African Americans in Omaha, Nebraska
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African Americans in Omaha, Nebraska are central to the development and growth of the 43rd largest city in the United States. The first free black settler in the city arrived in 1854, the year the city was incorporated.[1] In 1894 Omaha was the site of the first fair in the United States specifically for African American exhibitors and attendees.[2] The 2000 US Census recorded 51,910 African Americans as living in Omaha (over 13% of the city's population).
From 1910-1920 the African American population in the city doubled to 10,000, as new migrants were attracted by jobs in the expanding meatpacking industry. Reflecting the concentration of people and vital community, in 1915 the Lincoln Motion Picture Company was founded in Omaha. It was the first film company owned by African Americans.[3] Omaha was the home of Dr. Matthew Ricketts, the first African American to graduate from a Nebraska college or university. Dr. Ricketts was also the first African American to serve in the Nebraska State Legislature.[4] Today Omaha is home to Ernie Chambers, the longest serving state senator in Nebraska, and only the second African American in the Nebraska Legislature.
Like other major cities, Omaha had a race riot during the "Red Summer of 1919", started by the lynching of Will Brown. It marked postwar tensions and markedly reduced the integration of the African American community. Redlining and race restrictive covenants followed boundaries of the riot. In the 1930s and 1940s African Americans used their power in the meatpacking union to gain an end to segregated jobs in the industry. The 1950s and 1960s especially saw the emergence of a civil rights movement which supported national legislative changes and contributed to improving conditions for African Americans in Omaha.
Mid-century massive shifts in railroads and the meatpacking industry cost the city more than 10,000 jobs. African Americans were particularly affected by the loss of industrial jobs. Many who could, left the city. Omaha has the fifth-highest African American poverty rate among the nation's 100 largest cities, with more than one in three black residents in Omaha living below the poverty line.[5]
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[edit] Population history
The first recorded instance of a black person in the Omaha area occurred in 1804. "York" was a slave belonging to William Clark of the Lewis and Clark expedition.[6] The presence of several black people, probably slaves, was recorded in the area comprising North Omaha today when Major Stephen H. Long's expedition arrived at Fort Lisa in September 1819. They reportedly lived at the post and in neighboring farmsteads.[7]
[edit] 19th century
The first free black person in Nebraska was Sally Bayne, who moved to Omaha in 1854.[1] A clause in the original proposed Nebraska State Constitution from 1854 limited voting rights in the state to "free white males", which kept Nebraska from entering the Union for almost a year. In the 1860s, the U.S. Census showed 81 "Negroes" in Nebraska, ten of whom were accounted for as slaves.[8] At that time, the majority of the population lived in Omaha and Nebraska City.
St. John's African Methodist Episcopal Church in the Near North Side neighborhood was organized in 1867 as the first church for African Americans in Nebraska.[9] The first recorded birth of an African American in Omaha occurred in 1872, when William Leper was born.[10]
Before Omaha's African-American community became firmly established in North Omaha, it was located in pockets throughout the city. In the early 1880s the city had approximately 500 black residents.[11]
The African-American community in North Omaha was established late in the 1880s, as blacks from the South came to Omaha seeking economic opportunity and bright futures.[12] Early African-American residents of the city may have arrived by the Underground Railroad via a small log cabin outside of Nebraska City built by Allen Mayhew in 1855, and still standing today at the Mayhew Cabin Museum. One report says, "Henry Daniel Smith, born in Maryland in 1835, still living in Omaha in 1913 and working at his trade of broom-maker, was one escaped slave who entered Nebraska via the Underground Railroad."[13]
[edit] 20th century
At the turn of the century, two African-American physicians, Doctors Riddle and Madison, opened a hospital for African Americans. Citizens could not afford the facility and it failed financially.[14] George Wells Parker, a founder of the Afrocentric Hamitic League of the World, was instrumental in relocating African Americans from the Deep South to Omaha during the 1910s.[15] From 1910 to 1920, the African-American population of Omaha doubled from around 5,000 to 10,315. Those 10,000 blacks made up five percent of Omaha's population, and that rate of growth was alarming to Omaha's white population.
During the first week of August 1919, the Omaha Bee newspaper reported that as many as 500 "Negro" workers, mostly from Chicago and East St. Louis, arrived in Omaha to seek employment in the packinghouses. The migration of African Americans to Omaha and the hiring of black workers created a source of friction in the local labor market, as there was at least one major strike among white workers at the same time. Economic pressure exacerbated existing racial hostilities, leading to fatal outcomes.
