder Carr are brought back to Hollidaysburg from Washington DC and is buried in Union Cemetery.

Obelisk of William and Sarah Nesbit

William Nesbit (1822 to 1895) obituary from the Altoona Tribune’s archives of October 28, 1895, pg. 5 informed the readers of some of the achievements. The obituary stated that he was an conductor on the underground railroad in Blair County. HIs remains were buried in the Union Cemetery.

Benjamin H. Walker’s obituary in 1896 informed its readers that Walker sent escaping fugitives to William Nesbit.

Obituary of Benjamin Walker of Pleasantville, Bedford County, from the archives of Altoona Tribune March 28 1896 pg. 1.

The March 29, 1896 archives of Altoona Tribune corrected the information of Benjamin’s race. He was identified as a black man in the March 28, 1896 archive

David Brown of Hollidaysburg and his family assisted a few escaping fugitives in finding freedom. The archives of Altoona Tribune March 25, 1916 pg. 3 informed its readers that William Jackson and his father were found in Chimney Rocks by David and his dog. William was buried in the Union Cemetery. Chimney Rocks is a formation of rocks that overlook the Hollidaysburg borough.

http://www.hollidaysburgpa.org/depts/Parks/Pages/ChimneyRocksPark.aspx

In 1913, David Brown spoke at Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church, on the 50th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. David informed the readers of an incident in which several other escaping fugitives were found at Chimney Rocks and eventually sent further North to freedom.

From the Altoona Tribune’s archives of September 2, 1913, pg. 1.

In addition to the obituary of William Jackson, the obituaries of John Thomas and Elizabeth Ross Irons mentioned that these persons gained their freedom through the Underground Railroad.

From the Altoona Mirror’s archives of November 12, 1877 pg. 4, announcement of “Major” John Thomas’s death.

From the Altoona Times’ archives of May 19 1909 pg.3, announcement of Elizabeth Ross Iron’s death.

wtaj.com/news/local-news/local-veterans-revisit-history-through-cemetery-restoration-project/ In 2015, Hollidaysburg’s American Legion Post 516, took over the care of the African Zion Union Cemetery. This TV article explains their mission and how they learned about a part of Hollidaysburg’s history.

From Bondage to Freedom

“The passage of the fugitive slave law by congress in September, 1850, provoked a deluge of denunciation in Western Pennsylvania as elsewhere throughout the north.”

From the archives of Pittsburgh Gazette, September 30, 1850.

“East of the Allegheny River fragmentary routes extended from Greensburg through Indiana County to Clearfield and from Cumberland, Maryland, through Bedford and Pleasantville to Altoona. From
Clearfield an important branch ran northwest to Shippensville and Franklin, and from thence to Erie, the place of deportation.”

From Siebert, Under ground Railroad from Slavery to Freedom, pg. 123.

Bedford to Clearfield UGRR Routes created by Dr. David Switala, which can be found in his book “Underground Railroad in Pennsylvania”. The drawings are based upon the research of Dr. Wilbur Siebert (1866 – 1961) of the Ohio State University and Charles Blockson (1933 -), a Pennsylvania State University Alumnus.

Siebert, Wilbur Henry

The Underground Railroad: From Slavery to Freedom

New York: The Macmillan Company, 1898.

Wilbur H. Siebert, professor at Ohio State University, presented a history of the Underground Railroad based on his years of research on the American anti-slavery movement.

https://archive.org/details/DKC0090

Blair County UGRR incidents noted in Wilbur Seibert ‘s book of the Underground Railroad in Pennsylvania

The presence of the Underground Railroad in Hollidaysburg was published in local newspapers in October of 1855.

