Tracing History, Memory and Family Reflecting on Juneteenth and America 250 Thursday, June 25, 2026 | 6:30 PMNyack Library, Community Room59 South BroadwayNyack, New York 10960 Join the African American Historical Society of Rockland County for an evening exploring Black life in the Hudson Valley through history, memory, and...
A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT On behalf of the Board of Trustees of the African American Historical Society of Rockland County, I wish you a Happy New Year and extend best wishes for a meaningful and productive 2026. As we begin the year, we do so with excitement and optimism—reflecting...
AAHS is honored to welcome Dr. Jarvis R. Givens, Professor of Education and Professor of African and African American Studies at Harvard University, for our 2026 Black History Month keynote program. A leading scholar of African American educational history, Dr. Givens is the author of Fugitive Pedagogy: Carter G. Woodson and...
The African American Historical Society of Rockland County is proud to launch the Rockland County Black Historical Communities Collaborative, a countywide initiative dedicated to uncovering, preserving, and sharing the stories of Black life across Rockland County.
Ongoing, 2025 Throughout 2025, AAHS continued expanding the Historic Hillburn Online Hub, documenting Hillburn’s layered heritage—from early community life to the landmark 1943 desegregation case. The Hub is becoming an essential resource for families, educators, descendants, and researchers. Historic Hillburn Online Hub Return to Newsletter
The African American Historical Society of Rockland County hosted its Annual Event with a virtual conversation featuring Dr. Prithi Kanakamedala, author of Brooklynites: The Remarkable Story of the Free Black Communities that Shaped a Borough.
AAHS hosted The Underestimated: Hillburn’s Brook School and the Fight Against Segregation, an evening revisiting the 1943 desegregation fight in Hillburn—when Black families, supported by the NAACP, challenged unequal schools and helped lay groundwork for the broader civil rights movement.
At the African American Historical Society of Rockland County, we believe that history is most complete when it includes the voices and contributions of all who shaped it. Too often, the remarkable legacies of Black women are overlooked, forgotten, or dismissed in our retelling of history. This series seeks...
To conclude Black History Month 2025, the African American Historical Society of Rockland County hosted a powerful and thought-provoking virtual event, Frederick Douglass and February: A Legacy of Love and Liberation. This community gathering explored Frederick Douglass’s profound relationship to the month of February, especially his decision to mark Valentine’s...
On June 4th, 1884, The Rockland County Journal reported that the Silliman Post joined other veterans to march and adorn the graves of fallen soldiers at Rockland Cemetery. The Silliman Post was the local Black chapter of the fraternal organization of Civil War veterans, the Grand Army of the...
What is juneteeth? Juneteenth, observed each year on June 19, commemorates a defining moment in American history—the day in 1865 when Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to announce the end of slavery. Though President Abraham Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation two and a half years earlier on...
AAHS’s Juneteenth program reflected the Society’s longstanding commitment to honoring Black history. The evening built upon earlier AAHS work, including the 2019 commemoration of 1619 that introduced Rockland County audiences to the story of Cudjo Lewis through readings from Barracoon, performances, and a keynote by Dr. Sylviane Diouf.