From the 1920s-50s, North Omaha was a destination for African Americans during the Great Migration from the American South. An African-American Renaissance flourished, part of a larger boom time in the Prohibition era. A late documentary reports, "On the surface the black community appeared quite stable. Its center was a several-block district north of the downtown. There were over a hundred black-owned businesses, and there were a number of black physicians, dentists, and attorneys. Over twenty fraternal organizations and clubs flourished. Church life was diverse. Of more than forty denominations, Methodists and Baptists predominated."[16] The Omaha chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People opened in 1912. It was the first NAACP chapter west of the Mississippi.[17]
[edit] Neighborhoods
Early African American neighborhoods in Omaha included Casey's Row, a community of housing for African-American families, most of whose men worked as porters.[18] In the 1880s, Omaha's original "Negro district" was located at Twentieth and Harney Streets.[11] The Near North Side, located immediately north of Downtown Omaha, is where the majority of African Americans have lived in Omaha for almost 100 years. Originally the community was a fully integrated community with numerous blacks and European immigrants: Germans, Italians and Jews. A remarkable note about pre-1900 Omaha is that the city's cemetery was completely integrated.[18]
During this period the Near North Side became home of the Logan Fontenelle Housing Projects, a federal housing project built in 1938 as no-cost or low-cost housing for Eastern European immigrants. A similar project was built on the South Side. The demographics and economy gradually changed, and by the late 1960s, project residents were nearly all poor and low-income African Americans. By the early 2000s, each of these facilities was torn down and replaced with other public housing schemes.
African-American neighborhoods in Omaha have been studied extensively; the most notable reports include Lois Mark Stalvey's Three to Get Ready: The Education of a White Family in Inner City Schools,[19] and the 1966 documentary film A Time for Burning. This movie featured the opinions of the young Ernie Chambers, a community barber who went on to law school and was repeatedly elected to represent North Omaha in the Nebraska State Legislature for more than 35 years.[20]
[edit] Occupations
The Union Pacific Railroad first introduced large numbers of African American strikebreakers to Omaha during a strike in 1877. Black barbers organized the first labor union in Omaha, and went on strike in Omaha in 1887 after they deemed it "unprofessional to work beside white competitors."[21] Arriving in 1890, Dr. Stephenson was the first African-American physician in Omaha and the start of a substantial professional class. Matthew Ricketts was the first African American medical student to graduate from the University of Nebraska Medical College and settled in North Omaha to set up his practice. In 1892, Dr. Ricketts was the first African-American elected to a seat in the Nebraska State Legislature.[22] According to the Works Progress Administration, the first African-American fair held in the United States took place in Omaha, July 3-4, 1894. Their study reports: "Only Negro-owned horses were entered in the races, and all exhibits were restricted to articles made or owned by Negroes."[2] African Americans in Omaha also built a "Colored Old Folks Home" in North Omaha in the 1910s, and sustained it for a long period of time.[11] Clarence W. Wigington was a renowned African American architect from Omaha. He designed St. John's A.M.E. and the Broomfield Rowhouse, among many others in the city.
Miss Lucy Gambol, later known as Mrs. John Albert Williams, was the first African-American teacher in the Omaha Public Schools, teaching there for six years from 1899 through 1905.[23]
The first film company controlled by Black filmmakers was founded in Omaha in the summer of 1915.[3] George and Noble Johnson founded the Lincoln Motion Picture Company to produce films for African-American audiences: Noble was a small-time actor; George worked for the post office. Noble Johnson was president of the company; Clarence A. Brooks, secretary; Dr. James T. Smith, treasurer; and Dudley A. Brooks was assistant secretary. Lincoln Films quickly built a reputation for making films that showcased African-American talent in the full sphere of cinema. In less than a year the company relocated to Los Angeles, where the major industry was located.[24]
Today African Americans own fifty percent of all minority-owned businesses in Omaha.[6]
[edit] Politics
From a slow start in the late 19th century, in the mid-20th century on, African Americans began to win more seats and appointments in politics, with their participation steadily growing. More people were obtaining higher education and entering professional middle classes.
