Black Studies

[Coyote]

Black studies program celebrates 50-year anniversary at UNO



Back in November of 1969, a group of 54 Black UNO students led a peaceful protest demanding that the university invests in education in what is now known as Black history.

[Coyote]

Explore historic sites commemorating Black history in Nebraska

The legacies of influential Black Americans have not always been acknowledged, so it’s not uncommon that modern-day residents may overlook the historic sites of their own cities.

While some historical Black figures in the U.S. are more well-known than others, there are in fact thousands of people dating back generations to 17th-century slavery who left traces of their visions and impacts all across the country. Whether prominent figures such as Robert Abbott, who founded one of the largest African American newspapers in the country, or more under-the-radar originators such as Obrey Wendell Hamlet, who cultivated unique vacation experiences in the Rocky Mountains, one thing’s for certain: There is far more uncharted Black history in this country than charted.

Stacker identified historic sites commemorating Black history across 47 states, using the National Register of Historic Places. North Dakota, Vermont, Hawaii, and Wyoming did not have Black historic sites listed on the registry. While some states, especially in the South, are home to many sites central to the civil rights movement, Stacker listed the total sites in every state and the names of three historic sites where available. You can visit the full registry of 232 historic sites and explore the Civil Rights Trail to learn about additional locations across the U.S.

Nebraska by the numbers

- Sites commemorating Black history: 12 (1 with state significance, 2 with national significance)
- Jewell Building (Omaha)
- Malcolm X House Site (Omaha)
- Mayhew Cabin (Nebraska City)

James “Jimmy” Grant Jewell, a Republican leader and businessman who owned a pool hall, was an influential figure in Omaha’s Black community. At the time, there were movie theaters and pool halls along North 24th Street, with a majority of the locales being for white people only. In 1922, Jewell had the vision to build a ballroom in Omaha’s downtown area that would compete with other venues which occasionally hosted Black performers. Jewell hired an Omaha architect and opened the Jewell Building in 1923, which at the time was called Jewell’s Hall.

[Coyote]

UNO Department of Black Studies honors past, prioritizes future
The department is in its 51st academic year, with eyes on both its past and its future.



It’s a good bet that Black history is discussed much more than 28 days a year at UNO’s Black Studies Department. The department is in its 51st school year -- an accomplishment that didn’t come without a fight. In November of 1969, 54 students protested the absence of Black studies courses at the university. Mike Maroney, now president of the Omaha Economic Development Corporation, was one of the 54. He said the idea of a protest was brewing a couple of years before the demonstration. “The challenge for us was that summer, this was in ‘67, that following summer, they actually sent a white professor back East somewhere to study Black history and come back that following fall and teach a course,” Maroney said. “That was totally unacceptable.”