By Dr. Travis Jackson The discovery of the African Burial Ground in Lower Manhattan in 1991 stimulated an interest in slavery, as it had existed in New York City during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Until that time, the city’s deep association with slavery was not widely known; most...
Civil War Soldier Monologue My name is William Henry Myers and I am a proud CITIZEN of Nyack, New York and these United States! Now, I put emphasis on citizen because unfortunately during many years of my life, I wasn’t considered a citizen or even a human being. See,...
By Jamila Brathwaite During World War II, Rockland County became home to the largest U.S. Army embarkation camp in the United States. Camp Shanks was located “in and around Orangeburg in the Town of Orangetown, New York.” The installation was named for Major General David Cary Shanks (1861–1940) who...
Welcome to the African American Historical Society of Rockland County: Linking/Preserving the Cultures of the African Diaspora (AAHS) Rockland County is indeed the smallest county in the state of New York, yet its size is magnified by the significant historical history of the people of African descent. The AAHS...
By Travis E. Jackson, Ed.D. The decade between 1940-1950 was dominated by the Second World War and the uneasy peace that followed. When the Japanese launched their surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in December of 1941, they were already in control of much of the Pacific region. Their major...
The Gift of Music: Composers of the African Diaspora was presented to 500 school children from school districts across the county and to the community-at-large in two programs. The identical presentations showcased male and female composers from the U.S. and from other parts of the world and introduced audiences...
A Mighty River: Celebrating the Contributions of the Peoples of the African Diaspora to the Economic Development along the Lower Hudson River Presented on February 5, 2009, at SUNY Rockland Community College. The conference consisted of the following: A morning session for Rockland County students in Grades 7-9 An afternoon session for...