Black Steelworkers in Western Pennsylvania

Posted by on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on Black Steelworkers in Western Pennsylvania Blacks constituted a sizable core of workers in the iron and steel industry of western Penn­sylvania between 1900 and 1950. Most had migrated to the Pittsburgh vicinity from the agricultural South during the two World Wars in hopes of improving their economic plight by obtaining jobs in area mills and foundries. However, racial discrimination prevented the majority of them from advancing beyond...
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Frankford, Philadelphia: A 19th-Century Urban Black Community

Posted by on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on Frankford, Philadelphia: A 19th-Century Urban Black Community In the last two decades, American historians interested in Black history have focused increasingly on both the slave and free Black communities. These scholars have sought to explain how, in the face of white hostility and, at times because of it, Blacks have managed to create a viable setting for themselves and their children. By examining the web of social relationships and cultural traditions...
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The Emergence of Black Religion in Pennsylvania, 1776-1850

Posted by on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on The Emergence of Black Religion in Pennsylvania, 1776-1850 The emergence of Black churches at the beginning of the nineteenth century was crucial to the survival of Black people in Pennsylvania and in the North because it provided two key resources. First, it provided a sense of meaning and destiny grounded in hope. Secondly, the Black church provided the institutional base for the economic, social, and political struggle of Blacks, including the...
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Loose the Woman and Let Her Go! Pennsylvania’s African American Women Preachers

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on Loose the Woman and Let Her Go! Pennsylvania’s African American Women Preachers Because of the highly developed religious systems of Africa, slaves transported. to the New World continued to practice their religious rites and traditions, even though they were in a strange land. The similarity of the Biblical experiences, such as prophets, visitations, and miracles, to African religious beliefs was of great interest to the slaves as they heard plantation owners talk about...
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