“On October 20, 1855, an incident occurred in Hollidaysburg/Gaysport in which Jacob Green, a former slave from Romney, Virginia (now W.Va.), was pursued by James Parsons, nephew of the slave owner, Isaac Parsons. James’ uncle and father were heading to Altoona and Johnstown to find Jacob based upon the information that was given to them when they caught the fugitives that Jacob has assisted in leaving the Parsons’ plantation. James was able to catch Jacob and had him arrested, but the next day in attempting to get him to appropriate authorities, a “riot” occurred involving leading white citizens and free blacks.  This melee resulted in James Parson being charged with kidnapping Jacob Green. Jacob is freed in this chaotic situation and was never seen again. Virginia’s Attorney General, J.R. Tucker represented James Parsons in court.  The news of the time seemed to suggest that Virginia was willing to go to war with Pennsylvania over the non-enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act.”

www.nps.gov and Allegheny Portage Railroad Named Underground Railroad Site

West Virginia was granted statehood on June 20, 1863. Romney, WV is located in Hampshire County and is the county seat.

The following Pennsylvania newspapers informed their readers of this 1855 incident:

From The Public Ledger’s archives of October 26, 1855 pg. 1 (Philadelphia, PA)

From the archives of Oct 29, 1855 Richmond Dispatch, pg. 1.

From The Pittsburgh Gazette’s archives of October 30, 1855 pg. 1. (Pittsburgh, PA)

From the Luzerne Union’s archives of October 31, 1855 pg. 2. (Luzerne, PA)

From the Lewisburg Chronicle’s archives of Nov 2, 1855 pg. 2. (Lewisburg, PA)

From The Shippensburg News’ archives of Nov. 3, 1855 pg. 2. (Shippensburg, PA)

From The Sunbury Gazette’s archives of November 3, 1855 pg. 3 (Sunbury, PA)

The Altoona Tribune’s archives of June 14, 1860, pg.2 informed its readers of a riot in Blairsville, PA involving former slaves from Hampshire County, VA (now WV). The county seat is Romney, VA (WV) and one route would have these former slaves leaving Hampshire, traveling through Cumberland MD, then Bedford and being directed to go through Cambria County or through Blair County and then directed to Cambria County and arriving in Blairsville.

During the Civil War, the local newspapers of Bedford and Blair County noted the arrival of black people in their communities. Some newspapers were supportive of these blacks seeking freedom. other newspapers displayed disdain for these new residents.

• On Friday, May 3, 1861, pg. 2, the Bedford Inquirer’s archives noted that a number of “Negroes” seen around the town and the mountains surrounding Bedford County were assumed to be “runaway slaves”.

• On Thursday, May 9, 1861, pg. 2 of the Altoona Tribune’s archives also noted that there were a group of unknown Black people in Altoona and were assumed to be escaped slaves. The Tribune urged its readers to follow the law of the day (1850 Fugitive Law) and not give aid or harbor these people.

• On Friday, June 13, 1862, pg.2, the Bedford Gazette’s archives stated that there were Black people who were in Bedford and were headed northward. The writer of the article hoped that this large number of Black people would end up in either Hollidaysburg or Altoona and be a plague upon the citizenry and abolitionists who lived in those areas.

• According to the Cambria Tribune’s news archives, fugitive slaves called “contrabands” filtered northward and came to towns like Altoona and Johnstown as a result of Union Armies moving through the South during the Civil War.

In April 1862, the Altoona Tribune informed its readers of an incident that occurred in Altoona involving a Cumberland Maryland slave holder or slave catcher and 3 to 4 fugitives. The slave catcher or owner asked an Altoona constable to arrest them for stealing horses. Two of the fugitives, a male and a female, were arrested and brought to Hollidaysburg and placed in the county jail. A community comprised of black and white residents assisted the fugitives in escaping from the jail and gaining their freedom.

From the  Altoona Altoona Tribune’s archives of April 17 1862 pg. 3.

1859 Map of Altoona

Altoona circa 1860s St Luke’s Episcopal Church bell is visible.

Thanks to the Blair County Historical Society for granting permission to display these photos of Altoona in the 1859 and 1860s.

After the Civil War, the local newspapers (Altoona Tribune, Altoona Times, Altoona Mirror, Hollidaysburg Register, Hollidaysburg Standard, Hollidaysburg Whig, etc.) mentioned the presence of the Underground Railroad in obituaries of those who assisted escaping slaves and the former slaves’ obituaries. Also, there are written reminisces of that past given by local civic leaders in those newspapers.

The following articles that are posted in this blog are what I have found in my research informing the readers of the Underground Railroad presence in Blair County.