In 1892, Dr. Matthew Ricketts became the first African American elected to the Nebraska State Legislature, and was the acknowledged leader of the African-American community in Omaha. After he left Omaha in 1903, Jack Broomfield, proprietor of a notorious bar in downtown Omaha, became the leader of the community. He is criticized for having allowed the community to fall apart under the influence of Tom Dennison.
No African Americans served on the Omaha City Council or Douglas County Board of Commissioners until district elections became law. In 1893 Edwin R. Overall, a mail carrier, ran as a Populist for the City Council. He finished 18th in a field of 23 candidates running at-large for nine of 18 council seats. In 1973 and 1977, Fred Conley ran for the Omaha City Council in the at-large format and each time finished 18th – just as Overall did some 70 years earlier. At-large elections were won by candidates who represented the majority population of the city, which was white.
In 1981, after City Council elections were changed to be based on district representation, Conley became the first African American elected. He served until 1989. In 1992, Carol Woods Harris became the first African American elected to the Douglas County Board and served until 2004.
African Americans have been represented on the Omaha School Board since 1950 when attorney Elizabeth Davis Pittman was elected. De-facto school segregation, however, persisted in Omaha long after that date with school boundaries tailored to match residential areas, which had de facto segregation.
Brenda Warren Council, a former member of the Omaha School Board and the City Council, narrowly lost the 1997 mayoral election, losing by 700 votes to Mayor Hal Daub. In 2003 Thomas Warren, Brenda Council's brother, was appointed by Mayor Mike Fahey as the city’s first African-American Chief of Police for the Omaha Police Department.
In 2005, Marlon Polk was appointed by Governor Dave Heineman to serve as a District Court Judge, the first African-American to do so in Nebraska. He was assigned to serve in Douglas County.[12] In 1970 Ernie Chambers became the city's second African-American elected to the state legislature. Chambers has won every election since then, and in 2007 became the longest-serving Nebraska Senator in history.[25] In 2005 the Nebraska State Legislature approved a term limit law limiting legislators to two terms, forcing Chambers from office in 2008.
[edit] African-American firefighters
Hose Company #12, and later Hose Company #11, hired the first African-American firefighters in the city. One of these two stations was located at 20th and Lake Streets. The first step towards integration in Omaha's Fire Department came in 1940, when an African-American firefighter was assigned to the city's Bureau of Fire Prevention and Inspection. By the 1950s, the city had two companies of African-American firefighters. Omaha's Fire Department was integrated in 1957.[26]
[edit] African-American culture
- Further information: Culture in North Omaha, Nebraska
[edit] Religious institutions
The earliest African American churches in Omaha were St. John's African Methodist Episcopal Church, organized in 1867; St. Phillip the Deacon Episcopal Church, organized in 1878, and; Zion Baptist Church, organized in 1884. The second St. John's building and Zion's current building were notable for being designed by future master architect Clarence Wigington.[27] St. John's current building is lauded for being a notable example of the Prairie School architectural style.[28]
In 1921, the Omaha and Council Bluffs Colored Ministerial Alliance demanded that Tom Dennison's cabarets in the Sporting District "wherein there is unwarranted mingling of the races" be closed indefinitely. It is unknown what their objectives were.[29]
Other influential churches include Calvin Memorial Presbyterian Church, which opened in 1954 as an integrated congregation. Omaha had several interesting examples of integration in its churches, including those featured the documentary film A Time for Burning and Pearl Memorial United Methodist Church, which began integration efforts in the 1970s. Sacred Heart Catholic Church has operated since the late 1800s and has evolved numerous times as different ethnicities cycled through the neighborhood. North Omaha's Lizzie Robinson founded the first Church of God in Christ congregation in Nebraska in the 1920s. Salem Baptist Church has been particularly important in the city's African American community, among its most notable events hosting Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Omaha in 1957.
