Blackdom is a ghost town in Chaves County, New Mexico, founded by African-American settlers in 1901 and abandoned in the mid-1920s. Founded by Frank and Ella Boyer under the requirements of the Homestead Act, the town experienced significant growth in the first decades with settlers from throughout the United…
By Rick Hendricks 5 October 1880 3. What Shall the Harvest Be? by Philip P. Bliss…
Albuquerque’s East End Addition By Michael Ann Sullivan The East End Addition was the first African-American suburb in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Built between 1950 and 1972, it is a small enclave of residential homes on the single city blocks of Virginia and Vermont streets, north of Lomas Boulevard, and…
By Dr. James J. Zogby This is Black History Month in the United States; a time to reflect on the contributions African Americans have made to our nation's history and to take note of the progress that has been made in advancing racial equality and the challenges that remain….
Since the 1860s, African Americans have been a significant presence in our state. The 1850 U.S. Census lists 61,525 Anglos and just 22 blacks in the New Mexico Territory. Near the end of the Civil War, four black regiments–the famous Buffalo Soldiers–were sent to the area to protect settlers….
By Brenda Wilkinson Socorro Field Office Archeologist George McJunkin was born a slave near Midway, Texas in 1851. George was freed at the age of 14 after the Civil War ended. He was already fluent in Spanish, experienced with horses, and used to helping his father in his blacksmith…
The stereotypical cowboy most people think of today actually began with Spanish traditions, and before that, the Moors. During the 16th century, the Conquistadors and other Spanish settlers brought their cattle-raising traditions as well as both horses and domesticated cattle to the Americas, starting with their arrival in what…
What is Juneteenth? Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States. It was on June 19, 1865 that the Union soldiers led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were…
6 28 1866 “Buffalo Soldiers” Act of Congress authorized the creation of six regiments of Black troops, two of cavalry and four of infantry. These troops went on to play a major role in the history of the West, as the "Buffalo Soldiers." In 1875-76, the 9th Cavalry Regiment…
Cathy Williams or William Cathay? Source: St. Louis Daily Times, January 2, 1876 "My Father was a freeman, but my mother a slave, belonging to William Johnson, a wealthy farmer who lived at the time I was born near Independence, Jackson county, Missouri. While I was a small girl…