A brief history of “Major” John Thomas. From the Evening Altoona Mirror’s archives of November 12, 1877 pg. 4.

The death notice of Black Sam aka Samuel Black, from the Altoona Tribune’s archives of December 18, 1879, pg. 3. Sam lived in Duncansville and worked in Ebensburg for the hotels there in the 1850s. In 1850, he spied his former master on the Portage canal arriving in Ebensburg. Sam place a knife in his boots in case he needed to defend himself and hid from his master. The former slave owner did not see Sam. He lived in constant fear until he heard about the Emancipation Proclamation and the end of the Civil War.

The death notice of Elexis or Alexis Reeder, from The Altoona Tribune’s archives of June 22, 1882,. His grandson, Jimmy Reeder, was a boxer, a porter and an Altoona law enforcement officer.

In 1890, Samuel S. Blair of Hollidaysburg, died suddenly. He was a former US congressman and one of the original members of Blair County Bar. Leaders of the Black Community sent to the local newspapers a resolution thanking the Honorable S. S. Blair for providing financial support to assist those who were involved in the Underground Railroad in Blair County.

The resolution is from the Altoona Mirror’s archives of December 10, 1890 pg.4.

From the Altoona Tribune’s archives of October 28, 1895, pg. 5, the readers learned of the death of William Nesbit of Altoona PA. Nesbit was recognized as an underground railroad conductor for Blair County in Dr. Wilbur Siebert’s “The Underground Railroad from Slavery to Freedom: A Comprehensive History, first published in 1898. His last name was spelled “Nesbet” in Dr. Siebert’s book. His last name was also spelled as “Nesbitt” in other newspapers.

The Altoona Tribune informed its readers that Benjamin Walker sent fugitives to William Nesbit to assist them in escaping from slavery.

Death notice of Benjamin Walker of Bedford County Alt Tribune March 28 1896 pg. 1

Remembrances of Judge Adam Moses role in freeing slave, from the Altoona Tribune’s archives of April 10, 1896, pg. 2. John Keatley, author of this article, informed the readers of how Judge Adam Moses from the Blue Knob area was selected for a case involving a slaver owner/catcher and two fugitive slaves charged with horse stealing. Black community leaders asked for the judge to come to Hollidaysburg to hear the case.

An unknown writer informed the readers of the Altoona Tribune of his father being involved in the Underground Railroad in Tyrone. His father assisted escaping fugitives in being moved to Centre County.

From the Altoona Tribune’s archives of April 14, 1896 pg. 7

Thomas Shorter of Altoona died in 1897. He was born in Barree, Huntingdon County, PA in 1819. He moved to Hollidaysburg between 1830 and 1840. The 1850 census listed him as living in Bellefonte.  Eventually, he would move to Altoona. In 1861, he is listed as a Hairdresser/Barber working in Altoona along with George Hooper, William Molson and William Nesbit. He was involved in church affairs of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church through their literary society debates, involved in local politics and according to the Altoona Tribune’s archives of December 29, 1897, pg. 5, he was involved in the Underground Railroad.

Mrs. Elizabeth Ross Irons‘ obituary from the Altoona Times’s archives of May 19, 1909, pg. 3 informed the reader that Mrs. Irons was brought to Hollidaysburg by Rev. John Fidler. She was brought to Bedford when she was approximately 15 year old by her slaveowner and overheard that she was to be sold to a plantation further south. She was assisted in meeting with Rev. Fidler and he helped her get her freedom.

Sylvia Shorter Lee (1917 to 1985)

A resident of Hollidaysburg, Sylvia graduated from Hollidaysburg High School in 1935. (From the Altoona Mirror’s archives of July 1, 1970, pg. 22 and the Altoona Mirror’s archives of October 3, 1975, pg. 32.) Sylvia also attended and graduated from the Altoona School of Commerce-Zeth (now known as the South Hills Business School) Sylvia married Harold Lee on June 15, 1939. (From the Altoona Mirror’s archives of June 23, 1939, pg. 30) 

Sylvia Shorter, President of Hiking Club, Secretary of First Aid Club, President of Health Club, President of Homeroom 1.