[edit] Historical social clubs
The African American community in North Omaha was anchored with numerous important social clubs. According to one report from the 1930s, "There are today in Omaha alone some twenty-five clubs and societies with a total membership of over two thousand."[2] These groups included the Pleasant Hour Club [which was estimated to be fifty years old when the publication was made in the late 1930s], Aloha Club, Entre Nous Club, the Beau Brummels Club, the Dames Club, the Jolly Twenty Club, the Trojan Club, and the Quack Club.[2] Important locations included the North Side YWCA. This influential organization, starting in 1920, was located in a house at 2306 N. 22nd Street[12] The African American community in Omaha also supported the Old Colored Folks' Home, which was organized in 1913. In 1923 they received funds from the city's "Community Chest" fund, with which they purchased a building.[11]
The Royal Circle was an African American social organization patterned after Ak-sar-ben, which was segregated and did not allow African American members. The Royal Circle held annual cotillions for young African American women through the early 1960s. Formed in 1918, the War Camp Community Service became the local American Legion the following year. The Centralized Commonwealth Civic Club, formed in 1937, promoted community business, while two local Boy Scout troops (Troop 23, Troop 79) were explicitly for African American youth. The community also boasted halls for the Odd Fellows, the Masons, (which had about 550 members in North Omaha in 1936), and the Elks, (with about 250 members in the community in 1936).[2] Perhaps the most elusive organization in North Omaha was the Knights and Daughters of Tabor, also know as the "Knights of Liberty". This was a secret African American organization whose goal was "nothing less than the destruction of slavery."[30]
[edit] Historic theaters
The Ritz Theater was opened in the mid-1930s at 2041 North 24th Street, near Patrick Avenue. It was specifically designated an "African-American theater" with seating for 548..[31] It was closed in the 1950s and has since been demolished.
[edit] Historic entertainment venues
- Further information: Music of Omaha
From the 1920s through to the early 1960s, North Omaha boasted a vibrant African American entertainment district. The most important venue in the area was the Dreamland Ballroom, opened in 1923 in the Jewell Building at 24th and Grant Streets. Dreamland hosted some of the greatest jazz, blues, and swing performers, including Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Louis Armstrong, Lionel Hampton, and the original Nat King Cole Trio. Whitney Young spoke there as well.[32]
Other venues included Jim Bell's Harlem, opened in 1935 on Lake Street, west of 24th; McGill's Blue Room, located at 24th and Lake, and; Allen's Showcase Lounge, which was located at 24th and Lake.
During this period, North Omaha and its main artery (24th Street) were the heart of the city's African-American cultural and business community, with a thriving jazz and rhythm & blues scene that attracted top-flight swing, blues and jazz bands from across the country. Due to racial segregation, musicians such as Cab Calloway stayed at Myrtle Washington's at 22nd and Willis, while others stayed at Charlie Trimble's at 22nd and Seward. Early North Omaha bands included Dan Desdunes Band, Simon Harrold's Melody Boys, the Sam Turner Orchestra, the Ted Adams Orchestra, the Omaha Night Owls, Red Perkins and his Original Dixie Ramblers, and the Lloyd Hunter Band who, in 1931, became the first Omaha band to record. A Lloyd Hunter concert poster can be seen on display at the Community Center in nearby Mineola, Iowa.[33]
The intersection of 24th and Lake was the setting of the Big Joe Williams song "Omaha Blues". Omaha-born Wynonie Harris, one of the founders of rock and roll, got his start at the North Omaha clubs, and for a time lived in the now-demolished Logan Fontenelle Housing Project.[12] There were innumerable African American churches, social and civic clubs, formal dances for young people, and many other cultural activities.
Several accounts attribute the decline of the African American cultural scene in North Omaha to the riots of the 1960s and 70s.[34] In the last decade there has been a resurgence in interest in this vibrant period, evidenced by the creation of "institutions" like Love's Jazz & Art Center,[35] the Dreamland Project,[36] and the Omaha Black Music Hall of Fame, and by the creation of new entertainment venues like Slowdown and The Waiting Room Lounge.
[edit] Historic musicians
- Further information: Music in Omaha, Nebraska
| “ | North Omaha used to be a hub for black jazz musicians, 'the triple-A league' where national bands would go to find a player to fill out their ensemble.[37] | ” |
The history of African Americans and music in Omaha is long and varied. The black music community was first organized in the early 20th century by Josiah Waddle, one of Omaha's first barbers. After teaching himself to play a number of brass instruments, Waddle pulled together Omaha's first African American band in 1902. In 1917 he brought together the first women's band in Omaha. One of his most famous students was Lloyd Hunter, who ran one of the most popular orchestras' in the United States Midwest.[38] Anna Mae Winburn was a student of Waddle's as well. After leading the Cotton Club Boys and several smaller outfits, Winburn led the International Sweethearts of Rhythm to fame during World War II. The Sweethearts were the first integrated all women's band in the United States.[39] Nat Towles also led an important territory band out of Omaha during the Swing Era, and most of these bands were represented by the National Orchestra Service, which was also based out of Omaha. It was a nationally-regarded company which acted as an agent for dozens of bands.
International Jazz legend Preston Love was an important figure in Omaha's African American community. After playing in Towles' and Hunter's bands, Love joined Count Basie as a saxophonist. After traveling the world Love came back to North Omaha and founded his own band. He also eventually joined the staff of the Omaha Star. Love toured the U.S. and Europe into the late 1990s, and died in 2004.[40] North Omaha's musical heritage birthed several influential African American musicians. Rhythm & Blues singer Wynonie Harris and influential drummer Buddy Miles, who played with guitarist Jimi Hendrix, were friends while they grew up and played together. They collaborated throughout their lives, and while they were playing with the greatest names in Rock and Roll, Jazz, R&B and Fund. Big Joe Williams and funk band leader Lester Abrams are also from North Omaha.
[edit] Historic newspapers
African American newspapers in Omaha have included The Progress, the Afro-American Sentinel, the Enterprise, the Omaha Monitor and the Omaha Star. Founded in 1938, today the Omaha Star is Nebraska’s only African American newspaper.
Today, African American culture in Omaha is regarded as being anchored, in large part, by The Omaha Star, which was founded by the late Mildred D. Brown in 1938. She is believed to be the first female, certainly the first African American woman, to have founded a newspaper in the nation's history. Today it has a circulation of more than 30,000.[41][42]
[edit] Other cultural institutions
Omaha's African American community celebrates its heritage in numerous ways. The biennial Native Omahans Days is a week-long celebration including picnics, family reunions and a large parade. Also held on a biennial calender is the induction ceremony for the Omaha Black Music Hall of Fame, or OBMHoF. Their inductees include African American contributors to rock and roll, swing, jazz and R&B, as well as other cultural contributions.
The Omaha Star, in business since the 1930s, is Nebraska's oldest, a currently only, African American newspaper. The paper features positive news about events throughout the community. Formed by Bertha Calloway in the 1960s, the Negro Historical Society opened the Great Plains Black Museum in North Omaha in 1974. Located at 2213 Lake Street, the museum is home to Omaha's only African American history collection. The annual Omaha Jazz and Blues Festival also promotes African American culture throughout the city.
[edit] Racism
- Further information: Racial Tension in Omaha, Nebraska
- Further information: Timeline of riots and civil unrest in Omaha, Nebraska
North Omaha has a contentious history between whites and African Americans that is predicated on racism. In 1891 an African American George Smith was lynched in North Omaha, allegedly for raping a "white woman". While little is known about Smith, reports of the incident tell of Smith being dragged from his cell, before any court trial, and hung from a street post in downtown Omaha.[43]
In July 1910 racial tension flared towards the African American community after a tremendous upset victory by African American boxer Jack Johnson in Reno, Nevada. Mobs of whites roamed throughout Omaha rioting, as they did in cities across the U.S.. The mobs wounded several black men in the city, killing one.[44]
The Red Summer of 1919 caused one Omaha newspaper to run a front page declaration that 21 Omaha women reported that they were assaulted from early June to late September 1919. In an example of yellow journalism, twenty of the victims were white and 16 of the assailants were identified as black, while only one of the victims was black. A separate newspaper warned that vigilante committees would be formed if the "respectable colored population could not purge those from the Negro community who were assaulting white girls."[45] During the ensuing Omaha Race Riot of 1919 in September, white racists used one of these supposed attacks of a white woman by an African American man to loot, pillage, and otherwise demolish North Omaha's African American community. The white rioters lynched Willy Brown, an accused packinghouse worker, and soldiers from Fort Omaha were placed on guard at 24th and Lake streets in order "to prevent any further murders of black citizens. Orders were issued that any citizen with a gun faced immediate arrest. All blacks were ordered to remain indoors."[46]
[edit] Segregation
A legacy of this terrible summer was the de facto racial segregation of many of Omaha's neighborhoods.[34] The Logan Fontenelle Housing Project, built during the Depression, with an addition completed in 1941, to improve working class housing in North Omaha, was closed to African Americans through the 1950s. Even in the 1940s, housing was so overcrowded in the area that some families stayed at the projects although their income exceeded the limits, because they couldn't find housing elsewhere.[47][48] With civil rights challenges, the segregation policy that kept African Americans out of public housing changed in the 1960s.