1935 Hollidaysburg High School (Chimrock) Yearbook photo. From Ancestry.com.

Harold “Boots” Lee, Football, Track, Boys League Secretary, Athletic Club Secretary, Home Room Chaplain, Vice President of Home Room.

1935 Hollidaysburg High School (Chimrock) Yearbook photo. From Ancestry.com

Marriage of Sylvia Shorter and Harold Lee from the Altoona Tribune’s archives of June 23, 1939, pg. 4

Mary Walker Shorter was Sylvia’s mother. (From the Altoona Mirror’s archives of Nov. 1, 1970, pg. 56.)  Sylvia’s siblings were Mary Shorter Kennard and Carolyn Shorter Strickland. Her father was William Shorter. Mary was the daughter of Henry Walker and the sister of Dr. George Walker, a Hollidaysburg dentist who was a local and state NAACP leader. 

Sylvia was elected twice as a Fee Assessor for the 1st ward in Hollidaysburg. She was a member of the Blair County NAACP and the Hollidaysburg Council of Republican Women. She played organ, piano, was a church clerk and trustee for the Hollidaysburg African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church (AMEZ). Sylvia was a conference worker for the Allegheny Conference of the AMEZ Church.  Her mother and material grandmother had also played organ and the piano for the Hollidaysburg AME Zion Church. She was married to Harold C. “Boots” Lee, a WWII combat veteran. He was a 1940 graduate of Hollidaysburg High School, played football for Hollidaysburg High School as a fullback. During his time at Hollidaysburg, he played for a winning football team. (From the Altoona Mirror’s archives of June 20, 1966, pg. 32)  

Sylvia Shorter was reelected as Assessor of Hollidaysburg 3rd Ward from the Altoona Mirror’s archives of Nov 3 1965 pg. 46.

Dr. George Walker, Sr., was a well known and well liked dentist who grew up and lived in Hollidaysburg. When he died in December of 1969, the family wanted to buried him in the Alto Reste Cemetery. The family learned that the cemetery association had a covenant which stated that no black person could be buried in that cemetery, Sylvia took the initiative to take this issue to the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission. (From the Altoona Mirror’s archives of January 13, 1970, pg. 3.)

During her life, she wrote several articles for the Altoona Mirror informing its readers of the history of Hollidaysburg’s black citizens. She stated that she learned of this history by listening to her relatives. She also wrote about the history of Hollidaysburg’s African American history for the General Federation of Women’s Club (GFWC) Hollidaysburg’s Area Area Women’s Club history book.  

Sylvia S Lee installed as Secretary of Historic Hollidaysburg Foundation from the Altoona Mirror’s archives of April 27, 1982 pg. 12

Sylvia S Lee installed as Secretary of Historic Hollidaysburg Foundation from the Altoona Mirror’s archives of April 26, 1983 pg. 14.

Sylvia Shorter Lee’s editorial on Hollidaysburg Black history from the Altoona Mirror’s archives of April 17, 1965 pg. 5.

Blacks helped build the Allegheny Portage Railroad, an article by Sylvia Shorter Lee from the Altoona Mirror’s archives of August 2, 1968, pg. 16.

In 1981, Sylvia wrote an article on the history of Black residents in Hollidaysburg for the Hollidaysburg’s Area Women’s Club pictorial history of Hollidaysburg. The book was called “Heritage of Hollidaysburg”.

From the archives of Altoona Mirror’s on October 28, 1971, pg. 34, a noticed was posted informing the heirs of James Taylor of Antis Township of the upcoming sale of the land that had been in his property.  The notice named Sylvia Lee, Louise Armstrong, Hattie (Harriet) Shorter, Mary (Marie) Scotland, Anna Molson, Corena A. Walker, Arnold Shorter, Andrew Shorter, William Shorter, Betty Kennard, and Carolyn Strickland as descendants of James Taylor.    

Sylvia died on May 28, 1985.  She was born on Oct. 17, 1917 in Pittsburgh. (From the Altoona Mirror’s archives of May 29, 1985, pg. 30.) According to the death notice, she was the first stenographer for the Blair County Court House.