The massive loss of industrial jobs changed the nature of families and the issues in public housing. Although the Logan Fontenelle projects were first built for working families, it came to be dominated by the unemployed. Other public housing projects also reflected later de facto segregation. A concentration of problems here and in other cities led the City of Omaha, along with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, radically to reconceptualize public housing in the 1990s. The Logan Fontenelle Housing Project was torn down in 1996. Today public housing is scattered throughout Omaha.[49]
[edit] Civil Rights Movement
- Further information: Civil Rights Movement in Omaha, Nebraska
The lynching of Willy Brown has been credited for radicalizing Omaha's African American community. In the 1920s the Omaha chapter of Marcus Garvey's Universal Negro Improvement Association was founded by Earl Little, a Baptist minister and the father of Malcolm X. Malcolm X was born in Omaha in 1925. Malcolm X's mother reported a 1924 incident where her family was warned to leave Omaha by Ku Klux Klansmen. She was told that her husband Earl Little, was "stirring up trouble" through his involvement with Universal Negro Improvement Association was[50] The family moved shortly thereafter.[51] Another organization, the African Blood Brotherhood, radicalized future Communist party leader Harry Haywood.
In 1928 the first Urban League chapter in the American West was founded in Omaha.[24] Whitney Young eventually led the chapter and tripled its membership. The National Federation of Colored Women had five chapters in Omaha.[2] Starting in 1920, the Colored Commercial Club organized to help blacks in Omaha secure employment and to encourage business enterprises among African Americans.
The I.W.W. organized African American workers in the South Omaha Stockyards in the 1920s. Along with the rest of the working class, they suffered setbacks during layoffs in the Great Depression.[52] Progress was made on ending segregated jobs in the 1940s, and African Americans extended their political power to ending segregation in retail places in the 1950s. The loss of more than 10,000 jobs due to structural changes in the railroad and meatpacking industries in the late 1950s and 1960s sharply reduced opportunities for the community.
Visits to Omaha by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1958 and Robert Kennedy in 1968 galvanized the civil rights movement in North Omaha, and leaders continued to struggle against racism.[53] North Omaha was marred by race-related violence and de facto segregation throughout the 20th century. When the Black Panthers were implicated in a police killing in North Omaha in 1970, the trial highlighted political tensions. The Rice/Poindexter Case continues to highlight Omaha's contentious legacy of racism. A majority of Omaha's African American population still lives in North Omaha.
[edit] Race riots
The civil rights movement actively brought calls for black power and against racism to Omaha, while simultaneously youth throughout the city were being drafted to fight in the Vietnam War, funding for education and youth programs were being cut, and policing tactics were targeting African American youth. This led to a series of protests and riots, the repercussions of which are still felt today in some communities.[54]
On July 4, 1966 the temperature soared to 103 degrees. A crowd of African Americans gathered at the intersection of North 24th and Lake Streets in the evening, and when police requested their dispersal they responded violently. After demolishing police cars the mob roamed the North 24th Street business corridor for hours, throwing firebombs and demolishing storefronts. After three days of rioting[55] millions of dollars of damage was reported by affected businesses.[56]
Riots erupted again on August 1, 1966 after a 19-year-old was shot by a white, off-duty policeman during a burglary. The Omaha World-Herald and local television stations blamed African Americans for the conditions they faced in their deteriorating neighborhoods during this period. Three buildings were firebombed, and 180 riot police were required to quell the crowds.[57]
On March 4, 1968 a crowd of high school and university students were gathered at the Omaha Civic Auditorium to protest the presidential campaign of George Wallace, the segregationist governor of Alabama. After counter-protesters began acting violently toward the youth activists, police brutality led to the injury of dozens of protesters. An African-American youth was shot and killed by a police officer during the melee, and fleeing students caused thousands of dollars of damage to businesses and cars.[58] The following day a local barber named Ernie Chambers helped calm a disturbance and prevent a riot by students at Horace Mann Junior High School. Chambers was already recognized as a community leader. After finishing his law degree, Chambers was elected to the Nebraska State Legislature, and served a total of 38 years, longer than any of his predecessors.[59]
An African-American teenager named Vivian Strong was shot and killed by police officers in an incident at the Logan Fontenelle Housing Projects on June 24, 1969. Young African Americans in the area rioted in response to the teenager's death, with looting along the North 24th Street business corridor. During this initial surge eight businesses were destroyed by firebombing or looting.[60] Events went on for several more days.[61] This is the last noted riot in Omaha.
The effects of these riots is still evident in the North 24th Street district, with high numbers of vacant lots and general economic depression still prevalent.
[edit] Economics
- Further information: Economics in Omaha
The director of a statewide poverty advocacy group was quoted as saying in 2007, "In Omaha, you start talking about low-income issues, people assume you’re talking about minority issues..."[62] As of October of 2007, the city of Omaha, the 42nd largest in the country, has the fifth highest percentage of low-income African Americans in the country.[63] Census data from 2000 in Douglas County show more than 7,800 families live below the poverty line, about 6.7 percent of families.
[edit] Notable African Americans from Omaha
- Further information: People from North Omaha, Nebraska
| Notable African Americans from Omaha (Alphabetical) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Role | Era | |||
| Lester Abrams | Funk musician | 1970s | |||
| Houston Alexander | Extreme fighter, hip hop artist and radio DJ | 1980s-present | |||
| John Beasley | Television and film actor | 1980s-present | |||
| Bob Boozer | Former National Basketball Association player, gold medalist at the 1960 Summer Olympics | 1950s-1960s | |||
| Frank Brown (politician) | City of Omaha City councilmember | 1970s-present | |||
| Mildred Brown | Founder, Omaha Star newspaper | 1930s-1980s | |||
| Willy Brown | Local worker lynched by white mob | 1919 | |||
| Ernie Chambers | Longest-serving Nebraska State Senator in history | 1960s-present | |||
| Brenda Council | City of Omaha councilmember, school board member | 1970s-present | |||
| Alfonza W. Davis | Captain in the Tuskegee Airmen, first black military aviator from Omaha to receive his wings from Tuskegee Field | 1940s | |||
| Bob Gibson | National Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher for St. Louis Cardinals | ||||
| Ahman Green | Professional football player | 1990s-2000s | |||
| Wynonie Harris | Rhythm & Blues singer | 1960s-present | |||
| Harry Haywood | High profile international Communist Party leader | 1940s-1970s | |||
| Cathy Hughes | Founder and president of Radio One | 1970s-present | |||
| Lloyd Hunter | Big band leader | 1920s-1950s | |||
| Kenton Keith | Professional football player | ||||
| Preston Love | Jazz player | 1950s-1990s | |||
| Lois "Lady Mac" McMorris | Guitarist | 1970s-present | |||
| Buddy Miles | Musician | 1960s-1990s | |||
| Sandra Organ | Longtime Houston Ballet soloist | 1980s-present | |||
| George Wells Parker | Co-founder of the Hamitic League of the World | 1910s-1930s | |||
| Ron Prince | Head football coach at Kansas State University | 1980s-2000s | |||
| Dr. Matthew Ricketts | First African American elected to the Nebraska State Legislature in 1892. | 1880s-1900 | |||
| Joe Rogers | Colorado Lieutenant Governor, 1999-2003 (R) | 1990s | |||
| Johnny Rodgers | 1972 Heisman Trophy Winner, College Football Hall of Fame Inductee and voted University of Nebraska's "player of the century" | 1960s-1980 | |||
| Gale Sayers | Professional football player, Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee | 1960s | |||
| Wallace Thurman | One of the greatest writers of the Harlem Renaissance | 1910s-1930s | |||
| Gabrielle Union | Television and film actress | 1990s-2000s | |||
| Clarence W. Wigington | Architect | 1910s-1950 | |||
| Big Joe Williams | Musician | ||||
| Anna Mae Winburn | Big band leader | 1930s-1960 | |||
| Helen Jones Woods, | Big band trombonist | 1930s-1960 | |||
| Malcolm X | Civil rights leader (grew up elsewhere) | 1930s-1960s | |||
| Whitney Young | Former head of Omaha Urban League | 1930s-1960s | |||
[edit] See also
- History of North Omaha, Nebraska
- Culture in North Omaha, Nebraska
- People from North Omaha, Nebraska
- Music in Omaha
- History of slavery in Nebraska
- Greeks in Omaha, Nebraska
- Mexicans in Omaha, Nebraska
[edit] References
- ^ a b Pipher, M. (2002) "Chapter One," The Middle of Everywhere: Helping Refugees Enter the American Community. Harcourt.
- ^ a b c d e f Nebraska Writers Project (n.d. est 1938) Negros in Nebraska Workers Progress Administration. Retrieved 10/29/07.
- ^ a b "The Lincoln Motion Picture company, a first for Black cinema!" The African American Registry. Retrieved 8/4/07.
- ^ Peattie, E.W. (2005) "Omaha's Black Population: The Negroes of this City: Who are they and where do they live?", Impertinences: Selected Writings of Elia Peattie, a Journalist in the Gilded Age. University of Nebraska Press. p. 58.
- ^ Kotock, C.D. (2007) "Big plans in store for north Omaha", Omaha World-Herald, October 3, 2007. Retrieved 10/4/07.
- ^ a b Multiethnic Guide. Greater Omaha Economic Partnership. Retrieved 10/28/07.
- ^ Federal Writers Project. (1939) "The Negro comes to Nebraska", Negroes in Nebraska. Retrieved 5/13/08.
- ^ (1938) Authur Goodlett. American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1940. Retrieved 10/29/07.
- ^ (2003) The Negroes of Nebraska: The Negro goes to church. Memorial Library. Retrieved 10/29/07.
- ^ (1895) "Negroes in Omaha," Omaha Progress February 21, 1895. Retrieved from the Great Plains Black History Museum on May 6, 1998.
- ^ a b c d (1936) Henry Black: Life Histories from the Folklore Project, WPA Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1940; American Memory. U.S. Library of Congress.
- ^ a b c d Dreamland Historical Project. (2005) From whence we came: A historical view of African Americans in Omaha. Retrieved from the Project, August 10, 2006.
- ^ (2003) The Negroes of Nebraska: Immigration. Retrieved 10/29/07.
- ^ Works Progress Administration. (1939) "Negroes in the professions," Negroes in Nebraska. Retrieved 9/20/07.
- ^ Rashidi, R. "George Wells Parker: Race Man and Pioneer to the Past", Saxakali.com. Retrieved 5/25/08.
- ^ History 313: The History of African Americans in the West Manual - Chapter 7: The Black Urban West, 1880-1940. University of Washington. Retrieved 10/29/07.
- ^ (n.d.)Timeline: Omaha's 150th Birthday. KETV.com
- ^ a b (1981) Project Prospect: A youth investigation of blacks buried at Prospect Cemetery Girls Club of Omaha. Retrieved 10/28/07.
- ^ "Three to Get Ready: The Education of a White Family in Inner City Schools", University of Wisconsin Press. Retrieved 9/21/07.
- ^ (n.d.)History 313: Manual - Chapter 9: Black Omaha: From Non-Violence to Black Power. University of Washington. Retrieved 10/28/07.
- ^ Taylor, Q. (1999) In Search of the Racial Frontier: African Americans in the American West. W. W. Norton & Company. p 205.
- ^ Vignette: Matthew Ricketts University of Washington. Retrieved 10/29/07.
- ^ November 27, 1938. "Mrs. John Albert Williams," American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1940. U.S. Work Projects Administration, Federal Writers' Project (Folklore Project, Life Histories, 1936-39); Manuscript Division, Library of Congress. Retrieved 10/29/07.
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- ^ Angus, J. (2004) Black and Catholic in Omaha: A Case of Double Jeopardy. iUniverse. p. 57
- ^ Malcolm X. (1992 reprint) The Autobiography of Malcolm X. p 92.
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[edit] External links
- African American Information NEGenWeb Project.
- (2003) The Negroes of Nebraska: The Negro Comes to Nebraska. CFC Productions.
- (1940) The Negroes of Nebraska. Nebraska Writers' Project. Works Progress Administration.
- "First" African Americans in Omaha.
- African American Empowerment Network.
- Building Bright Futures
[edit] Additional reading
- Angus, J. (2004) Black and Catholic in Omaha: A Case of Double Jeopardy: The First Fifty Years of St. Benedict the Moor Parish. iUniverse, Inc.
- Bish, James D. (1989) The Black Experience in Selected Nebraska Counties, 1854-1920. M.A. Thesis, University of Nebraska at Omaha.
- Mihelich, Dennis. (1979) "World War II and the Transformation of the Omaha Urban League," Nebraska History 60(3) (Fall 1979):401-423.
- Paz, D.G. (1988) "John Albert Williams and Black Journalism in Omaha, 1895-1929." Midwest Review 10: 14-32.
- Johnson, T. (2001) African American Administration of Predominately Black Schools: Segregation or Emancipation in Omaha, NE. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History in Charlotte, NC.
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